1. Journalism
370
October
3,
2011

2. Let’s
Talk
Features
• Provide
addi?onal
background
• Generate
human
interest
• Create
understanding
in
an
imagina?ve
way
• Considered
“soG”
news,
not
as
?me
sensi?ve
• They
provide
more
informa?on,
a
behind-­‐the-­‐
scenes
perspec?ve,
and
generate
publicity
• Visuals
usually
accompany
feature
releases

3. Let’s
Plan
Features
• You
can
pitch
features
differently.
• Distribute
a
general
feature
to
several
media
outlets
• Write
an
exclusive
feature
• Pitch
the
idea
and
help
a
journalist
write
it
• Post
the
feature
on
your
Web
site

4. Let’s
Place
a
Feature
• Newspapers,
especially
sec?ons
that
are
not
?me-­‐sensi?ve
(e.g.,
lifestyle,
food,
automo?ve)
• General
magazines.
• Specialty
or
trade
magazines
are
great
places
for
feature
placements.
• Internal
publica?ons.

5. Types
of
Features
• Case
study
– Third-­‐party
party
endorsement
– Think
bloggers
• Applica?on
story
– How
to
use
a
product
or
service
in
a
new,
innova?ve
way
• Research
study
– Surveys
or
polls
that
examine
things
such
as
lifestyles
•
Backgrounder
– Where
is
there
a
problem,
and
how
can
your
product
or
service
solve
it?

6. Types
of
Features
• Personality
profile
• Historical
piece
• Milestones
allow
reflec?on
on
an
organiza?on’s
history

7. Wri?ng
a
Feature
• Headline
– You
don’t
need
a
summery
•
Lead
– Feature
leads
pique
readers’
interest
• Body
– Features
are
longer
than
straight
news
releases
– They’re
meant
to
be
read
from
beginning
to
end
– They
include
quotes,
illustra?ons,
stats,
descrip?on
• Summary
– Call
back
to
the
beginning.

8. Let’s
write
a
feature
lead
and
headline
• The
Glouster
Livestock
Show
and
Rodeo,
a
tradi?on
for
75
years,
will
begin
on
October
5
and
run
through
October
12.

9. Let’s
write
a
feature
lead
and
headline
• The
Florida
Grapefruit
Growers
Associa?on
has
announced
that
this
year’s
crop
is
larger
than
last
year’s,
and
greater
availability
will
mean
lower
prices
for
the
consumer.

10. Let’s
Talk
Media
Advisories.
• Media
Advisories
• Tell
assignment
editors
about
upcoming
news
events
or
opportuni?es
or
local
angles
• These
are
one
page
– Headline
– Brief
paragraph
outlining
the
story
with
necessary
5
Ws
and
H
– Contact
informa?on

11. Let’s
Talk
Media
Kits
• Media
Kits
can
include
– Main
news
release
– News
feature
– Fact
sheet(s)
– Photos
or
graphics
with
cap?ons
– Biographical
material
on
key
players
– Brochure(s)

12. Let’s
Talk
Media
Kits
• This
is
what
the
book
doesn’t
tell
you
about
media
kits,
but
I
will.
– People
can
spend
thousands
on
fancy
kits.
• Free
shirts.
• Pizza
boxes
– You
need
to
think
about
what
the
receiver
needs.
– You
need
to
think
about
what
you
have.
– You
need
to
mesh
those
together.

13. In
Class
Assignment
• The
Minnesota
Zoo
is
opening
a
major
exhibit
on
bugs.
As
the
director
says,
“ Thousands
of
live
bugs
will
be
creeping
and
crawling
so
visitors
will
not
only
be
entertained
but
also
learn
about
the
impact
they
have
on
all
of
us.”
• Included
in
the
exhibit
will
be
colorful
North
American
buferflies
and
moths;
a
working
colony
of
leaf-­‐cufer
ants,
giant
millipedes;
cen?pedes;
land
crabs;
arachnids,
such
as
the
world’s
largest
spider,
tarantulas,
and
scorpions;
and
zebra
cockroaches.
• In
addi?on,
zoo
goers
will
be
able
to
walk
through
a
buferfly
garden
where
up
to
600
free-­‐flying
buferflies
and
moths
will
be
feeding,
res?ng,
and
emerging
as
adult
buferflies.
The
grand
opening
of
this
exhibit
will
be
on
October
10,
2011.

14. In
Class
Assignment
Write
a
media
alert
invi-ng
the
press
to
the
opening
and
make
some
sugges-ons
about
who
might
be
available
for
interviews,
and
what
opportuni-es
there
will
be
for
photo
and
video
coverage.
Email
it
to
me.