Should the traditional news release still be taught to PR students? (4470)

We talked this week about whether or not PR students should still be taught to write a traditional news release. I think they always should for a few reasons.

Understanding inverted pyramid style of writing should be essential for anyone going into any journalism-related field. It’s the most efficient form for news stories. It makes it easy to obtain vital information quickly. PR professionals have to be consummate consumers of news while operating on a stressful, tight schedule. Training on how to look at a news story, most of which are written in inverted pyramid style, helps PR professionals pick out the important details of stories quickly so that they can get through a great deal of news daily.

Also, there is still a strong possibility that reporters would like to use the meat of the news releases for their stories. Most reporters would not admit to the cut-and-paste reporting technique, but I think it happens often. This might be important going into the era of online up-to-the-second news reporting. If a reporter needs a story in a flash and the PR professional has a news release prepared and ready to go public, it would be easy to use it verbatim.

Learning how to write an enticing lead, and how to include the important information without losing the reader by just stating basic facts, is very important for PR students. Granted, as phone and email pitches are becoming the preferred way for reporters to receive news, students still learn the writing flair needed to persuade through writing other kinds of messages. There is finesse, though, in writing a complete news release story. There is an important structure and flow to news release stories that is only learned through practicing writing them.

What university PR programs should do is follow the lead of UNT’s Mayborn School of Journalism. Our PR students have to go through a news reporting and editing class that teaches students what it’s like to be a news reporter. They are assigned to a beat (a certain topic such as crime and safety, arts and entertainment, politics, science, etc.), and have to write real news stories pertaining to that beat. Students work on a deadline and have to interview a minimum of three sources for each story. They learn what life is like for a real reporter. This is invaluable experience for someone going into PR.

Something I would suggest to my PR professor: bring in a news reporter from a major publication as a guest speaker. I know they’re always busy, but a reporter might jump at the chance to teach PR students how not to annoy reporters in the future. Or, if the reporters and editors would go for it, have the PR students spend some time in the newsroom of the school paper. As much as they can, it is important for PR professionals to understand what reporters do.