Public Relations Guide for Rural Housing Organizations (manual

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A headline that grabs attention is one that focuses on conditions, not yourorganization. For example, if part of the housing that your organization is providinginvolves new indoor plumbing, figure out how many gallons of water one womanwithout water has carried over the years.- Body. First comes the dateline – the place where the story originates and the date,“Marianna, Ark., June 13 – .”The first paragraph or “lead” is equivalent to the lead paragraph in a newspaper story.Tell the who, what, where, when, why, and how in 35 words or less, preferably in onesentence, but two sentences are okay.The first sentence is the most important. Without being misleading or omittingimportant information, try to portray your news with words that will make the readerwant to read on. The first priority should be clarity of communication – do not get wildor fancy, and use clear language. Your first sentence will set the tone and determineyour release’s interest to the general public.The second paragraph should contain more information about the news in two to threesentences. This would be a good place to expand on the particular event or instancethat precipitated your story.The second or third paragraph should contain a quote, with name and title, from animportant person involved in the project such as your executive director, president ofthe board, or a local notable person.Any further paragraphs should give more details and background. If the news media(newspapers, especially) are short of space or are using your piece as a filler on analready crowded page, it is the paragraphs toward the end of your release that will becut. Think of the paragraphs in terms of diminishing importance to the story, ones thatwould not be missed if they were left out.The final paragraph (which should be the same on every press release you send out)should be the one-paragraph description of your organization mentioned on page 13.- Bottom of page. End with one of the two traditional press release conclusions: “-30-“ or“###.” If your press release runs more than one page, put “– more –“ at the end ofeach page except the last. At the top of page 2 and beyond, put the page number and akeyword that represents the content of the release, “Page 2/Self-help, Marianna.” Onthe final page use one of the traditional ends.- Key items to check. Is the lead interesting? What impression will the reader be left with?Are concepts explained? Is the writing descriptive? Are the paragraphs a digestiblelength? Is the release free of grammatical, spelling, or other errors? Is it free of sexistor racist language?18 Public Relations Guide
ContentIf done prudently, press releases can help with general communications needs that challengeyour work.In Hillsboro, Ore., Linda Netherton, co-executive director of the Housing DevelopmentCorporation, had the challenge of operating programs for migrant farmworkers in anessentially suburban community. Linda realized there was widespread misunderstandingabout her work; consequently, she used press releases to express HDC’s point of view on issuesthat surfaced in the local newspapers.Sharon Walden in Welch, W.Va. used news releases to announce newly obtained funding.Sharon concluded that, because she could get news coverage relatively easily, it was a priorityto get such stories into print in order to encourage more funding.News ArticleShould I also submit a news article?Ideally a reporter or editor will write an article based on your press release. You may wish towrite articles yourself, however, to submit to smaller newspapers that have limited resources.A well-written article can be published with minimal editing. Formatting your news first as apress release will aid the writing of your article. Having done so will be helpful if you everwant to expand your article into a column for your newsletter or a magazine.Renee Wilburn of Lee County CDC in Arkansas learned that if she wrote only an article withoutincluding a basic press release, a reporter or editor might miss the main point she was trying tocommunicate.The opportunity may arise for you to write an article about your housing for a magazineproduced by another nonprofit or a for-profit enterprise. Take advantage of all suchopportunities. Any chance to tell your story will help your cause and the cause of affordablehousing, no matter where the article is published.The occasion of having your story presented in a trade magazine or journal of a respectednonprofit organization may inspire other opportunities. When the Housing AssistanceCouncil’s magazine, Rural Voices, covered the topic of smart growth, one of the feature articleswas written by staff of the Housing Development Corporation in Hillsboro, Ore., based on thesmart growth issues it had confronted. Because this brought a high degree of national focus toher organization, co-executive director Linda Netherton planned to use the article as thefoundation of an op-ed piece. “The idea is to make hay with something that has already beendone,” declared Linda. She also decided to mail copies of the Rural Voices article to all Oregonlegislators since smart growth is a major concern statewide.Housing Assistance Council 19
Page 1 and 2: Housing Assistance CouncilPUBLIC RE
Page 3 and 4: TABLE OF CONTENTSIntroduction .....
Page 5 and 6: INTRODUCTIONThis guide is aimed at
Page 7 and 8: A 1999 news article notes the impor
Page 9 and 10: Sharon made every endeavor to stren
Page 11 and 12: For example, at Lee County Communit
Page 13 and 14: - “We help local organizations in
Page 15 and 16: Get the names, titles, addresses, a
Page 17 and 18: “Media relations can make or brea
Page 20 and 21: current community issues, and new m
Page 24 and 25: Media AdvisoryA media advisory tell
Page 26 and 27: AS THE OCCASION ARISESSpecial occas
Page 28 and 29: Op-Ed PieceThe term “op-ed” com
Page 30 and 31: second PSAs as well (LWV 1994). The
Page 32 and 33: You might be fortunate enough to ha
Page 34 and 35: - Keep your energy level up and be
Page 36 and 37: to be thorough in your coverage, at
Page 38 and 39: Try to choose something that reflec
Page 40 and 41: The Day of the Event- Station one s
Page 42 and 43: How to Announce Your EventLarge cit
Page 44 and 45: address, using the “http://www”
Page 46 and 47: Laszlo & Associates. 2001. Getting
Page 48 and 49: APPENDIX A: TEMPLATESThe following
Page 50 and 51: Photo Release Template[Use your org
Page 52 and 53: PSA Samples[Use your organization
Page 54 and 55: Media Advisory SampleMEDIA ADVISORY
Page 56 and 57: Media Contact Card/Database Entry[I
Page 58 and 59: Fact Sheet Sample #1COMMUNITY ACTIO
Page 60 and 61: Fact Sheet Sample #2 (continued)Met
Page 62 and 63: Fact Sheet Sample #3 (continued)i S
Page 64 and 65: - Free online donations: (Free for
Page 66 and 67: APPENDIX C: CASE STUDIESThe six cas
Page 68 and 69: press events, as when a TV reporter
Page 70 and 71: Housing Development Corporation, Hi
Page 72 and 73:
HOUSING ASSISTANCE COUNCILBOARD OF
Page 74:
This guide is aimed at organization
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Public Relations Guide for Rural Housing Organizations (manual

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