Straight Talk About Public Relations, Revised and Updated

using press releases, pitch letters, and editorials

It offers something new
• It has human interest
• It challenges conventional wisdom
• It’s visual
• It’s unusual
• It’s impactful
• It relates to a trend
• It’s memorable

It’s all about the story. Victories in Gaul. Three-ring circus. Rockefeller eating with his workers. Torches of Freedom.

Obtaining a media placement consists of the following steps:
• Researching the story idea
• Writing a compelling pitch or press release
• Contacting journalists individually or via wide distribution
• Attracting the attention of the reporter
• Convincing reporters to write, broadcast, or post a relevant story
But placing stories is now harder than ever.

Adding to that cost is the fact that most advertisements need to be repeated several times before the consumer can be influenced. A

Propaganda is the executive arm of the invisible government.”

hard facts, statistical data, and human interest storie

Ivy Lee (1877–1934) and Edward Bernays (1891–1995) are to public relations what Isaac Newton and Albert Einstein are to physic