Types of Feature Articles

• Case Study 
• Application Study 
• Surveys & Research
• Backgrounder
• Personality Profile
• Historical Piece

Chapter 11 Summary

 Public Relations Writing & Media Techniques

Ch 11: Avoiding Legal Hassles

Chapter eleven of Public Relations Writing & Media Techniques covers the basics of legal issues and situations as well as how to handle them. The chapter begins on page 272 by providing examples of real life situations occurring within the media realm, specifically in the public relations arena. I found these examples to be helpful because I actually remembered a few of them from when they took place, so that really helped me to understand the context in which the chapter was discussing legal issues.

Essentially, the chapter began by covering the very basic legal concepts in which many of the cases are built on: libel and defamation. Libel is defined as any printed falsehood, while defamation is a collective term that involves comments made in traditional media or even on social media. According to the text, violations of these basic principles are often what lead to larger, more serious lawsuits. The chapter also covers the concept of invasion of privacy. Privacy invasion can be violated in a number of ways: employee newsletters, photo releases, employee blogs, product publicity, advertising and media inquiries about employees. The largest section of the chapter covers copyright law. The text defines copyright as the protection of any creative work from unauthorized use. More specifically, many things can be determined as copyright infringement. This can include the use of someone else's photographs without their permission, improperly crediting sources of written or creative works and the use of a creative work without the consent of the author or creator. Plagiarism is a common form of copyright infringement. Similarly, a trademark is a word, symbol or slogan used singly or in combination, that identifies a product origin. Trademarks are a helpful resource to combat copyright infringement and are very helpful in cases involving the latter.

Misappropriation of Personality is also a common problem. This happens when a celebrity, or other public figure (or really any person) is blatantly associated with an organization that he or she has not endorsed or given permission to the company or organization to include her as a witness to their mission or beliefs. 

Finally, the chapter concludes with information on the regulatory agencies that create and enforce all of these laws. These include the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Food & Drug Administration (FDA). These agencies are crucial in helping associate the fate of a company, business or individual who has misused, mistreated or misrepresented another company, business or individual. 

Of course, these are all very basic principles of media law and how to avoid impractical law suits, but it is enlightening and helpful to know such basic information. 

Skillbuilding (p.85)

1. A popular local Mexican restaurant is celebrating its 10th anniversary next year. What activities and special events would you recommend to attract more customers and media coverage? 

• The Mexican restaurant should have a fiesta-themed event with music, contests, games and activities for all ages to enjoy. This way the event would be more family-oriented. They may also want to consider featuring a sample table or buffet with everything on their menu to help generate even more business and build a bigger customer base. Another customer-building idea would be to provide incentive for them to return- like offering coupons, special offers and gift cards available only to those who attend the event.

2. Surveys indicate that the topic of health generates a lot of media interest. How would a manufacturer of a vacuum cleaners use this "hook" to generate some publicity for the company and its products? 

• The manufacturer of the vacuum cleaner should find a way to develop and market his product as the most efficient cleaning tool. Then they might consider running a series of advertisements using the angle that by using their product in your home or business, you are creating the most healthy and clean living/working environment that you can possibly have. A major way to do this would be to show comparisons to other products and their capabilities. 

3. A national pizza chain is celebrating its 25th anniversary and wants to create a highly visual publicity stunt that will attract media coverage. What would you recommend? 

• The company should create 25 abnormally large pizzas and feature an eating contest: one 30-inch pizza per person. The contest winner could receive 25 years (in honor of its silver anniversary) free pizza and recognition at the chain's headquarters and on their website; the second and third place winners could receive $100 & $50 gift cards respectively. Not to mention that each of these people will receive free press coverage and local (maybe national) recognition for their incredible eating feats! 

Media Gaffes: Poorly Written Articles & How it Destroys Credibility

1. "Romney Campaign Makes Third Spelling Gaffe in One Week"   

     - The Romney team ran an amazing campaign and as much as I hate tossing them under the bus on this one, it can't be overlooked as a 'poorly written' article . The first major mistake was that the Romney Campaign launched their new & improved Facebook page, complete with a link to buy "2013 'Offical' Gear." Next, the social media manager (be that as it may) posted to their new app (for iphones and android devices), a tab titled "A Better Amercia." Yes. A-M-E-R-C-I-A. Needless to say other social media outlets and news organizations went to town on this one citing that, if a presidential candidate can't even spell the name of the country he is desiring to govern, then how can he be trusted to run it? Personally, I think that analogy was a bit of a stretch but nonetheless, made its point. Finally, the social media coordinator (assumed) posted a teaser photo offering a "sneak-peak" of the campaign's new television ad. Of course, for most people these minor offenses do not rise to the level of any high crime or misdemeanor, but they still chipped away at Romney's credibility as an intellectual and politician. 

http://mashable.com/2012/06/04/romney-spelling-mistakes/

2. "Barack Obama Made a Pilgrimage to Evangelist Billy Graham"

     -Spend about three seconds skimming over the contents of this [real] news article and you will begin to wonder if someone slipped a little morning pick-me-up boozer in your coffee. Unless you are in a very precarious work or living situation, that is most definitely not the case. This is, in fact, as poorly written as it possibly could be. It really needs no explanation, but here goes. The sentences are practically incomprehensible. There is little to no use of any type of punctuation. The story as a whole doesn't really make sense. Aside from being able to gather the basic gist of what this individual was attempting to communicate, I wouldn't have even known what the article was about. Unfortunately, after (painfully) completing the article, I found myself asking "Is this real life?"

http://www.dailypolitical.com/u-s-news/barack-obama-made-a-pilgrimage-to-evangelist-billy-graham.htm

3. "2 brothers charged in missing N.J. girl's slaying"

     -The story itself is horrifying and disturbing and shouldn't be played down in the least. However, how this excuse of an informative news article made it past the editor is beyond me. Let's start with the title: not even remotely correct AP Style-wise. How about punctuation? Perhaps the 'writer' thought he was tweeting to his audience... The header is far from professionally acceptable regarding what would be expected from an article informing the community of a 12-year-old girl's brutal murder. Not to mention the header is far from captivating or informative. The writer also fails to employ the use of the inverted pyramid writing style, which is a standard for most (if not all) credible news outlets. Did you notice the source? USA Today. Not good... As a reader, but also critic, I was particularly disturbed at the lack of sensitivity that the writer seemed to have for the deceased and family. The article was written more like the opening to James Patterson's latest murder mystery than a report of an actual occurrence. Essentially, the article was written in poor taste and lacked any sort of professional style. 

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2012/10/24/missing-girl-nj-charges/1653753/