SOURCES OF NEWS II:MONITORING, NEWS/ PRESS RELEASE

<< SOURCES OF NEWS I:Network of Reporters, QUALITIES OF A REPORTER

SOURCES OF NEWS III:National News Agencies, HARD NEWS, SOFT NEWS >>

RadioNews, Reporting and Production MCM515

LESSON 14

SOURCES OF NEWS II

MONITORING

Monitoring officers listen to the transmissions in differentlanguages, translate them into English and make

a report of it. Monitorsnormally work in threeshifts.

Forgood monitoring a monitormust be proficient in the language he is monitoring. Seniormonitors

scrutinize the monitoring reports and finally the news items to be made a part of news bulletin are sent to

the news editors.

Importantchannels to be monitored

BBC

VOA (voice of America)

VOG (voice of Germany)

KabulRadio

AllIndia Radio

IranRadio

CNN (Cable News Network)

NEWS/ PRESS RELEASE

A news release or pressrelease or press statement is a written or recorded communication, directed at

members of the news media, for the purpose of announcing something, claimed as having news value.

Sometimesnews releases are sentfor the purpose of announcing newsconferences.

Means of sending a PressRelease

Typically, it is mailed, faxed, or e-mailed to the assignment editors at newspapers,magazines, radiostations,

television stations, and/or television networks.

Origin of News Release

Thepress release was firstintroduced in 1906 by IvyLee who is often referred to as the first real public

relations practitioner. At that time, Lee'sagency was working with the Pennsylvania Railroad, whichhad just

fallenvictim to a tragic accident.Ivy Lee convinced the company to issue the first pressrelease to

journalists, before other versions of the story, or suppositions, could be spreadamong them and reported.

He used a press release, in addition to inviting journalists and photographers to the scene andproviding

them transportation there as a means of fostering open communication with the media.

Closing of a News Release

"30" is a traditional closing for a press release. It startedduring the Civil War when telegrapherstapped

"XXX" at the end of a transmission. XXX is the Roman numeral for 30.Another common pressrelease

closing is ###.

Scrutiny of a Press Release

Everypress release is not worthBroadcasting. Shifting of landedmaterial is time consuming yetimportant.

Elements of a News Release

While there are several types of press releases (such as general news releases, event releases, productpress

releases,and more recently socialmedia press releases), pressreleases very often haveseveral traits of their

structure in common. This helps journalists separate press releases fromother PR communication methods,

such as pitch letters or mediaadvisories. Some of these common structural elements include:

Headline- used to grab the attention of journalists andbriefly summarize the news.

Dateline - contains the release dateand usually the originatingcity of the pressrelease.

©CopyrightVirtual University of Pakistan

RadioNews, Reporting and Production MCM515

Introduction- first paragraph in a pressrelease, that generallygives basic answers to the questions

of who, what, when, whereand why.

Body- further explanation, statistics, background, or other details relevant to the news.

Boilerplate- generally a short "about" section,providing independent background on the issuing

company, organization, or individual.

Media Contact Information - name, phone number, emailaddress, mailing address, or other

contactinformation for the PR or othermedia relations contactperson.

AudioNews Releases(ANRs)

Somedepartments send out audio news releases (ANRs) whichare pre-taped audio programsthat can be

aired intact by radio stations.

VideoNews Releases(VNRs)

VNRsare same as ANRs butthese are recorded on videotapes and are sentout to TV cannels.

EmbargoedNews Release

Sometimes a news release is embargoed -- that is, news organizationsare requested not to report the story

until a specified time. For example,news organizations usuallyreceive a copy of presidential speeches

severalhours in advance. In suchcases, the news organizationsgenerally do not break the embargo. If they

do, the agency that sent the release may blacklist them. A blacklisted news organization willnot receive any

moreembargoed releases, or possiblyany releases at all.

PRESSCONFERENCE

A news conference or pressconference is a media event in whichnewsmaker (person who holds press

conference) invites journalists to hear him speakand most often, askquestions.

WhyPress Conference?

There are two major reasons forholding a news/ pressconference.

A newsmaker who gets manyquestions from reporters cananswer them all at once rather than

answeringdozens of phonecalls.

A person can try to attractnews coverage for somethingthat was not of interest to journalists

before.

In a news conference, one or more speakers may make a statement, which may be followed by questions

fromreporters. Sometimes only questioning occurs; sometimes there is a statement with no questions

permitted.

A media event at which no statementsare made, and no questions allowed, is called a photo opportunity. A

government may wish to open theirproceedings for the media to witness events, such as the passing of a

piece of legislation from the government in parliament to the senate, via mediaavailability.

Table of Contents: