PR-lessons

Handling the News Conference

Invitations, Handling the Conference, After the Conference

Invitations

The invitation list should include all reporters who might be interested. It is better to invite too many than to omit some who may feel slighted. Invitations, which may take the form of a letter, should be mailed or faxed seven to ten days in advance. The telephone can be used if the conference is being scheduled on short notice. In any case, the invitation should state the time and place, the subject to be discussed, and the names of the principal spokespeople who will attend.

Invitations should be marked «RSVP» so that you can make appropriate decisions regarding the size of the meeting room, the number of press kits or other materials, and any special equipment that will be needed. Reporters are notorious for not responding to RSVPs, so it is usually necessary to phone them several days before the event as a reminder and to get a tentative answer.

Handling the Conference

It is important that a news conference be well organized, short, and punctual. It is not a symposium or a seminar. A news conference should run no more than an hour, and the statements by spokespeople should be relatively brief, allowing reporters time to ask questions.

You should brief your employers or clients on what they are going to say, how they are going to say it, and what visual aids will be used to illustrate the announcement. Reporters should receive copies of the text for each speech and other key materials such as slides, charts, and background materials. These are often given to reporters in the form of a press kit. Short bios with the accurate names and titles of the participants can be added to the press kit, as can general news releases.

Coffee, fruit juice, and rolls can be served prior to the opening of a morning news conference. Avoid trying to serve a luncheon or cocktails to reporters attending a news conference. They have deadlines and other assignments, they don’t have time to socialize.

After the Conference

At the conclusion of the news conference the spokespeople should remain in the room and be available for any reporters who need one-on-one interviews. This can be done in a quiet corner or in a room adjacent to the site.

As the public relations person, you should be readily accessible during the remainder of the day in case reporters need more information or think of other questions as they prepare their stories. You should know where the spokespeople are during the day and how they can be reached, just in case a reporter needs to check a quote or get another.

Another duty is to contact reporters who expressed interest but were ultimately unable to attend. You can offer to send them the printed materials from the news conference and, if you have recorded the news conference, offer excerpts of videotape or sound bites. Another possibility is to arrange a one-on-one interview with one of the spokespeople.


Vocabulary

bio биография
brief (v) инструктировать
chart схема, таблица, диаграмма
notorious печально известный, пользующийся дурной славой
omit пропускать
one-on-one interview личное интервью
prior to перед, предварительно
reminder напоминание
RSVP (abbr. of repondez, s’il vous plait) будьте любезны ответить
on short notice быстро, без предварительного уведомления
slight выказывать неуважение
socialize общаться
tentative предварительный
ultimately в конечном счете, в конечном итоге
visual aids визуальные средства

Exercises

1)    Find the English equivalents in the text. Use them in sentences of your own

  1. избегать ч.-л.
  2. задания
  3. включать в себя
  4. специальное оборудование
  5. отвечать на ч.-л.
  6. быть заинтересованным
  7. чувствовать себя обиженным
  8. отправить по почте или факсу
  9. заблаговременно
  10. сравнительно.

2)    Match the words

tentative release
press aids
news materials
visual kit
background answer

3) Find the words in the text which describe or mean the following

  1. not to include someone or something, either deliberately or because you forget to do it
  2. to offend someone by treating them rudely or without respect
  3. to spend time with other people in a friendly way
  4. to give someone all the information about a situation that they will need
  5. known for something bad —

4) Match the words which are close in their meaning

include indefinite
notorious mix
tentative infamous
slighted contain
socialize offended

5) Match the words having the opposite meaning

principal miss
notorious omit
attend certain
include renowned
tentative auxiliary

6)    Complete the following sentences

brief; marked; invite; run; omit; notorious;slighted

  1. It is better to_________too many than to_________some who may feel_________
  2. A new conference should_________no more than an hour.
  3. You should_________your employers or clients on what they are going to say.
  4. Reporters are_________for not responding to RSVP.
  5. Invitations should be_________RSVP.

7)    Insert prepositions if necessary

to; on; for

  1. prior_____smth.
  2. to brief smb._____smth.
  3. _____short notice
  4. to respond_____smth.
  5. to include_____smth.
  6. to be notorious _____smth.

8) Explain the grammatical structure of the sentence: It is important that a news conference be well organized.

Write down two sentences of your own with the same structure.

9)    Answer the following questions:

  1. Who should the invitation list include?
  2. When should invitations be mailed or faxed?
  3. When can the telephone be used?
  4. What should the invitation state in any case?
  5. What are reporters notorious for?
  6. How long should a news conference run?
  7. In what form are key materials given to reporters?
  8. What can be added to the press kit?

10)    Say what new facts and ideas you have learned from the texts about news conferences.

You may start like this:

  • I didn’t know that…
  • I knew… in general but…
  • The text mentioned… which was new to me…

11)    Develop the following statements

  1. It is not a symposium or a seminar
  2. They have deadlines and other assignments, they don’t have time to socialize.

12)    Write down one sentence summarizing the text.

13)    Translate the following text in written form

News Conferences by Satellite

The news conference of the 1990s is increasingly being done via satellite.

Johnson & Johnson set the standard in 1982 by calling a 30-city video news conference that attracted 500 journalists. The purpose was to announce the return of Tylenol with new tamperproof packaging after an unknown killer had put cyanide in eight of the old-style bottles.

‘ In addition to statements from Johnson & Johnson’s president and demonstrations of the new packaging, two-way audio was set up so that reporters in key cities could ask follow-up questions.

Sears used a satellite news conference to announce its plans to discontinue its famous mail order catalog and to close 113 of its stores. The news feed was used by 290 different stations.

Satellite news conferences are set up in much the same way that video news releases are sent to stations via satellite. Essentially, spokespeople give a news conference in a television studio, and the picture is uplinked to a satellite that distribu- ] tes the signal to dish antennae at newspapers and broadcast stations. Reporters can speak to the spokespeople via telephone.

14)    Render the following item in English

Желательно перед пресс-конференцией провести брифинг, на котором следовало бы обсудить, что говорить прессе, и вопросы, которые могут задавать журналисты. Это в большей степени способствовало бы успешному проведению пресс-конференции, однако нет необходимости доводить все до крайностей. (Однажды у председательствующего на пресс-конференции в конце напечатанного текста выступления были написаны ответы на ряд наиболее вероятных вопросов, которые ему могли задать из аудитории. К сожалению, председатель прочел до конца свою речь и не остановился, пока не зачитал и все ответы!) Совершенно нет необходимости в заблаговременной подготовке вопросов. Если после исчерпывающего выступления с трибуны в результате возникает мало вопросов, это нужно рассматривать как показатель успеха, а не как повод для каких-либо размышлений.

Если конференция назначена на 11 часов, то начаться она должна не позднее, чем через пять или десять минут, а выступления должны быть краткими, особенно если учесть, что будет немало вопросов. Часто по окончании мероприятия принято угощать журналистов напитками, а в некоторых случаях и ланчем в буфете. Если предполагается какое-нибудь угощение, об этом следует четко дать понять в приглашении.

Для срочного оповещения представителей печати о пресс-конференции можно лично известить редакторов отделов новостей по телефону или обратиться в информационные агентства с просьбой объявить место и время проведения пресс-конференции в материалах, рассылаемых в газеты по телетайпной связи.

Как правило, приглашение на пресс-конференцию высылается за неделю. В нем следует четко указать тему и, по возможности, имена основных докладчиков. Можно также сообщить некоторые подробности, которые могли бы убедить редактора в целесообразности освещения события, но дабы не отпала необходимость в присутствии на конференции, не следует слишком раскрывать тему. Разумеется, необходимо четко указать место, число и время проведения пресс-конференции.