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WELCOME TO THE WORLD OF PUBLIC RELATIONS
D
Finding News
Now that you understand wha.t constitutes news, you should have a good framework as you go about the process of finding news.
Internal News Sources
The first step is to become totally familiar with the organization you are representing. This would include the organization's purpose and objectives, its products or services, the corporate philosophy and its key policies, the organizations chart, the history and background of the organization, its annual revenues, its key markets, its major competitors, and its relative position in the market. To get this information, you must study the organization closely and keep up with changes, you must also play the role of reporter by moving around in the organization. Talk to a variety of people, ask a lot of questions, and constantly be on the lookout for something new or different. News stories don't necessarily come to you; you must come to the stories. Other people may have no awareness of the news value of an event or a situation, so you must be alert to clues and hints as well as hard facts.
A new source of a raw material may represent merely costs and quantities to the purchasing agent but may lead you to several stories. For example, a new fiber might change the characteristics of a textile, with interesting consequences for clothing manufacturers, consumers, designers, and fashion writers.
A change in work schedules may affect traffic and thus be important to the community. Personnel changes and promotions may interest editors of business and trade papers. A new contract, which means hiring new employees, might be important to the regional economy. By the same token, the loss of a major contract — and its implications for the employees and community — also qualifies as significant news.
External News Sources
You must read, listen to, and watch the news for events or situations that may affect your organization.
Public relations writers and personnel should be constantly on the alert for events or situations that can be applied to the employer or client. Other sources of information, in addition to the general press, are census reports, national polls, trade media, financial analyst reports, sales figures for entire industries, and updates on competitors.
□ Notes
People — популярный еженедельник, содержащий короткие заметки и множество фотоматериалов о людях, которые часто появляются в новостях или на экранах телевизора, о популярных спортсменах, кинозвездах, представителях высшего света. Издается в Нью-Йорке, основан в 1974 г. IBM— International Business Machines Corp — компания по производству электронной техники и программного обеспечения. Правление компании находится в г. Армонк, шт. Нью-Йорк, где была создана первая ЭВМ.