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JOURNALISM 370 APRIL 25,2011
LAW AND FEATURE WRITING
HOW CAN YOU GET SUED
• Wri?ng misleading press releases • Making misleading or false product/service claims
• Crea?ng front groups • Insider trading • Invasion of privacy • Misrepresen?ng earnings • Conspiracy
REAL WORLD BACKGROUND I WISH I KNEW WHEN I WAS IN SCHOOL
• The key is avoiding lawsuits. • You may be legally correct. It might not maXer.
• Lawsuits are costly…even if you win. • Waivers are your friend.
• WriXen correspondence is your friend
• When in doubt, ask.
Libel and Defama?on
• Here’s how you prove it. – Statement was broadcast or published.
– You can ID who wrote it. – Actual injury occurred…that includes losing cash. – Publisher was negligent or acted with malice.
Libel and Defama?on
• Different proofs required for “public figures” • Corpora?ons are considered public figures • Truth is defense against defama?on charge
FAIR COMMENT… GET OUT OF TROUBLE CARD
• Opinions are protected as long as cri?cism is done with honest inten?on and a lack of malice.
• Protects cri?cal comments of execu?ves • Protect yourself when wri?ng cri?cism – Accompany opinion with facts on which it’s based. – AXribute quoted opinion to an individual – Review context of surrounding language for defama?on
AVOIDING DEFAMATION SUITS
• #1 rule: Watch your language • Choose innocuous language when talking about personnel issues – We wish them well in their future endeavors.
• Avoid unflaXering representa?ons of compe?tors
INVASION OF PRIVACY
• Employees don’t waive their right to privacy • Employee newsleXers – Avoid anything that might embarrass employees
– Focus on organiza?on-‐related ac?vi?es • Photos of employees – Implied consent for “news” use, not promo?on
– Maintain photo records
INVASION OF PRIVACY
• Use of photos/quotes in publicity or adver?sing – Need signed consent to use photos or quotes in promo?onal
materials • Media inquiries about employees
– Only provide confirma?on of employment, ?tle and job descrip?on, date of employment beginning and end
– Don’t provide address, marital status, number of kids, job performance or salary
– Serve as liaison between reporter and employee • Employee blogs
– Prohibit comments about other employees and confiden?al product informa?on
– Employee guidelines for virtual online communi?es
COPYRIGHT LAW
• Protec?on of “fixed” works in any “tangible medium.” Yes, this includes digital.
• Work is automa?cally copyrighted the moment it is “fixed.”
• Work can be formally copyrighted through Library of Congress, but registra?on isn’t required for protec?on
COPYRIGHT LAW HOW TO BE SAFE
• Fair use allows you to quote part of a copyrighted ar?cle, but brief enough not to harm the original work
• Social Media makes this an evolving jungle.
• When in doubt, ask.
• When in doubt, have a waiver.
COPYRIGHT LAW HOW TO BE SAFE
• You can’t copyright ideas. • You can copyright the expression of those ideas.
• Copyright your PR content. That’s why you hire lawyers.
COPYRIGHT LAW
• Fair use – AXributed quoted material that is brief compared to the en?re work
– Permission required when used for promo?on. • Photography – Photographers retain ownership of their work – Nego?ate use carefully
• Work for hire – When working as an employee, copyright belongs to organiza?on
• Digital material protected by copyright
TRADEMARK
• Trademark is a word, symbol, or slogan iden?fying a product
• Trademarks are proper adjec?ves • Trademarks should not be pluralized or used as verbs
• PR plays an important role in protec?ng trademarks
• Unauthorized use of celebri?es is misappropria?on of personality
PEOPLE WHO CAN MAKE YOUR LIFE MISERABLE
• Federal Trade Commission (FTC) – Regulates adver?sing – Protects consumer from decep?on – Look for unsubstan?ated and misleading claims
PEOPLE WHO CAN MAKE YOUR LIFE MISERABLE
• Securi?es and Exchange Commission (SEC) – Monitors publicly traded companies
– Monitor public disclosure and insider trading – Disclose in a ?mely fashion anything that might affect stock value
PEOPLE WHO CAN MAKE YOUR LIFE MISERABLE
• Federal Communica?ons Commission (FCC) – Licenses radio and TV sta?ons – Assures airwaves are used in public interest – Ruled on VNRs
• Food and Drug Administra?on (FDA) – Oversees promo?on of drugs and cosme?cs – Provides guidelines for publicity on health care
• Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms (BATF) Regulates alcohol promo?on – watch claims about health benefits
LET’S AVOID A LAWSUIT
• You’re doing PR for Costco. • The VP has just been fired for embezzling money.
• The media calls you asking for informa?on.
• What can you tell them?
LET’S TALK FEATURE WRITING
WHY WRITE A FEATURE IN THE FIRST PLACE
• Features provide addi?onal background • Generate human interest
• Create understanding in an imagina?ve way
• Features are more sol in nature and not as ?me sensi?ve
• They provide more informa?on, a behind-‐the-‐scenes perspec?ve, and generate publicity
• Features get more focus in Sunday papers.
LET’S PLAN A FEATURE
• Is the subject worth a feature? – The subject doesn’t have to be human
• Will it be useful to your target audience?
• Does it meet organiza?onal objec?ves?
If the answer to any of these ques0ons is no, consider another wri0ng style
LET’S PLAN A FEATURE
• The bad news is developing a feature requires crea?vity
• The good news is ideas are everywhere. • How do pitch a feature can be different. – Distribute a general feature to several media outlets
– Write an exclusive feature and pitch to a single person
– Post the feature on your Web site
TYPES OF FEATURES
• Case study • Third-‐party party endorsement
• Applica?on story…How to use a product or service in a new, innova?ve way
• Research study – Surveys or polls that examine things such as lifestyles
TYPES OF FEATURES
• Backgrounder – A problem and how it was solved
• Personality profile – Humanize an interes?ng person
• Historical piece • Milestones allow reflec?on on an organiza?on’s history
FEATURE ELEMENTS DIFFERENT THAN A NEWS RELEASE
• Headline – Informa?onal headlines summarize – Allitera?ve headlines raise curiosity – You can rely more in emo?on and adjec?ves
• Lead – Feature leads pique readers’ interest – You don’t need a summary lead – You do need to focus on what’s most important – What’s most important may not be facts
FEATURE ELEMENTS DIFFERENT THAN A NEWS RELEASE
• Body – Features are longer than straight news releases – They’re meant to be read from beginning to end – They should include quotes, illustra?ons and other illustra?ve elements
– The last line is almost as important as the first line…
FEATURE ELEMENTS DIFFERENT THAN A NEWS RELEASE
• Placement – Newspapers, especially sec?ons that are not ?me-‐sensi?ve (e.g., lifestyle, food, automo?ve)
– Specialty magazines are a beXer pitching op?on.
– Blogs can be – Because a feature shelf life is longer, I would put your items on the web.
– Pay to play publica?on
Let’s write a feature lead
• The Florida Grapefruit Growers Associa?on has announced that this year’s crop is larger than last year’s, and greater availability will mean lower prices for the consumer.
Let’s write a feature lead
• The na?onal office of tourism for Canada says the country is a good travel bargain because the Canadian dollar is weak against the American dollar.
LET’S TALK LETTERS TO EDTIOR
WHY WRITE ONE?
• Allow PR to reach opinion leaders • Op-‐ed authors are perceived as experts on the issue
• Op-‐eds are exclusives OP-‐eds are controlled media.
This is rare in media rela0ons and publicity
WHY WRITE ONE?
• These can talk about policy. • These can promote events more blatantly.
• You’re worried the reporter will screw the story up.
OP-‐eds are controlled media.
This is rare in media rela0ons and publicity
OP ED IDEAS
• 750 words max for an op ed. • You need to have one main idea.
• Hit it early, and don’t veer off course. • Short powerful sentences • You need facts to verify your claims.
OP ED IDEAS
• Don’t say, “I think.” State it. – I thinks this is a bad idea. – This is a bad idea.
• Don’t send out op eds in bulk. • Do call an editor to see if a paper takes them.
LETTER TO THE EDITOR DIFFERENCES
• They are shorter (200-‐500 words) • You react to news and should state what sparked the leXer.
• State the theme of your leXer aler saying why you are wri?ng
• A leXer to the editor is a counter punch. An Op ed can be an aXacking punch.