[stylist] Importance of PR and media specialist

[Bridgit Pollpeter]

It is great the journalist decided to include info that supported
Braille literacy and what the NFB works for.  Anyone familiar with
journalism and PR knows you usually report straight facts and don't
include your own views or opinions.  It's good we have people like Donna
creating and sending news releases that focus on how important NFB goals
and causes are.

One of the first things I noticed while reading the article was that her
blindness was not a huge part of the story.  It was not about the
amazing, brave blind child.  Had the journalist reported on this story
without a good news release from Donna, it may not have had such a spin
on it.

People don't always understand why something like a news release is so
important and vital to any promotion.  It would be nice if each
affiliate assigned a volunteer to work specifically on PR since it is a
huge, important part of what we do.  With strong, well-written news
releases, we not only get our message out there, we have control in how
the Federation and our goals are presented.  While we can't offer
financial compensation , it seems important for each affiliate to have a
PR specialist to handle these type of things.  At the very least, a
director of media relations and PR would be able to write and distribute
news releases and pitch stories giving an affiliate more control over
how its events and activities are covered.  We have the team at
National, but they have a lot to do at the National level with both the
Jernigan Institute and NFB.  Assigning a person in each affiliate would
help states have someone locally to handle the media and PR.

Thanks Donna for all your hard work. 

Bridgit Kuenning-Pollpeter
Editor, Slate & Style
Publication of the National Federation of the Blind
NFB-Writers division website:
 <http://www.nfb-writers-division.> http://www.nfb-writers-division.net

Message: 15
Date: Thu, 4 Aug 2011 10:54:13 -0600
From: Dan Burke <burke.dall at gmail.com>
To: "Writer's Division Mailing List" <stylist at nfbnet.org>
Subject: Re: [stylist] Youth writing contest PR update
Message-ID:
	
<CAKpRUTW6xuPyd_xsLhj-vg+YBTVdqe06W8M+iGCd6W-NUbSkrg at mail.gmail.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1

Nothing beats a good press release!


On 8/4/11, Donna Hill <penatwork at epix.net> wrote:
> Hi Shawn,
> Well, as to the reporter getting it ... This is an excellent example 
> of the value of a press release. I will copy below what I sent (minus 
> the contact
> info) and you can see for yourself that much of the article is taken
> directly from the press release, including the part about the NFB and
the
> Jernigan Institute, which appears at the bottom of all NFB press
releases
> including mine. Nonetheless, the reporter decided to include the
> information, which they don't all do, so kudos to her.
> Donna
> Block quote
> Blind Ellijay Middle School Student Wins First Prize in National
Writing
> Contest
>
> Ellijay, Georgia, (July 8, 2011): Isabel Nieves (13, Ellijay) has won 
> first prize in the middle school poetry category of the Youth Writing 
> Contest of the nonprofit National Federation of the Blind (NFB) 
> Writers' Division. Isabel, who will be attending Clear Creek Middle 
> School this fall, is the daughter of Ramon Nieves, who has been with 
> Home Depot in Blue Ridge for 20 years, and Elizabeth Nieves, who is a 
> stay-at-home Mom. The announcement was made Tuesday at the NFB's 
> annual convention in Orlando, Florida.
>
> Isabel, who loves music (especially the classics like Doris Day), is a

> singer and self-taught pianist. She won first place for her solo 
> performance of "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" this past year at Gilmer 
> Middle School. She occasionally sings with the Good Samaritan Catholic

> Church choir. She is an excellent Braille reader and loves reading all

> kinds of books (especially mysteries and Nancy Drew), which she 
> borrows from the National Library Service for the Blind & Physically 
> Handicapped. Her winning entry is "Directions to Music Land."
>
> Isabel was born premature at 24 weeks and weighed just one pound eight

> ounces. "She's definitely a miracle," her Dad says.
>
> She suffered a lack of oxygen and has Retinopathy of Prematurity 
> (ROP), the most common cause of blindness in children. Despite four 
> surgeries, she is totally blind.
>
> The annual contest promotes Braille literacy and excellence in 
> creative writing. Despite strong evidence that Braille literacy 
> significantly improves a blind person's ability to obtain employment 
> and advanced degrees, only ten percent of America's blind children are

> taught to read it.
>
> Contestants were required to hand emboss their entries using either 
> the slate and stylus or a Braille writer (no computer generated 
> Braille was accepted). Entries were judged on creativity and quality 
> of Braille. The NFB Writers' Division encourages all blind people to 
> adopt a "can-do" attitude and learn the skills that will enable them 
> to live full, productive and independent lives.
>
> "We are all impressed and delighted with Isabel's creativity and 
> Braille skills," said Robert Leslie Newman, president of the NFB 
> Writers' Division, "and we are thankful for the support she is 
> receiving at home and in school."
>
> Isabel will receive a cash prize of $25 and the chance to be published

> in "Slate and Style," the quarterly literary magazine of the NFB 
> Writers'
> Division:
> www.nfb-writers-division.net/
>
> The Nieves family has two other children: Emily (14) and Raymond (7).
>
> ###
> About the National Federation of the Blind: With more than 50,000 
> members, the National Federation of the Blind is the largest and most
influential
> membership organization of blind people in the United States.   The
NFB
> improves blind people's lives through advocacy, education, research, 
> technology, and programs encouraging independence and self-confidence.

> It is the leading force in the blindness field today and the voice of 
> the nation's blind.  In January 2004 the NFB opened the National 
> Federation of the Blind Jernigan Institute, the first research and 
> training center in the United States for the blind led by the blind.
> Block quote end