[stylist] Tips for PR writing

[Bridgit Pollpeter]

Hello,

Since our last call-in meeting was on journalistic and public relations
writing, I thought I would post some tips to follow when constructing PR
material like news/press releases, web stories, pitch letters, etc.; and
anyone interested in journalism would follow the same tips.  These are
AP Style Guide tips and are taken from a PR writing book.  Enjoy.

Associated Press Style Guide

According to: Use "according to" only when attributing information to
documents or written sources.  Do not use it to refer to people. (See
Said entry.)  Example:
According to a report by the Consumer Safety Commission, wearing seat
belts will not prevent drivers from being abducted by aliens.

Addresses: Abbreviate Blvd., Ave. and St. (remember them with the
acronym BAS or ABS) when used with a numbered address only. Spell them
out and capitalize when not part of a numbered address. Similar words
such as alley, drive, road, terrace, etc. are always spelled out, even
if they're part of a numbered address. Examples:
	The president lives at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave.
	I wish I lived on Pennsylvania Avenue. 
	Be grateful you don't live in an alley.
	I live at 6120 Gasoline Alley.
Always use figures for address numbers, as in 1212 Mulberry Lane. Spell
out and capitalize First through Ninth when used as street names, as in
712 Fifth Ave. Use figures with two letters for 10th and above, as in
110 32nd Ave. Abbreviate compass points that are part of a numbered
address, as in 210 E. Mockingbird Drive. Do not abbreviate if the number
is omitted, as in East 12th Street.

Ages: Always use figures. Ages written as adjectives before a noun or as
a substitute for a noun require hyphens. Examples:
	My 6-year-old speaks fluent Spanish and French.
	My nephew, 6, plays the piano, paints and reads Proust.
There is one exception to this rule. If an age begins the sentence,
spell it out, as in: Six-year-olds in some families are very talented.

Cents: Spell out and lower case using numerals for amounts less than a
dollar, as in: 5 cents, 12 cents, etc. Use the $ sign and decimal system
for larger amounts, as in $1.25. 

Children: Do not use "kids" when referring to boys and girls under age
13. It is still considered slang. You may, however, use kids if it is
part of a direct quote. Examples:
	Many children name Halloween as one of their favorite holidays.
"Kids frequently get an upset stomach from too much candy," Dr. Frank
Frankenstein said.

Commas: Commas do two things - they separate and clarify. They cause the
reader to pause. When using a comma, ask yourself whether you want your
reader to pause. There is never a reason to put a comma between the
subject of the sentence and the verb, as in: The dog, ate my homework.
Set off non-essential phrases with commas, as in: The dog, which was
very hungry, ate my homework. Essential phrases are words that are
critical to the reader's understanding of the sentence and are not
separated by commas. In most cases, commas are used when a conjunction
(and, but, for) links two phrases that could stand alone, as in: The dog
ate my homework, and he was desperately sick for several hours. Commas
also separate lists of things. Do not, however, use a comma after the
last item in a list and the conjunction. Example:
	The dog turned blue, gagged and choked on my homework.

Composition titles: Titles of books, computer games (but not software
titles), movies, operas, plays, poems, songs, TV programs, lectures,
speeches and works of art should be placed in quotation marks, as in:
"Gone With the Wind"
and the "CBS Evening News." The Bible and books that are primarily
catalogs of reference are exempt from this rule. The names of newspapers
are also exempt. Typically, avoid quotation marks around a newspaper,
as: the Omaha World-Herald. (See the newspaper names entry in your style
book for more information about newspaper names.) Capitalize the
principal words in a title including prepositions and conjunctions of
four or more letters. Example:
	"Ode to Joy" is one of my favorite musical selections.
	We had to memorize selections from Walt Whitman's "Leaves of
Grass."

Dates: Always use Arabic figures without st, nd, rd, or th, as in March
30.

Days of the week: Capitalize. Never abbreviate except in tabular form
for charts. Example:
	It's another manic Monday.
But never, ever on a Sunday, a Sunday, a Sunday 'cuz that's my day of
rest.

Dollars: Use figures and the $ sign except in casual references or
amounts without a figure. For specified amounts, the word takes a
singular verb. Examples:
	Give me $200 and I will take your AP style quiz for you.
	Are you crazy - do you think I'm made of dollars?
For amounts over $1 million, use the $ sign and numerals up to two
decimal places, as in: The vintage "AP Stylebook" was worth $1.4
million. Do not use hyphens between the numeral and the word. 

Dimensions: Use figures and spell out inches, feet, yards, etc., to
indicate depth, height, length and width. Hyphenate if used as an
adjective or noun replacement. Examples:
Darth Vadar is more than 6 feet tall and makes Yoda, at 3 feet 2 inches,
look even shorter. Fortunately, the 3-foot Yoda always has the force
with him.

Months: Capitalize in all uses. When a month is used with a specific
date, you can abbreviate Jan., Feb., Aug., Sept., Oct., Nov. and Dec.
Never abbreviate March, April, May, June or July. (Remember these as the
JJAMM months - June, July, April, March and May.) When a phrase lists
only a month and year don't separate the year with commas. When a phrase
refers to a month, day and year, set off the year with commas. Examples:
	Many famous people were born on May 19.
	I wonder how many babies were born on Jan. 1, 2000.

Names: Use complete first and last names in the first reference, as in
John Doe. Use just last names in all subsequent references. Do not use
courtesy titles such as Mr., Mrs. and Miss. (Dr. is also considered a
courtesy title and should not be used after the first reference.)
Especially avoid flowery adjectives around names, such as: The highly
esteemed, incredibly brilliant and stunningly beautiful Martha Stewart
will demonstrate techniques for folding napkins. After editors vomit in
the nearest wastebasket, they will delete all your glowing adjectives.

Numbers: (listed under Numerals in stylebook) Spell out numbers one
through nine, except if they refer to age, dimensions, money or percent.
Use numerals for numbers 10 and above. If a number starts a sentence,
spell out. A calendar year, however, can be written as numerals even to
start a sentence. Spell out casual expressions. Examples:
2001 will end with a bang during a special concert by the Omaha
Symphony.
More than 100 schoolchildren will play kazoos as part of the concert.
Twenty French poodles will bark in unison during the symphony's
rendition of "Four Seasons Suite."	

Percent: Written as one word. Always use numerals unless it begins the
sentence. Use a singular verb when standing alone or when a singular
word follows "of." Use a plural verb when a plural word follows "of."
Examples:
	Almost 100 percent of the students were captivated by learning
AP style.
	Ninety percent begged to learn more about AP style.
The remaining 10 percent of the students were still thinking about
French poodles barking in unison. 

Ph.D.: This is an academic title that refers to an advanced degree. The
preferred form, however, is to say that someone holds a doctorate in and
then name the individual's degree of specialty.

Quotations: Use quotation marks around direct quotes. Commas and periods
always go inside quotation marks. Other punctuation marks may go inside
or outside, depending on the meaning.  Avoiding partial quotes is best.
Examples:
	"Why are you sobbing hysterically, Ann?" Greg asked.
"Because you forgot my birthday again, but you always remember your
car's birthday! You get presents for your car, but you never get me
anything!" Ann answered between sobs.
"But, angel face, my car needed those fluorescent seat covers," Greg
explained as Ann walked away. 

Said: Use this past tense form of attribution in news stories and press
releases. The present tense "says" should be reserved for feature
stories and only used when you want to make the story seem more
immediate to the reader. Examples:
	Police said someone dressed in a clown suit robbed McDonald's.
Witnesses say it was not Ronald McDonald. 

Spokesman/spokeswoman: Do not use spokesperson. Use either spokesman or
spokeswoman depending on gender, as in: Dan Cisar, spokesman for the
Omaha Police Department. 

States: Spell out the names of all 50 states when they stand alone.
Abbreviate states names according to AP style, not post office
abbreviations, when coupled with the name of a city.  Eight states are
not abbreviated when listed after a city. They are: Alaska, Hawaii,
Idaho, Iowa, Maine, Ohio, Texas and Utah. Datelines and party
affiliations differ, so refer to the book. Use a comma to separate the
city and state and another comma after the state. Examples:
	There's no place at all like Nebraska, dear old Nebraska U.
	Has anyone from Omaha, Neb., ever been elected president?
If you're campaigning for president in Nebraska and Iowa, there are
several good restaurants in Norfolk, Neb., and Atlantic, Iowa.

Temperature: Use figures for all except zero. Use the word, not a minus
sign, for temperatures below zero. Temperatures get higher or lower;
they do not get colder or warmer. Examples:
	The day's low was minus 32, so school was canceled.
	The temperature rose to zero by noon, but the wind made it feel
colder.
In my day, we had to walk six miles to school, even when the temperature
was minus 62!

Time: Use figures except for noon and midnight. Use a colon to separate
hours from minutes. Use lowercase letters and periods for a.m. and p.m.
Examples:
	Vampires work from midnight to 6:15 a.m.
	I'd love vampire hours - I work from 8 p.m. to 8 a.m. 

Titles: Capitalize only formal titles before a name. Formal titles
denote scope of authority, professional activity or academic
accomplishment. Short titles work best before names; long titles belong
after an individual's name. Examples:
President Clinton said he did not have sex with that woman.
Stacy Smith, executive vice president of the Nebraska chapter of
Citizens for a Moral Government, said she did not believe Clinton.
White House intern Kyle Watson told reporters he never had a problem
with the president. ("Intern" isn't an official title.)

Weights: Use figures and spell out. Use a hyphen if used as an
adjective. Examples:
If you eat 100 candy bars every day for one month, you could end up
weighing 300 pounds!
The 10-pound box of chocolates was gone in no time, but I had a lot of
help eating it.

Youth: Refers to males and females between 13 and 18 years old. You may
also use the word teen.