[stylist] Yet more PR writing stuff: backgrounder examples

[Brad Dunse']

Thanks for all this Bridgit. I look forward to looking at these pieces.

Brad



On 9/25/2011  05:23 PM Bridgit Pollpeter said...
>Pasted and attached is info on what a backgrounder is, and how to draft
>one. Following are two examples of backgrounders. One I wrote for my
>internship, and the other is one I wrote for my chapter which is the
>nonprofit I used for a final project, again receiving an A for my grade.
>
>What is a backgrounder?
>A backgrounder is an informative piece providing as its name implies
>background on a specific issue. Backgrounders often accompany news
>releases to provide additional information not found in the news release
>or as part of a media kit.
>
>What is the purpose of a backgrounder?
>The object of a backgrounder is to answer any anticipated questions
>about a particular subject. The more you can provide information up
>front, the less scrambling you have to do when the media calls.  Well
>written and detailed backgrounders help reporters decide whether to
>cover the issue.
>
>How do you write a backgrounder?
>To write a backgrounder, you need to follow some basic guidelines:
>.       Be accurate and informative. Don't exaggerate. Only write what
>you can prove.
>.       Start with a concise declarative statement on the subject or
>topic.
>.       Follow the opening statement with a historical overview.
>.       Trace the subject's evolution-how it came to be-and the events
>leading up to it.
>.       Use outside information as support and cite your statements
>according to appropriate style guidelines of the target publication.
>.       Explain why the subject is important TODAY. State its
>significance and back that statement up.
>.       Use subheads where appropriate for easier reading.
>
>CONAGRA FOODS FOUNDATION
>Bridgit Pollpeter, public relations intern
>One ConAgra Drive
>OMAHA, NE 68102
>(402) 240-6258
>Bridgit.pollpeter at conagrafoods.com
>Backgrounder
>
>ConAgra Foods Strives to End Child Hunger
>
>
>ConAgra Inc. contributes funds and creative programming to assist
>nonprofit organizations in an effort to help struggling families across
>the globe.  With more than 17-million children suffering malnourishment,
>ConAgra has taken a stance to fight these statistics. Stocking 97
>percent of America's pantries, ConAgra Inc. believes it is important to
>give back. For more information, visit,
>http://www.conagrafoodsfoundation.org/.../nourish-today-flourish
>-tomorrow.jsp.
>ConAgra is one of the leading food retailers distributing products like
>Healthy Choice, Hunt's and Orville Redenbacher's.  Many know and love
>the delicious products ConAgra packages, but its supply of food reaches
>beyond feeding America's consumers.
>
>ConAgra's Nourish Today Flourish Tomorrow Foundation Program
>ConAgra is dedicated to ending hunger and providing educational programs
>that instill healthy eating habits for children.  Its Nourish Today
>Flourish Tomorrow program focuses on developing philanthropic efforts
>toward ending child hunger and enabling nutrition education programs,
>according to the ConAgra website.
>Through the Nourish Today Flourish Tomorrow platform program, ConAgra is
>committed to the following:
>.       Building a passion in communities to end child hunger.
>.       Ensuring children have the proper facts about health and
>nutrition.
>.       Raising awareness within families about nutrition.
>ConAgra partners with national and local nonprofit foundations such as
>Feeding America and Share Our Strength to create inovative methods to
>enact change towards health and nutrition.  It also works to develop
>educational opportunities within the local ConAgra family as well.
>
>Share Our Strengths Partnership With ConAgra
>Share Our Strengths' Cooking Matters Omaha is a program that provides
>nutrition information along with cooking classes to teach people the
>importance of healthy eating habits.  It is a groundbreaking
>nutrition-education program that connects families with food by teaching
>them how to prepare healthy, tasty meals on a limited budget, according
>to its Facebook page.
>"During the first class I attended, I was amazed by just how excited the
>children were to help prepare the whole-wheat banana pancakes," said
>Stephanie Childs, public affairs director for ConAgra Foods and Share
>Our Strengths Cooking Matters Omaha participant.  "While the parents
>seemed content to watch and listen, their children wanted nothing more
>than to be in the thick of things, stirring, chopping and mixing."
>
>Second Harvest's Partnership With ConAgra
>ConAgra has also partnered with Second Harvest, an organization devoted
>to funding food banks with food and money.  In August, ConAgra and
>Second Harvest kicked off their Full Kids Full Potential campaign along
>with High School Musical star, Monique Coleman.  Volunteers filled bags
>with donated food to be distributed by the Los Angeles Regional Food
>Bank.
>The event spotlighted the distribution increase food banks are
>experiencing nation wide.  The campaign is inspired by ConAgra's Nourish
>Today Flourish Tomorrow program that reinforces feeding kids well so
>they can reach their full potential, according to a news release by
>Second Harvest.
>Coleman designed exclusive Fight Childhood Hunger lunch bags, and the
>bags were handed out to the first 500 volunteers to pack shopping bags
>full of food products for the food bank.
>"Kids are getting ready to head back to school and it's important to
>ensure they have full stomachs with balanced meals they need to reach
>their full potential," said Coleman.  "I hope our efforts today inspire
>kids across the country to organize their own food drives to help hungry
>kids."
>
>ConAgra Helps Found Disaster Relief With American Red Cross
>In 1998, ConAgra became a founding member of the Red Cross Annual
>Disaster Giving program.  This program allows the Red Cross to tap into
>immediate resources and respond quickly during emergency situations.
>During the Haitian earthquakes last year, ConAgra donated $200,000 to
>the Red Cross during an appearance on the Ellen DeGeneres Show.
>"Because of the generosity of ConAgra Foods and other donors, people in
>Haiti can get the short term relief they need in the aftermath of the
>earthquake," said Jeff Towers, chief development officer of the American
>Red Cross.  "A donation of just $25 will provide a family of five in
>Haiti with a kitchen set that includes two cooking pots, a frying pan,
>bowls, plates, cups and utensils."
>
>ConAgra has established a legacy that instills the idea of charity in
>communities around the world.  Through its own programs and those it
>supports, ConAgra fights to stop child hunger, and in the process, it is
>reinforcing healthy lifestyles in families.  ConAgra is bringing
>awareness to the world through its philanthropic efforts.
>
>
>Information taken from the following:
>  "ConAgra Foods - Media Relations - News Release."
>http://foundation.conagrafoods.com/phoenix.zhtml?c=202310&p=irol-newsArt
>icle&ID=1008493&highlight=.
>.       "ConAgra Foods Foundation - Facebook."
>http://www.facebook.com/conagrafoodsfoundation.
>.       "ConAgra FoodsR Foundation Joines the Ellen Degeneres Show to
>Donate to the American Red Cross."
>http://www.redcross.org/www.-files/../conagraellenRedCrossDonation.pdf.
>.       "Actress Monique Coleman Joines America's Second Harvest and
>ConAgra Foods Foundationto Pack Lunchbags for Hungry Kids."
>http://www.feedingamerica.org/newsroom/press-releae.../monique-coleman.a
>spx.
>.       "ConAgra Foods Foundation."
>http://www.conagrafoodsfoundation.org/.../nourish-today-flourish
>-tomorrow.jsp.
>
>As the philanthropic arm of ConAgra Foods, a leading food company, we
>support worthy causes that reflect the company's social responsibility
>efforts.  The key focus areas of our foundation are child hunger and
>nutrition education.  We work to ensure children have access to both
>food and facts about food to eat nutritiously, to live balanced
>lifestyles, and to succeed in school and life.
>National Federation of the Blind-Omaha
>Breaking Barriers for the Blind
>Bridgit Pollpeter, director, media relations
>PO Box 241171, Omaha, NE 68124
>(402) 350-1735 Omaha at NE.NFB.org
>Backgrounder
>Breaking Barriers for the Blind
>NFB-Omaha Works to Ensure Equality and Independence for all blind People
>
>The National Federation of the Blind-Omaha chapter (NFB-Omaha) has spent
>the last 40 years creating an environment of equality for the blind in
>its community.  Through education, advocacy and fundraising events,
>NFB-Omaha is changing what it means to be blind.
>
>The NFB was founded in 1940 by Dr. Jacobus Tembroek and Dr. Kenneth
>Jernigan.  For centuries, blind people were not afforded the same
>opportunities as most sighted people.  Expectations were low, and blind
>people were taught to accept perceived limitations.  The NFB was
>established in an attempt to organize the blind to seek and define their
>own opportunities.
>
>The motto for the NFB is: "With proper training and a positive attitude,
>blindness can be reduced to a mere physical inconvenience."  The NFB is
>now the world's largest and oldest advocacy group of the blind.  An
>integral aspect of the organization is that they are blind people
>advocating for themselves.
>
>The NFB is a national group with state affiliates and local chapters.
>Eventually, the organization developed divisions catering to specific
>interest.  Founded in 1971, NFB-Omaha changed its name from the
>Tri-County chapter to the NFB-Omaha chapter in the mid-1980s.
>
> From its inception, NFB-Omaha's priority has been to promote the
>independence of the blind and seek equality.  During the early years of
>NFB-Omaha, members focused their efforts on employment and the
>restructuring of The Nebraska Commission for the Blind and Visually
>Impaired (NCBVI).
>
>White Cane Banquet
>The NFB is relentless in demanding equality for the blind in employment.
>In the early days of the organization, most doors were closed to blind
>people because it was believed they could not efficiently manage the
>task of most jobs.  Through educational outreach and legislation, the
>NFB has helped to give blind people an equal foot to step ahead in the
>world and pursue whatever employment they dreamed of.
>
>Following suit, NFB-Omaha created its White Cane Banquet in 1988.  The
>banquet concentrates on promoting the employment of the blind by
>honoring local employers who hire blind people as well as providing
>necessary accommodations.
>
>Twenty-three years later, the White Cane Banquet is still an annual
>event encouraging employment for the blind, but it is also the biggest
>fundraising event for the chapter.  Funds raised go toward an academic
>scholarship offered annually during the Nebraska affiliate's convention.
>The chapter also offers programs cultivating independence among the
>blind through various activities, both educational and social.
>
>In 2009, the Board of Directors for NFB-Omaha decided to revamp the
>White Cane Banquet.  While the banquet still recognizes local employers,
>the main focus is on education.  Organizers select a theme each year
>spotlighting an issue important to the group.  NFB-Omaha hopes to
>develop more changes in an effort to establish the banquet as a
>fundraiser instead of an outreach event.
>
>Restructuring the Nebraska Commission for the Blind and Visually
>Impaired
>In the 1970s, NFB-Omaha was instrumental in restructuring the Nebraska
>Services for the Blind, which is now the Nebraska Commission for the
>Blind and Visually Impaired (NCBVI).
>
>Initially, NCBVI concentrated on services to help people retain vision.
>Knowing this was not a practical goal, the NFB worked with the state
>government to develop a program that could offer services to those who
>were unable to retain vision.
>
>
>In 1974, due in large part to members of NFB-Omaha, NCBVI hired Dr.
>James Nyman, who is blind himself, as director for the agency.  Dr.
>Nyman sought the help of the Iowa Department for the Blind, and NCBVI
>adopted the "Iowa Model," which focused on teaching alternative skills
>such as Braille and white cane mobility along with instilling a
>positive, independent attitude.
>
>Many blind Nebraskans have experienced the positive results of these
>modifications.  The Iowa Model employs the Structured Discovery method
>developed by Dr. Jernigan who served as director for the Iowa Department
>for the Blind from 1958 to 1971.  This method teaches fundamental skills
>that can be applied to any situation.  The goal is complete confidence
>and independence in oneself.
>
>NFB-Omaha Today
>As NFB-Omaha has grown, it has created committees to focus on specific
>efforts.  The Outreach Committee works to promote the primary goal of
>the organization, which is educating communities about the capabilities
>of the blind and issues important to the NFB.  The Membership Committee
>seeks new members and provides material about the organization and
>blindness, which includes partnering veteran members with new members,
>acting as mentors.  The Fundraising Committee focuses on events and
>activities that bring in funding.  The White Cane Banquet Committee
>works to coordinate the banquet each year.
>
>NFB-Omaha strives to spend another 40 years fighting for equality and
>educating about blindness.  Members of the chapter are involved in
>different areas of the NFB as well as their communities.  Each step they
>take breaks more barriers, allowing blind people to seek opportunities
>in employment, education and personal life.
>
>Information taken from the following:
>
>http://www.nfb.org/
>
>Vetter, Hank. April 16, 2011. (Email interview), w0egn at cox.net
>
>Newman, Robert. April 16, 2011. (Email interview), newmanrl at cox.net
>
>Sincerely,
>Bridgit Kuenning-Pollpeter
>Read my blog at:
>http://blogs.livewellnebraska.com/author/bpollpeter/
>
>"History is not what happened; history is what was written down."
>The Expected One- Kathleen McGowan
>
>
>_______________________________________________
>Writers Division web site:
>http://www.nfb-writers-division.net <http://www.nfb-writers-division.org/>
>
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Brad Dunse

He who angers you controls you -- Proverbs

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