GUIDE FOR TAKING A PRESS RELEASE OR OTHER BASIC PR STYLE WRITEUP AND TURNING IT INTO A STORY.
How to take a press release or other form of developed story idea and build a deeper, richer new/feature story around it.
A. THE PRESS RELEASE
This provides the meat and bones for a story that needs interviews, context, more depth and color while embracing various human interest angles associated with the sinews of the basic story.
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Date: July 11, 2022
Re: Press Release – Developing local news story
Dear Editor,
Youth scuba divers from Alameda and and our Sister City in Dumaguete, Philippines, will be conducting reef surveys and coral restoration in Dumaguete starting this month. Leading this 10-day, first-time expedition of young citizen-scientists involving Sister Cities is our partner, Blue Endeavors.
The goal of this partnership is to engage international youth in the advocacy and leadership of becoming better stewards of our oceans. Interested high-school and college-aged students recruited through sister city relationships are trained and supervised by Blue Endeavors to conduct annual hands-on reef survey and reconstruction projects.
Following the completion of this July expedition, the partnership will be connecting with all levels of schools in Alameda to prepare for a much larger expedition of student divers to return to Dumaguete in the summer of 2023. The support for such participation will come in part from scholarships and grants through fund-raising efforts. The Alameda Sister City Association and Blue Endeavors are hoping that following the 2023 Dumaguete expedition, we will inviting a large number of other Sister Cities to sponsor youth divers for similar projects at other well known diving “Hubs” scattered throughout our oceans and seas.
Native Alamedan Mila Robles-Wong, a graduate of Encinal, NEA and Earhart, will be part of the dive team representing our island city this year. Mila was a part of the then Mayor Trish Spencer’s delegation that visited Dumaguete a few years back, and Mila remembers the clear warm waters and swimming with Whale Sharks that year.
Our partner in Dumaguete is Silliman University, from which student divers have been recruited. Further, this program has been a project of the ASCA Dumaguete Sister City Committee, Flor Ventanilla, Chairperson and Cynthia Bonta (past President, ASCA).
Michael Robles-Wong
ASCA Board member
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EXAMINE THE ABOVE PRESS RELEASE AND IDENTIFY:
a) VARIOUS ANLGES IT SUGGESTS FOR YOUR DEVELOPMENT
b) SOURCES YOU WOULD NEED TO INTERVIEW TO DEVELOP THOSE ANGLES
c) QUESTIONS YOU WILL DRAFT AS STARTING FOCI FOR THE SPECIFIC SOURCE
d) Write a lede in hard news style based on the press release. Consider that you will likely replace it with a human interest angle lede after you have interviewed sources for the story.
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SAMPLE OUTLINE FOR DEVELOPING THE PRESS RELEASE AND ASSOCIATED STORY ANGLES INTO A COMPREHENSIVE STORY OF INTEREST (do not read this until you have done the above on your own. It will give you a sense of angles
1. Write the lede
(Warning! Never start a lede with “when” – ie “On June 22….” . Instead, open with a who/what lede or what/who lede as a general rule of thumb)
Sample hard news lede: (one type of opening)
Youth Scuba divers from Alameda and its sister city, Dumaguete, Phillipines, took to July’s warm, tropical waters six miles off the coast of the city to conduct reef surveys and coral restoration as part of an educational program sponsored by Alameda’s Blue Endeavors.
Sample experiential, color based news lede: (second type of opening)
Sixteen year old Alamedan, Mila Robles Wong, could not believe her eyes as two Whale Sharks swam within six feet of her on her first scuba dive adventure to survey and help restore coral reefs in the 45 foot deep blue waters off of Alameda’s Sister City, Dumaguete Phillipines in July of this year.
2. FOLLOW LEDE WITH REACTION QUOTE AS SHOWN IN ‘ANATOMY OF A NEWS STORY CHART
“ ——————-“ she said recounting her……..
3. DEVELOP THE ‘WHAT’ FURTHER IN A FOLLOW UP PARAGRAPH:
Mina’s experience was part of a 10 day venture, hosted by Alameda’s Blue Endeavors (dive shop// program?) that provided sixteen youngsters their first immersion and deep dive into a new world of submerged exploration and discovery, part of a mission to teach youths around the world to become better stewards of our oceans.
4. PROVIDE MORE QUOTES , CONTEXT, BACKGROUND THAT TIE TO THE ‘FOLLOW GRAPH ABOVE
5. USE THE PRESS RELEASE TO IDENTIFY IMPORTANT SOURCES RELATED TO DEVELOPING ANGLES OF THE STORY
a) Interview two youth participants reactions/revelations from Alameda youth divers
Interview two more from Phillipines (partnership, newfound friends and alliance) youth divers
b) Interview program/project dive leader
6. USE THE PRESS RELASE AND YOUR IMAGINATION TO DERIVE MORE ANGLES AND SOURCES TO ROUND OUT THE STORY
NUTS AND BOLTS OF THE EXPERIENCE (journal like)
BACKGROUND ON PROJECT ORIGINS & touch on sister city program (INCL veteran visitor Mila R W. )
Silliman Univ sources
Interview Spencer
ACCOMPLISHMENTS, LESSONS LEARNED, HOPES AND PROSPECTS FOR THE FUTURE esp “diving hubs” in other regions
FOR MORE INFO
END STORY WITH A CAPPER QUOTE esp. regarding the larger, global implications