IV. Scanning

I. Scan the text and complete the sentences.

1. Media relations involve working with various media for the purpose of informing the public of an organization's mission, policies and practices in a positive, consistent and credible manner.

2. Public relations firms and agencies can: advice clients on media relations, giving advice on how to build good working relationships; provide media training, teaching people how to work effectively with media; design media kits to give journalists background information; organize press conferences or media briefings to answer questions from journalists; write fact sheets with information about a specific topic; prepare news releases or press releases.

3. The goal of media relations is to maximize positive coverage in the mass media without paying for it directly through advertising.

4. Ongoing relationship between an organization and the news media is vital because dealing with the media presents unique challenges in that the news media cannot be controlled — they have ultimate control over whether stories pitched to them are of interest to their audiences.

5. A good story should be compelling because infusing your media plans with some innovative thinking will produce stronger, more effective results.

6. If you are upfront with a journalist, reporters will appreciate it and remember.

7. To spur media interest public relations firms and agencies should look for out-of-the ordinary partnerships.

8. To make pitching easier you should:

a. Use this effective introduction: "We haven't spoken before." Forget the days of pretending to be a reporter's best friend. Journalists don't fall for it and they actually miss the first valuable minutes of your pitch trying to figure out who you are. Be upfront.

b. Hone your pitch to a 15 second elevator speech.

c. Always ask if a reporter is on deadline. If so, find out a good time to call back, and do.

d. Know your story inside and out. This allows you to revise your pitch as you hear objections instead of folding instantly. Know enough to pitch other clients too.

e. Try different approaches. All journalists have personal preferences about how they like to be contacted so try a variety of techniques. Often a brief, compelling paragraph sent via e-mail is an effective yet unobtrusive introduction.

f. Follow-up. Many potential leads are lost simply because PR people don't follow through on them. If a reporter tells you to call back another time, make sure you do.

g. Persistence. There is a fine line between being persistent and annoying, but if you truly know your story and your audience, there is no shame in steadfastly making contact attempts until you get the reporter on the phone. (Just don't keep leaving messages.)

9. Infusing your media plans with some innovative thinking will produce stronger, more effective results.

10. To adopt a journalistic approach means to say what you want, but say it simply and plainly.

II. Give definitions of the following words and illustrate their meaning in the sentences of your own:

media kits (медиа-набор) - a pre-packaged set of promotional materials of a person, company, or organization distributed to members of the media for promotional use. “The media kit on a new company was prepared by the best professionals”

to pitch (подавать, запускать) - to land a story, to introduce something. “He pitched a new idea brilliantly”

fact sheets (списки фактов) – a list of information tips on specified topic. “Did you prepare your fact sheets on Syria?”

be on deadline (быть на дэдлайне) – it is the time when the journalist must finish his work and the media product must become published. “Sorry, call me back later, I have no time now, a Im on a deadline”

buzz words (лишние слова) – some non-needed words. “His speech was full of buzz-words, and we smiled a lot at him”

video footage - видеосъёмка. “The story was covered with a video footage”

to position the product – позиционировать продукт. “We need to position the product perfectly in that article”

III. Find words and phrases in the text that mean:

a. honest - trust

b. a state of fear and anxiety - fever

c. current relationship - ongoing relationship

d. to attempt to sell - to position for younger consumers

e. persevering - persistent

f. frugal - unobtrusive

g. to know your story perfectly well - Know your story inside and out

h. concisely - brief

i. insuperable - unquestionable