By-Line Articles in Newspapers

Many Public Relations practitioners lack the knowledge of what By-line articles are and what are their importance.Hope this Blog might help you to understand the basic meaning of By-line articles.

By-line Articles mean contributing articles in the newspapers, magazines or digital media for free of cost. The name of the author and his company's name is always mentioned at the bottom of the article.

These articles are contributed by the spokespersons of the company like Managing Director, CEO, Country Head and Vise President. The author must be handling an important position in the company which makes him efficient to have an in-depth idea about his/her industry which can be further shared in the articles.

The content of  by-line articles are always industry focused and not company specific. The author should no where mention the name of the company or its products or services. The articles must only talk about the specific industry.

A by-line articles can be written about  latest trend, issue, concern of any industry. For example, an MD of a cosmetic product company can write about how nowadays ladies prefer light and simple make-up. The author can refer to any data/research available freely in the market or which does not come from his own company.

These  articles are written not for creating branding among the readers but to develop credibility among them. such articles give an idea to the reader about how well are you aware about the latest trends of your industry.

At many PR agencies it is the PRO's who write such articles on behalf of clients, this is termed as unethical and must be avoided. This is because, the insights which an industry personal can share will never come from a PRO.

Please feel free to ask any questions by commenting below.

Press Release-Overview and Format

A Press Release is an essential tool in the Public Relations profession. It helps the reader to understand about the latest developments in the company.

Press Release acts as a publicity tool. It is written with an aim to get a coverage across all media. It is either issued to all or only to the targeted media. However, it is always suggested to disseminate the press release only to the target media as it might 'annoy' many journalist.

It is important for a PRO to understand that a journalist receives hundreds of press release in a single day. Hence, it is essential for your press release to be conspicuous enough to grab the journalist's attention.

A Press Release can be written for a product launch, announcement of quarterly results or any important announcement. It is a press statement which usually communicates not more than 2 messages. Press Release follows inverted pyramid format. Adding a quote from the spokesperson or customer makes your press release more credible.

A good press release must answer all the questions!

Draft

Company Logo

For Immediate Release 

Headline

Sub-headline

Mumbai, 28 June 2013: A press release is always written in an inverted pyramid style. Starting with the most important news.

This is the inverted pyramid style which every PRO must follow.

About Company: Mention a brief about your company. Add information like year of establishment, products, services, important achievements, partners, etc.

Media Contact:

Mention the Name, Contact No. & Email-id of the PRO.

ZINDAGI KE SAWAAL… (Hindi Poem)

KYU ZINDAGI HAMESHA CHINATI HAI ?
KYU TANHAIYAN MUJHPE HASTI HAI ?
FHOOL BHARE LAVZ BAN GAYE KANTE HAI,
CHANCHAL  SI WO GUDIYA BHUL GAI APANA BCHAPAN HAI.

CHALNA SIKHA NHI JISNE AKELE,
AAB TO SAPNE BHI HAI TANHAIYON KE GHERE ME.
KHUSHIYAN JO BARSAAT BAN KAR BARASTI THI,
KHO GAI HAI KAHI TAPTE SURAJ KI ROSHNI ME.

CHAL RHI HE FIR BHI,
DUNIYA  KI  IS BHID ME.
AAB TO BAS EK HI MAKSAD HAI,
DHUNDHNA JAWAB KUCH SAWALON KA HAI.
KYU ZINDAGI HAMESHA CHINATI HAI ….?
KYU TANHAIYAN MUJHPE HASTI HAI ….?

Public Relations in India

Public Relations in India experienced a significant growth in 1990's after LPG. The first to adopt PR were the Indian Railways (Public Sector) and Tata (Private Sector).

Today almost all companies make use of Public Relations activities for building company image and managing crisis. They either outsource the services from Public Relation agencies or they design an in-house Corp-comm. department.

India has noticed various starting points for Public Relations practice. For instance, nearly 2000 years ago kings utilized walls and caves for disseminating their instructions and living style. Then newspapers became the mouthpiece of British for ruling the country. Also newspapers were used to mobilize the public opinion during freedom struggle by the freedom fighters. This has helped shaping the Public Relations industry.

Public Relations in India can be understood by the two factors, i.e. Media and Public Relations & Culture and Pubic Relations. They form the basis of Public Relations in the country.

Public relations in India largely refer to Media Relations. The primary focus of PRO's is mainly the journalist and media companies. The mode of disseminating any news is either press conference or press release. Today the Public Relations activities in India are highly limited to the media coverage.

The media utilized by the Public Sector is mainly Hindi and other regional language newspapers. Whereas the Private Sector relies more on English Dailies.

Public Relations in India is also influenced by the Cultural Factor. India is a country which has diverse culture in every state and city. And the impact of this diversity is easily witnessed in the Public Relations activities.

Public Relations in India is still developing. Many Public Relations agencies are emerging day-after-day. This is a sign of how companies today understand the importance of Public Relations.

(Reference: Public Relations in India - by Nilanjana Bardhan & Krishnamurthy Sriramesh)

International Public Relations and Culture

Public Relations refer to developing and maintaining relations with the public. This public can be anyone, for instance, target audience, priority audience, stock holders, in-house public and even general public.

We usually believe that PR campaigns, strategies and activities are one sided, i.e. the reaction of PR activities is seen on the audience. However, it is also the other way round, i.e. there is an equal impact of audience on PR's strategies. And the reason of this impact is the "Culture".

Here is one of the famous example; Pepsodent toothpaste campaign was a proper mess when it launched its campaign in South-East Asia. Their slogan was "Whiten you teeth", but the trend among the people of that region is to blacken the teeth. Hence, if PR would have concentrated on the Culture aspect of that region then probably it would be a hit!

For Multinational Companies it is important to understand the culture of their target region. PR should be looked differently in different areas. The Culture practiced in England is not same to that practiced in Japan. Hence if a company wants to launch its service or product in two different regions then they need to do an analytical study on Culture.

The famous Indian PR researcher, Mr. Krishnamurthy Sriramesh  has authored many books on International PR and Culture. In his one book named, Public Relations in Asia Anthology he is talking about how culture plays an important role in PR. One of his example is, in India, PR strategies are still too traditional such as docudramas, dances and skits, whereas in Singapore it is far more modern and technical. Hence, if a pr agency uses Internet as the medium in India, there are chances it may not get good response.

Hence it is important for any PRO to understand that 'One size does not fit all' and only then he/she may give positive results to their company or client!!

Dental Jewelry -A New Vogue

Yes, Dental Jewelry is the new fashion in India which is replacing pears sing and hair color. This upcoming trend has already got a universal appeal and is now gaining popularity among Indians.

Without loosing the quality of your teeth you can undergo this treatment whenever you want. In this Dental Jewelry treatment you basically fix a jewel on your side teeth to add a charm to your smile.

You can use a small Diamond or a random small shape gold or silver jewelry as a Dental Jewelry. These shapes mainly include star, heart, flower, butterfly, etc. within few minutes you can add these jewels to your smile.

However there can be some demerits to this treatment, where in the most dangerous is, if mistakenly a person happens to swallow the diamond he/she may die. Also it may leave your teeth with any mark or probably damage it. However, a person can remove it whenever he/she feel so.

This trend was initially common among the foreign rappers but now the youth of all countries are experiencing this newest trend.

This new fashion is heating up in the market so lets wait and see whether it will be a hit or a flop!!

FLIGHT OF LOVE

LOVE IS LIFE,

I DON’T THINK SO IT’S RIGHT.

IT’S JUST A HIGH FLIGHT,

WILL CRASH IN A SINGLE FIGHT.

DO YOU WANT TO BOARD THIS PLANE?

BUT HAVE A LOOK AT MY CRASHED PLANE.

1 AND A HALF YEAR OF DUMP,

SOMETIMES LOVE AND SOMETIMES LUMP.

IT ALL GOT INTO MY VAIN,

AND LEFT ME WITH ONLY PAIN.

NO TRUST AND ONLY LUST,

OUR RELATION BECAME WORST.

PASSION TURNED INTO AGGRESSION,

TRIED A LOT TO PACIFY SITUATION.

IT ALL ENDED IN THIS VACATION,

BUT WITHIN 5 DAYS HE GOT INTO A NEW RELATION.

NOW I TURN BACK AND FEEL ONLY REGRESSION,

WHAT I NEED NOW IS SOMEONE’S MOTIVATION.

I HOPE YOU UNDERSTAND,

AND DON’T REPEAT THE SAME.

LUCK GAVE ME A CHANCE TO STAND,

PROBABLY YOU WON’T GET THE SAME…!!!!

By Sarvangi Mehta.