Chapter six was a highly enlightening chapter. I learned many of the details in regards to fact sheets, advisories, media kits, and pitches. Media kits, for example, usually consist of at least seven components, which include:
1) A main news release
2) A news feature
3) Fact sheets on the product, organization, or event
4) Background information
5) Photos and drawings with captions
6) Biographical material on the spokesperson or senior executive
7) Some basic brochures (Public Relations Writing and Media Techniques).
The examples of media kits for Adventures by Disney, the Boston Beer Company, the Field Museum in Chicago, Crayola’s 100th anniversary, and Planter’s 100th anniversary were helpful as well. They materialized the media kit concept and illustrated outside-of-the-box ideas. This highlighted the importance of developing unique ideas for media kits.
This chapter emphasized the significance of a succinct, attention-getting pitch. It’s important to do research and to know who you are pitching to. You only have about 60 seconds to grab an editor’s interest (Public Relations Writing and Media Techniques). The text offers helpful tips from Stephen Miller, assistant to the technology editor at The New York Times, on how to make the perfect pitch:
1) Find out what the reporter covers and tailor your pitch accordingly.
2) Find out how the reporter prefers to be contacted-paper, fax, or e-mail.
3) Make sure you’re pitching news or a new trend.
4) Offer help on trend stories even if your client or employer isn’t the focus.
5) Don’t call during deadline unless you’ve got breaking news.
6) Don’t call to find out if the release has arrived.
7) Don’t send clips of other stories about your client.
8 ) Don’t call to find out when or if the story has run.
9) Relationships are everything. If you get the trust of the reporter, don’t abuse it.
10) Don’t lie. Advise your clients or employer not to either (Public Relations Writing and Media Techniques).
Aliciamd's Blog 
Posted by akw11 on June 22, 2010 at 8:12 PM
I thought that chapter 6 was extremely helpful. I thought that it had many tips and ideas that will definitely help us in the future for the professional world. Preparing fact sheets, advisories and all the others that you mentioned are very important for PR professionals and something that we always need to know and be good at in order to be on our a-game. I did not even know about the 7 components dealing with media kits until chapter 6 and I thought that it was so helpful and useful. And the tips on how to make a perfect pitch are so useful and something that I think we need to know like the back of our hand.
Posted by tabathapr on July 9, 2010 at 2:56 PM
Hey Alicia,
I also thought that chapter six was full of helpful information. It was packed full of things that we must know to be success in the career of PR. I learned so much from this chapter and from reading your notes from the chapter. Your blog is laid out very well. It is very easy to navigate through.
~Tabatha