Politcal Blogs: Media Tools

A recent study conducted by Hansard Society in UK revealed that there was a clear indication that the use of political blogs can be a media resource to increase the politicians’ transparency and accessibility.

Political bog can be an alternative vehicle to channel political communication. In the study conducted, the researches made use of eight political blogs as examples of these political blog instruments to promote political commitments. The researchers monitored these sample eight political blogs and assigned a blogging “jury” to examine the relevance of these political blogs in channeling political views.

Findings from the said study reveal that: political blogs could be significant tool to political engagement since they are an informal and inexpensive way to enter into political debate.

Another important point is political blogs does not put barriers between public and private spaces thereby allowing politicians to be themselves. No need to put up a public self separate and distinct from a private person. Low-cost blogging software allows easy construction and updating of political blogs thereby making it accessible to many. Political blogs appealed to the users because it allow visitors to engage in debates with the bloggers. Sort of, a forum to express their views. This feature makes the political blog very popular. On the other side of the coin though, blogs are easy to navigate but often their content is quite unappealing.

Turn Media Interviews Into Sales

Many people don't understand what soundbites are. They don't know how to create soundbites that sell. They don't know that it's not enough to be clever, entertaining or quippy. That might make TV and radio hosts happy, but it often won't bring in the kind of results you're looking for: to grow your business, sell more product, get new clients, more customers, or increase your fees.

You want to develop soundbites that speak to who you are, what you do and how well you do it. Soundbites are the essential messages that will create sales and recognition. They consist of anecdotes, analogies, stories, one-liners, and facts that you can speak in 15-30 seconds. They should be singly focused on what you want your audience to know. To turn media interviews into sales here are 3 things you can do.

1. Incorporate Your Past into Your Present Experience.

Camus says, *We are the sum of our choices.* We want to know how your childhood dreams have influenced the career you've chosen. Your past often has predictors to your future interests and life decisions. If you don't want to go back as far as childhood then go back in your professional career. Sarah Newton, The UK's Top Teen Coach, said that when she was a juvenile corrections officer what she heard from teenagers most was that they didn't feel heard, understood or respected. *The most important thing a parent can do is listen,* says Newton.

What *Queer Eye* Can Teach You About The Media

1. Show your passion.

The Queer Eye Boys are into what they do. You can tell. Their show has such a different feeling than the spin-off *Queer Eye for the Straight Girl* which lacks chemistry and authenticity. The synergy between the hosts and guests comes through when you connect to the host and audience through your passion. Things come alive. I hate that saying, *If you can't be sincere, fake it until you can.* That's such a cop out.

It's like all this new veneered furniture with one thin layer of real wood masking pressboard or
plywood. Yuk. Are you telling me you can't tell the difference between what is solid and what is fake? In *The Practician's Manual of Legerdemain* Ottawa Keyes says, *When it comes to the requirements for pleasing an audience, all the knowledge and instruction and apparatus in the world is worth less than one ounce of soul.* Ain't it so?

How To Write Foolproof Media Releases

Free publicity resulting from a media release sounds good, but how do you go about getting it? The first step is to write foolproof media releases.

Are you looking for inexpensive ways to promote yourself or your business? Well, read on about media releases, one of the most cost effective promotion vehicles available. Free publicity resulting from a media release sounds good, but how do you go about getting it? The first step is to write foolproof media releases.

Many people 'gasp' at the thought of committing the written word to the page. Don't be scared, just apply these quick and easy steps to write foolproof media releases! Let's get started! Always remember when writing your media release that editors will likely give you a '10 second' glance to see if the topic is newsworthy. Make sure you cover all the media release basic essentials to ensure your media release isn't 'tossed' before it gets even the 10-second once-over.

Do The Media Spread ComputeDo The Media Spread Computer Viruses?r Viruses?

Summary: Could the mass media hype about computer viruses actually make the problem worse?

If you believe what you hear in the media, there are an awful lot of viruses going around. No, I'm not talking about the make-you-sick kind of virus, though they get plenty of airtime, too. I'm talking about the kind of virus that enters via your internet connection rather than your nasal passages.

What the mainstream media often don't tell you--at least, in most radio and television newscasts and in the crucial headlines and opening paragraphs of newspaper articles-- is that many of these "viruses" are not viruses at all.

What Computer Viruses Really Are

The main reason the mainstream media always are in alarm over viruses is that they tend to call any malicious computer program a virus. In reality, there are at least eleven distinct types of malicious software, or malware, commonly affecting computers today. The most common of these are worms, Trojans, and spyware.

Santa Is Always The News

We all know Santa’s story by now. He was originally a bishop back in the day, and after he died he became known as Saint Nicholas, or Saint Nick for short. And even way back then, before Christmas became a major holiday, the anniversary of his death was a day to celebrate by giving out gifts. But most of us don’t know that Saint Nick actually had a bad rap for a while, and that is actually how he got all of the other names we know him by today.

During the time of great change in the Christian Church known as the Protestant Reformation, which occurred in the 1500s, the famous Martin Luther declared that all good Christians should stop celebrating saints. For the devout followers of Luther, that meant also stopping the celebration of Saint Nick, no matter how fun the gift giving had become.

But of course, not all Christians stopped celebrating Saint Nick, not even all of the Protestants. Instead of stopping the celebration, they crafted a plan to enjoy the Saint Nick holiday in secret. This is when Saint Nick became known in England as “Father Christmas”. In Germany, people referred to Santa as “Christmas Man”, and the Dutch created the name “Sinterklass.”

About this time, a large majority of Dutch settlers moved to New Amsterdam in America—what would later become New York—and brought their celebration of Sinterklass with him. Americans caught on to the idea, and tried to pronounce his name right. But instead, what came out was “Santa Claus.”

However, Santa Claus did not hit the big time until the author of “Sleepy Hollow,” Washington Irving, got wind of Santa Claus and promoted him the American press. This happened in the early 1800s, when Washington Irving wrote a story called the “A History of New York,” in which he went into great detail about a man called “Sinterklass.” This Saint Nick was fat and short, wore a funny costume, and would travel around on the Eve of Saint Nicolas on a horse.

The idea of jolly gift-giving man caught on in the American press. Another writer, the poet Clement Clark Moore, wrote a poem called “A Visit from St. Nicolas,” which is better known as, “The Night Before Christmas.” It was Moore who made Saint Nick a jolly old elf who flies around the night in a magical sleigh powered by eight flying reindeer. We all know the names of those reindeer, right? Well, Moore also included them in his poem.

Americans would get their best images of Santa Claus in the magazines of the late 1800s, when the cartoonist Thomas Nast put out his own visions of Saint Nick in Harper’s Weekly. For Nast, Santa was a bigger man with a big fat belly, who wore a red suit lined with fur and a big leather belt. Nast also started drawing images of Santa’s workshop in the North Pole, and Santa using a list to keep track of his kids who were naughty and nice.

Of course, these are all the images of Santa that we use today in the newspapers, in cartoons, and on TV. Or should we say, perhaps, images of Sinterklass?

How To Use A News Release

News releases, also called press releases, are the most important selling tool of publicity. The release must capture the editor's attention, be precise and easy to read.

A news release can go to just one newspaper or many publications at once. It can be a community notice about an organization's library sale or an international insight into inflation. The same standard form is used for every type of news, whether an executive promotion in the trade magazines, or a local event such as an author signing books at a neighborhood bookstore.

If you want your notice to get into a special edition of a publication, be aware of the deadlines. Sunday news editions generally have more readers than the daily editions. Find out when your release must be received at the editor's desk. Never mix publicity with advertising. If your newspaper features specific businesses in special industry supplements, you may be chosen because you advertise.

But otherwise, editors frown on any releases that merely imitate advertising and are not newsworthy. Don't embarrass yourself by sending anything that is not worthy of being printed in the publication as news. Not only will your release be thrown away, but you will destroy any chance you had for subsequent releases with that editor.

WRITING THE RELEASE

Keep the news release to one page. Type it clearly on white bond paper, double spaced, and never send it with typographical errors. Since the release might be published exactly as it is received, be sure the copy is professional and worthy of publication.

At the top left, put your name and address and the phone number you can be reached at during business hours. In full capital letters at the right, type, FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, PLEASE or for release on or after a certain date.

Use a headline appropriate to the event or topic, and keep it short - just like newspaper headings. Capitalize the letters and underline the headline.

Start the copy with a dateline, which is the city and date. Then write the rest within a few paragraphs. Include the important information in the standard who, what, when and where. Use good English, but don't run on with unimportant adjectives or boring information. You can capitalize the first letters of important events such as Public Auction or the name of your new product.

If you have a release to send to many publications at the same time, have it printed by photo offset so the copy is clear and looks original.

Include a personal letter to the editor. Be cordial, but keep it short. If your product is convenient to mail, you may include a sample if the editor is amenable.

Watch the publications and clip the printed publicity yourself. Never ask the publication to send you a copy.