Getting on the editorial page

Text A

If you are trying to reach opinion leaders and citizens who are actively interested in public affairs, a good technique is to get on the editorial pages of major daily new s-papers.

The indirect approach is to meet with the editorial boards of the newspapers and ask them to write an editorial supporting your idea, project, or cause. Another approach is to submit short essays that are called op-ed articles, intended to appear opposite the editorial page. When all else fails, there is always the standard letter to the editor.

Editorial Boards

The key editors of a newspaper meet on a regular base to determine editorial poli­cy. They would be interested in talking to you if your employer or client is involved in a current controversy or in emerging issues. They do not want to meet with you if the purpose is just to get publicity.

In general, you contact the editorial page editor and request a meeting with the newspaper's editorial board. Most editors want a tightly written one or two-page let­ter outlining whom you represent, what issues you would like to cover, and why your people are the best qualified to discuss the issue. Don't weigh down your first letter with a press kit or other background information.

Once you have an appointment with the editorial board, you should develop a mes­sage that focuses on three or four key points. You should also decide in advance what you want to accomplish in the meeting. Is it simply to let editors know about your side of the issue, or do you want them to write an editorial supporting you?

The best approach is to have a well-informed senior person in the organization give the presentation. This may be the company president, but it can be an expert in a partic­ular field like law, accounting, or environmental standards, depending on the issue. In general, your role as the public relations person is not to give the presentation but rather to make arrangements for the meeting and help your spokespersons get ready for it.

If you represent a community organization, you should think about meeting with the editorial board to arrange for an editorial supporting your particular goal. Newspapers are community boosters and do write editorials supporting worthy causes.

□ Vocabulary:

accomplish - достичь

boost - стимулировать, повышать, рекламировать

citizen - гражданин

editorial - редакционная статья

editorialboard - редакционная коллегия

editorialpage - редакционная страница

emerge - появляться

essay - очерк, эссе

message - сообщение

once - как только

op-ed - полоса в газете, смежная с редакционной

opinionleader - авторитетный человек

submit - представить

technique -прием, метод

Exercises

1) Find the English equivalents in the text:

на регулярной основе; крупные ежедневные газеты; определить политику; попросить о встрече; освещать вопросы (в печати); сконцентрироваться на трех-четырех основных моментах; заранее; организовать встречу; определенная цель.

2) Find the words in the text which describe or mean the following:

1. a person who has great influence over the way the public thinks -

2. a special skill or way of doing something, especially one that has to be learned -

3. a short piece of writing about a particular subject -

4. to appear or come out from somewhere -

5. someone who lives in a particular town, country, or state -

6. to succeed in doing smth., especially after trying very hard -

3) Match the words and write down sentences of your own with these expressions:

daily	board
press	leaders
editorial	newspapers
opinion	information
background	kit

4) Think of your own sentences with the following expressions:

editorial	page
	board
	policy
	article

5) Insert prepositions where necessary(in; on):

to focus____smth.

____advance

depending____smth.

to reach____smb.

to be interested____smth.

____ regular basis

to be involved _____smth.

6) Explain the grammatical structure of the sentence:

The best approach is to have a well-informed senior person in the organization give the presentation.

Write down two sentences of your own with the same structure.

7) Match the words which are close in their meaning:

senior	concerned
support	arise
interested	(lop
emerge	chief
fail	back

8) Match the words having the opposite meaning:

fail	oppose
emerge	detached
support	inferior
senior	disappear
interested	succeed

9) Write the following words with correct negative prefixes(un; in; dis; ir):

interested; regular; cover; qualified; ready; worthy; direct.

10) Answer the following questions:

1. How can you reach opinion leaders and citizens who are actively interested in public affairs?

2. What are three other approaches?

3. Will the key editors be willing to meet with you if they understand that you just want to get publicity?

4. What sort of letters do most editors prefer?

5. What kind of message should you develop for the meeting with the editorial board?

6. What well-informed senior person in the organization can be chosen to give the presentation?

7. What is your role as the public relations person?