Everything you need to know about writing print, and more, in one hour

By Bridget Sainsbury and Rupinder Mangat, learners in the Bachelor of Arts in Applied Communication at Royal Roads University.

Students of the bachelor's in applied communication program at Royal Roads learned about the role of public relations professionals in news generation in a presentation on Nov. 28 in Nixon 220.

The 31 students in Vivian Smith's "Writing for Media" class learned more about public relations from Ange Frymire, a PR and communications expert with more than 20 years experience.

Frymire, president of Vocal Point Communications, gave an information-packed seminar about the importance of good writing and good relationship management skills for public relations professionals.

Frymire admitted she "loved writing" and continues to write freelance to indulge her passion. Working as a freelance journalist, has given her new insights into how journalists and PR persons affect each other.

"The relationship between a PR person and reporters is very critical," she said.

She emphasized the importance of being available for media and providing honest, newsworthy information suitable to the media and their audiences.

"Anticipating reporter needs and understanding their deadlines is important for a PR person," she said.

Frymire cautioned students to be careful with their demands for corrections and retractions in publications.

"You can become a pest," she said, suggesting an approach towards relationship-building instead.

Some important writing tips Frymire gave the students were to write like the media, and to write with consistency, coherence, clarity and concision.

"If you've got spelling or grammar mistakes in your writing, editors will toss your piece in the garbage," she said.

Frymire said good writing and proactive messaging often got her news releases replicated in news publications. She told the students to be hands-on PR persons in their approach to contacting media, asking for their requirements, and finding out more about them.

"Asking is very important. Asking is what journalists do for a living," she said.

By asking about the media's requirements, PR people can reduce the effort required in making news for both the PR and media persons, and build a genuine relationship not only with the journalists, but also with their audiences.

Frymire's top tips:

1. Write with clarity, cohesiveness, conciseness and consistency (plain language with no unnecessary jargon).
2. Know your audience and write for them.
3. Avoid technical or foreign terms unless expected by the audience.
4. Avoid redundant words, phrases and acronyms.
5. Use action words e.g. use words like 'ambled' or 'sprinted' instead of 'went'.
6. Beware overuse of adjectives and adverbs.
7. Avoid exclamation marks.
8. Write as the media write.
9. Convey message proactively.

Born in Winnipeg, Ange Frymire has lived and worked in Saskatchewan, Ontario, and B.C., gaining a variety of experience in banking, management, and radio, obtaining credentials in Urban Land Economics, Radio Broadcasting and an MBA. In 1992, she founded Vocal Point Communications specializing in PR and other communications services.