St. Cloud Diocesan Council of Catholic Women at 25008 Mary St., Paynesville, MN 56362 US - PUBLIC RELATIONS

THE BASIC B’S FOR PUBLICITY

1.     Be the only person from your group to contact news media. Two members calling the same newspaper editor or program director are bound to bring conflict or confusion.

2.     Be quick to establish personal contact with the right persons at each newspaper, radio and television station in your area.

3.     Be sure to write everything down. Train your memory, but don’t trust it.

4.     Be prompt in meeting every deadline.

5.     Be legible. Type news releases. Erase and correct errors.

6.     Be accurate. Double check dates, names, places before you submit your copy.

7.     Be honest and impartial. Give credit where due.

8.     Be brief. Newspaper space and air time are costly.

9.     Be brave. Don’t be afraid to suggest something new if you honestly believe you have a workable idea. Media people welcome original ideas when they’re practical and organized logically.

10.       Be business-like.  Never try to obtain publicity by pressure of friendship or business connections. Never ask when the story will appear. Never ask for clippings.

11.     Be appreciative of all space and time given your publicity. The media giving it also have space and time for sale.

This article is from a pamphlet, I found among some paperwork from my mother, published by the Sperry and Hutchinson Company-1965. The title is,

Publicity Handbook, A guide for publicity chairmen.

I thought this would be of benefit for any of the Parish, Deanery or Diocesan groups as a guide.

We have all heard it said many times that Council of Catholic Women/Diocesan or Deanery Council of Catholic Women (CCW/DCCW) is the “best-kept secret”. Through our efforts in public relations, we can make CCW better known. Public Relations is at the heart of the Organization because it concerns itself with creating and maintaining not only a good public image but also our best public image. Publicity through public relations is an excellent tool to make this a reality. Keep copies of previous published articles that highlight your CCW or DCCW in a positive light. Use the articles over again in different venues to get your message across to others. Getting the word out is most important. Think about reporting a CCW event or meeting in the local newspaper as well as the parish bulletin. Invite someone new to your next CCW meeting.

By all means publish your meeting far enough in advance so people can make plans to come. Be sure to invite your moderators, pastors and past presidents in writing. If you plan to have anyone speak or say a prayer, please always ask him or her in advance, if possible. If you are going to publish an article, type the information by double-spacing the content. Compose in short, clear sentences, stating just the facts of: who, where, when, why, and how it came about. These should all be in first paragraph. Because there are no guarantees your article will be published, be persistent in calling until it is. Get to know your news editors. It can be very helpful.

Public relation is the best vehicle for getting the GOOD NEWS about your organization out to the community. Let’s not remain the “best-kept secret” forever. Let us ALL be good public relation advocates for CCW. Please remember to keep in your prayers our moderator and officers—as we all need the Holy Spirit’s guidance in our work for the Council of Catholic Women.