For most, the answer was an almost obvious, "Yes!" But I was most intrigued by the responses from media members that pointed not to the familiar writing standard, but to the lack of quality, concise press releases.
"AP remains relevant. But the big problem I see these days are press releases that take too long to get to the point. Editors don't have time to wade through a long release, trying to figure out the salient points," commented Slaton White, the editor of SHOT Business magazine.
Dan Nelson of the Seattle Times noted, "Short, concise, and to the point works for me. Providing a "more info" link is great, though I'm interested in the details of the basic release, I'll likely call/email for more specific details anyway. That said, keeping the basics clean and in compliance with AP styles is important."
So, we all seem to agree that the AP style standard (and other standards like Chicago) remain relevant to the PR industry. But what happens when we're moving outside the "standard" communication channels? The days of delivering a printed press releases to a journalist are dwindling. How many times have you simply pointed a writer to a website or sent them a couple paragraphs on something via email?
Change Offers Challenge
Steve Kayser of Expert Access Business Magazine writes, "I've had Marketing and PR employees work for me right out of college, and found most were woefully unprepared for the real-world new PR environment. Not because of any inherent deficiency in the school they came from, but more from the frenetic pace of change in the PR industry. Blogs, Vlogs, Podcasts, Social Media, SEO, SEO PR, Tags, and on and on and on. The technology changes alone can be daunting or intimidating."
"But the writing ... the writing, that's now part skill, part science and part art. It is the absolute foundation of being able to effectively use all the new technologies and communication tools," explained Kayser.
Regardless of style standard, the key ingredient could be skillful writing. A nack for the pitch or "the skills to pay the bills," as my old rugby teammates used to say. You'll find a bag full of dos and don'ts for the real world on The Bad Pitch Blog, from Kevin Dugan and Richard Laermer.
While the pitch and the press release are two separate things, they both require good presentation. Whether it's via the old telephone as Jeremy Pepper points out, face-to-face, or via email, your message needs to be crafted accordingly.
If for nothing more than speaking the same language, AP style writing might just be the first step toward getting your foot in the door.
"If you're trying to sell newspaper or magazine editors on your product, then you should speak their language -- AP, Chicago, whatever. The easier you make it for those editors, the more likely your product will get ink," said Justin Williams of www.DelawareOnline.com.
As many of you know, I'm big on making things easier for our media friends. Deliver the message concisely, give them all the tools and correct information, and make it easy for them to go back to the well in crunch time. If AP style is what they want, that's what they'll get. But I do believe that the methods for media relations are changing in dramatic fashion. If you didn't agree, you wouldn't be here reading this blog and you'd be waiting until Monday when it came out in print.
In a tweet from Tom Becktold of Business Wire, he points out that while still relevant, AP style may be diminishing, "I think AP style is important, but it's used less and less based on our experience at Business Wire."
So, what's next? Perhaps the more pressing question is when do we update the standards or create new ones entirely? Will it, or can it evolve?
Original post on PitchEngine | A New Spin on PR