The Mystery of the Inverted Pyramid

(part of the "Making News Where None Exists" series)

by Vicky Elpers

Most writers are familiar with the term "inverted pyramid," and attempt to use this format when submitting media releases. The 1993 Handbook for Public Relations defines the term this way:

The style of the press release is that of the straight news story: it begins with a lead, expands on the lead and proceeds to present information in decreasing order of importance. This 'inverted pyramid' style allows an editor to perform his or her job -- that is, edit -- from the bottom up.

I say "attempt" because only highly trained PR professionals manage to pull this off successfully. Face it, it's a tall order. You are expected to create news using yesterday's boring statistics. The news must generate interest and inform. It must be written in the style of the intended publication. It will compete with similar articles, the sports page and the daily horoscope. Did I mention that it's needed immediately, and don't forget to use that inverted pyramid?

Report Form

The reason we have such trouble writing truly effective media releases is based in our childhood. From an early age, we have been trained to write in report form. We start with the basics and build on that until we reach a climactic, or at the very least, interesting ending.

It may help to take a moment and visualize it this way: Imagine you are on your way to a restaurant to meet your friends. Five blocks before your destination, a car runs a red light. You have to switch lanes and exercise Indy 500 maneuvers in order to avoid collision, all the while looking out for other cars, pedestrians and that dog without a leash. Shaken but safe, you arrive for your dinner with friends.

What would you say to your friends when you enter the restaurant? Would you say, "Insurance statistics released earlier this year indicate a rise in traffic accidents. Three out of 10 drivers admit to running a red light at least once a year. Today, I experienced a confrontation with one of those drivers"? Your friends would be bored.

You would obviously tell them the most important part first, right? This is known as the lead. When you see your friends at the restaurant, you would lead with an attention-grabbing statement that makes them forget their appetizers and listen as you tell them who, what and when.

Exciting Summary

The most common lead is the summary. Trying to summarize "who, what, when, where, why and how" into the first sentence or two can be overwhelming and unnecessary. Focus on making "who, what and when" exciting enough for the editor to want to publish. (Keep in mind that as a PR person your target audience is the editor, because your goal is to get your information into print.) "Why" can be answered in an explanatory paragraph immediately following your lead. "Where" and "how" usually follow "why."

Think again about the restaurant scene. Once you have the attention of your friends, you can then explain "why." Their next question would most likely be where this near-accident took place, followed by how you managed to avoid collision. You would hold their attention throughout the entire story.

Congratulations! You've just used the inverted pyramid verbally. It is really that simple.

For longer news stories, you can then support information with relevant facts and newsworthy details. For example, you and your friends may decide to discuss similar accidents, auto insurance rates, the accessibility of medical care, the promptness of police response, the judicial system and the need for or lack of witnesses. Just as any further discussion would reflect the interests of your friends, any further supporting information in your publicity release should reflect the interests of your client.

Interest and Credibility

Quotations add interest and credibility to your media release, just as if you were telling your friends what you were muttering under your breath or screaming at the top of your lungs when this incident occurred. Remember, however, that you are not a journalist. Reporters must be absolutely accurate when quoting for a news story. Public Relations writers are allowed to doctor a quotation in order to make it more interesting -- not embellish, simply choose words that reflect the image the company paid you to portray. However, when you put words into someone else's mouth, remember to run them by for approval prior to submission to the media.

In an effort to avoid a libel suit, your most important rule should be to supply all interviewees with a copy of the finished release before you distribute it to the media. Most PR offices require quoted individuals to initial the media release as evidence of approval.

Good Media Relations

From an editorial perspective, remember that newspapers and newsletters are in the business of printing news. Think twice before contacting the media. Good media relations is crucial to good PR. The information you want released does not have to be news, but it must be newsworthy. A good PR writer can spin the story and make it seem like news. However, it's up to the editor to determine whether it is newsworthy. Before you contact the media, make sure you really have something and that you've spun it correctly to appeal to the masses. This way, your media contacts will know that if YOU are contacting them, it MUST be important or interesting or vital knowledge for the general public.

The next article in this series will discuss the conversion of boring but important statistics into interesting information that sounds new, when almost everyone in your company knows it's really old.

-- VE
(copyright 1998 Vicky Elpers)

Vicky Elpers is a lecturer in professional writing, writing for public relations, editing and communications. She is a freelance public relations and communications consultant with experience in health promotion and corporate communications. Vicky, an American living in Australia, is a member of the Public Relations Institute of Australia (PRIA) and holds postgraduate qualifications in the fields of communications/PR and education.