Instructions

PLAGERISM WILL PROSECUTED TO THE FULL EXTENT PUNISHABLE BY THE FSU HONOR CODE…DO NOT COPY AN EXISTING MEDIA/NEWS RELEASE!…WE “WILL” BE ABLE TO TELL!

A. Review the “Media Releases & Packets” presentation found in the Week 2 module in “Modules”.

B. Select an emergency or disaster event in history, e.g., Pompeii/Mt Vesuvius, Hurricane Camille, The Great Chicago Fire, Hindenburg, Chernobyl, etc. Write a Media/News Release for the disaster event at any time period /significant event of the disaster, e.g., 4 hours pre-landfall, 2 weeks later, etc. Use yourself as the PIO contact and the disaster location as the origin of the release. You can originate the release from any organization/EOC you think reasonable.

NOTE: Remember, you are writing from the perspective of the Public Information Officer (PIO) from an agency “responding” to the disaster. You are not writing as a news reporter.

C. Prepare a media/news release in written form using the information found in the “Writing – Media Releases & Packets” presentation (specifically slides 6-11) from Week 2. The release should be done as a Microsoft Word document and posted to the “Media Release #1” folder in the “Assignments” section of the course Canvas website. Your release should show examples of each concept covered in the course to date. You will be graded on content, format (as covered in the Week 2 “Writing – Media Releases & Packets”) presentation, effectiveness of your message as well as empathy, stakeholder strategies and what readers should do next.