So, I’ve been tasked with writing a news release and Facebook post announcing the death of Joe Paterno. The fictional release that I’ve written is from Penn State University (not really) and you will notice it addresses the firing of the legendary coach. The news release that Penn State actually issued doesn’t mention his firing and doesn’t mention the controversy over why he was fired — the association with alleged child molester Jerry Sandusky. But if Penn State had hopes of a news organization picking up their news release and using it with minimal influence, they have to mention these thorny issues and make it newsworthy. So this fictional news release keeps all the self-promotional tidbits that are at the heart of PR while weaving in the details they would rather not discuss — which is what the journalists want, while still avoiding some other unsavory facts. A good public relations person takes on tough issues head on so that they have maximum control over how they are portrayed and increase the likelihood that the news organizations pick up the news release.
Facebook post:
BREAKING NEWS: Long-time Penn State football coach Joe Paterno died at 85 years old on Sunday. While Penn State had to make the unfortunate, yet necessary, decision to sever ties with Paterno in light of the Jerry Sandusky controversy — Paterno remains a legendary figure whose impact at Penn State will forever be remembered and appreciated.
 |
Photo Credit: PSUMark2006, Creative Commons License at http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Joe_Paterno#mediaviewer/File:Joe_Paterno_Sideline_PSU-Illinois_2006.jpg
Penn State Nittany Lions head coach Joe Paterno celebrates with his players after his 400th win in 2010
|
*News release from Pennsylvania State University (not really)*
Long-time football coach Joe Paterno dies
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Legendary football couch Joe Paterno, who led the Penn State Nittany Lions to more victories than any other major football coach, died Sunday at 85 years old. He was surrounded by his family when he lost his battle with lung cancer at the Mount Nittany Medical Center (Penn, 2011).
The entire university mourns the passing of Paterno, who left a lasting legacy at the university.
“He died as he lived. He fought hard until the end, stayed positive, thought only of others and constantly reminded everyone of how blessed his life had been,” the Paterno family said in a statement.
Paterno was a member of the Penn State coaching staff for 62 years, and was head coach of the Nittany Lions for nearly 46 years — spanning the leadership of 13 U.S. Presidents, starting with Harry Truman. He was the first of three active coaches to be inducted into the National Foundation’s College Hall of Fame in 2007 (Penn, 2011).
While his success as a Penn State coach and his positive impact on the university is undeniable, the Board of Trustees was forced to address allegations that Paterno and then Penn State President Graham Spanier didn’t appropriately act on reports that former assistant coach Jerry Sandusky had allegedly sexually abused young boys during his time at the university. It was an unfortunate but necessary decision to sever ties with Paterno and thereby ensure that the university abides by the highest possible standards in dealing with allegations of wrong doing.
Paterno was succeeded by Bill O’Brien as head coach after the university’s Board of Trustees voted to part ways with Paterno. In a statement Sunday, O’Brien said, “The Penn State Football program is one of college football’s iconic programs because it was led by an icon in the coaching profession in Joe Paterno. There are no words to express my respect for him as a man and as a coach. To be following in his footsteps at Penn State is an honor,” (Penn, 2011).
Paterno led the team to win more games than any other major-college football coach. His last victory was on Oct. 29, 2011, when Penn State defeated Illinois 10-7. It was Paterno’s 409th win. During his long career, he was named national coach of the year five times, had five unbeaten and untied teams and was coach when Penn State ranked No. 1 in 1982 and 1986 (Goldstein, 2012).
 |
Photo Credit: Ben Stanfield, Creative Commons License at http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Joe_Paterno#mediaviewer/File:Joe_Paterno_runs_out_with_team_crop.jpg
Penn State Head Coach Joe Paterno runs out with his team. Penn State took on Florida International University at Beaver Stadium in University Park, Pa. on Saturday, Sept. 1, 2007. The final score was 59-0 with Penn State as the victor.
|
He was well known for his “Grand Experiment,” where he committed to nurturing a team of young men who excel on the field and graduate with distinction and go on to be valuable members of society (Penn, 2011). And Paterno delivered, with the team achieving one of the highest graduation rates, at 87 percent (Penn, 2011).
Paterno’s family donated more than $4 million to the university and a wing of the library was named for him and his wife in 2000 (Goldstein, 2012). The family was also actively involved with the Special Olympics Pennsylvania Summer Games and they were inductees into the games’ Hall of Fame (Penn, 2011).
In 2009, the Paternos announced a $1 million gift to the Mount Nittany Medical Center, which helped support a three-flour, 42,000-square foot expansion of the health facility (Penn, 2011).
“As the last 61 years have shown, Joe made an incredible impact. That impact has been felt and appreciated by our family in the form of thousands of letters and well wishes along with countless acts of kindness from people whose lives he touched,” the Paterno family said in a statement.
Born Joseph Vincent Paterno on Dec. 21, 1926, he grew up in Flatbush, Brooklyn. He played football and basketball at Brooklyn Prep. He was later an English major at Brown University, where he was a quarterback and defensive back. In 1950 he came to Penn State to coach the quarterbacks. In June 1973 Paterno became the first Penn State football coach to deliver the university’s commencement address.
He leaves behind five children — Diana, Mary Kay, David and Scott — all Penn State graduates, and 17 grandchildren (Penn, 2011).
His family asks that in lieu of flowers and gifts, donations be made to the Special Olympics of Pennsylvania or the Penn State-THON, the Penn State IFC/ Panhellenic Dance Marathon (Penn, 2011).
About Penn State:
The Pennsylvania State University, founded in 1855, is the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania’s sole land-grant institution and its largest public university. Penn State’s land-grant mission embraces teaching, research, and public service in order to support the citizens of the Commonwealth, collaborating with industrial, educational, and agricultural partners to generate, disseminate, integrate, and apply knowledge that is valuable to society. The University generates approximately $8.5 billion in direct and indirect economic impact annually within Pennsylvania.References
Goldstein, R. (2012). Joe Paterno, longtime Penn State coach, dies at 85. The New York Times. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/23/sports/ncaafootball/joe-paterno-longtime-penn-state-coach-dies-at-85.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0
Penn State University (2011). Penn State Athletics. Retrieved from http://www.gopsusports.com/genrel/030414aaa.html
A nicely composed post, Stephanie. Two elements of your press release exercise that both impressed me and made me wish I had done myself were the inclusion of links to additional materials and a paragraph about Penn State itself (as the hypothetical organization issuing the statement).
ReplyDeleteThank you Kevin, I actually added those elements at the end because after my research I had it so I figured why not use it.
DeleteI really like this post. This week text talks about the next journalist. This blogs bears witness that you are the next journalist. Within this blog you tried to make sense of all the fact and still bare witness to the events. There are a few gatekeepers left and these type of journalist citizen's are needed to seek the truth and report it.
ReplyDeleteThanks so much Latoya. I struggled with this assignment because it felt dishonest, so I did my best to make it as genuine as possible.
DeleteGood job. I understand though why Penn State was biased in its press release. It's their press release and they can basically be biased and select what they will write about and cover. They understand that this will not be a copy and paste job when picked up by the media, and the media will write about the controversy and add to the story if you will. Press releases are different than news stories, although it is tricky sometimes because some news outlets will copy and paste press releases as is from the organization that wrote it.
ReplyDeleteYes I understand too and I'm not sure what I would do if I were actually tasked with writing such a press release in real life. I did try to use my language right, like saying severing ties instead of firing - as I got into the mindset of a PR professional.
Delete