fact sheet

AssignmentYou will develop what is called a fact sheet for a service organization on campus or a non-profit organization in the Dayton area. This public relations document will be original rather than a rewrite of existing material that the organization already has. The fact sheet will focus on one aspect of the organization -- a particular service, a new program, history, technology, or an area of a campaign. The fact sheet will not be an overview of the entire organization. The key here is to focus.

You will need to study the organization and its current documents distributed to the public. Figure out what's missing, what's needed. Meet with organization leaders to determine the group's needs. For fact sheet material, you will conduct face-to-face interviews, and research in the library and online to get new material. Students are advised to collect more information than they think they might need since this assignment will overlap into two other assignments later in the term.

The fact sheet will be a narrative, about two pages in length, double-spaced.

Once you have a topic idea, define the purpose (client's needs/objectives) of this particular document. Think behavior or attitude change of the targeted public. Publicity is never a goal, but is rather a tactic to achieve a goal. Define the targeted audience. Who are you talking to? Then write a line or two that states the key message that you are trying to get across with thisparticular document. Then draft your copy with target audience's needs, interests and concerns in mind.

The fact sheet must follow proper format and style. Use heads and subheads for easier organization and reading. Keep overall organization of the material logical. Be sure to read about public relations fact sheets here and in your textbook. And read the many examples of fact sheets online.

AT&T has a varied pressroom (the place to find PR material for the news media; also called media room), and at its site promoting the iPhone, you can find news releases, fact sheet and "multi-media" information. Click on the multi-media tab to find how AT&T prepared material for the media to use to report on its new product.