ABSTRACT
There is no point in complaining that another school is in the news again when we have not told the paper about what we have done. That other school is likely to have taken the initiative. This is proactive PR, which we initiate. We identify an achievement and package it nicely for journalists and give them what they want. In some ways, we have to think like a journalist and submit newsworthy items and not bombard the newsdesk with trivia or inappropriate messages. More than 90 per cent of news releases from all sources end up in the editor's bin. Given the need to make the best use of our time, we must make sure that there is a good chance of our contribution making it into the successful 10 per cent. However, ultimately it is up to the journalist to choose whether to write the story or to throw it away.
