Writing To Make The News
9 a.m. to noon, Thursday, March 18
$95 REGISTER

Learn the basics and more: how to write a press release, the difference between a media alert, news release, and pitch letter, and how to produce polished versions of all three. Along the way, Alton Miller, author, press secretary to the late Harold Washington, and Columbia College dean offers insights into effective public relations. Learn:

•    Pre-writing and preparation
•    Editing to strengthen your writing skills
•    How to deliver your messages in the context of an integrated marketing communication campaign

If you struggle to communicate your story ideas to the media, then it’s time to learn new writing techniques. Learn successful techniques to write clearly and concisely in ways that help deliver your messages starting as soon as your next news release.

Trainer: Alton Miller is currently associate dean of the School of Media Arts and a tenured associate professor at Columbia College Chicago, where he teaches public relations writing and political PR. The first half of his PR career (1965-85) was in the performing arts. From 1985-87 he was press secretary to Chicago mayor Harold Washington, and his PR work has continued in politics and arts advocacy, including work as communications director for Sen. Carol Moseley Braun, City Treasurer Miriam Santos, and the Illinois Arts Alliance. He is the author of three nonfiction books, including a memoir, “Harold Washington: The Mayor, The Man.” In 2005 he received his M.F.A. in Writing from Goddard College. His thesis was a political novel, “Chicago Power & Light.“