Following is a roundup of 10 interesting PR- and media-related stories found online last week:

Goodbye, Journalism: The Use of Filtered Quotes: The New York Times published a story revealing that it and other news organizations routinely type up quotes from interviews with politicians and their advisers, and send them to these officials for edits and approval. This development signals the crossing over into a territory where filtering is an accepted practice. This new territory makes the person being interviewed the reporter's editor; it means the words placed between quotation marks don't need to be the actual words spoken by the person being "quoted"; it means it's all a lie. (ArkansasOnline.com, The Washington Post)

The 25 Most Overused Words and Phrases in Press Releases: "Authentic," "best of breed," exclusive," "leverage," "proud to announce" and "state of the art" are among the 25 most predictable words and phrases used in press releases. They're overused because they're effective in setting the tone or context of the information in the release, but they're basically meaningless now. "Keep in mind, the point is not to avoid these words entirely, but to use them with discretion or find case-specific substitutes." (PR News)

Guns, Gun Control and Gun Crimes: What Journalists Need to Know: The shooting at a movie theater in Aurora, Colo., brings the debate over guns and gun control into the spotlight. This means journalists had better be aware of the basics when reporting on these subjects. Here's a helpful primer, from calibers/gauges; bullets and ammunition; the difference between pistols, shotguns, rifles and assault rifles; automatic vs. semi-automatic; and a brief history of gun control, among other fundamentals. (Poynter)

PR Sensitivity (and Insensitivity) After the Colorado Theater Shooting: After the deadly Aurora, Colo., shootings, Warner Bros. made quick crisis-management adjustments, canceling the scheduled premiere of "The Dark Knight Rises" in Paris and planning to cancel the rest of its international press tour. The studio is also reportedly working on a gun-free trailer for its TV spots. Some networks pulled commercials for the film from their schedules. On the other side of the sensitivity spectrum are the likes of National Rifle Association, Fandango and Celeb Boutique. (Variety, CinemaBlend.com, US News and World Report)

Why 'Future of Journalism' Conferences Fail: Why do all "future of journalism" conferences fail? They don't include the right people. These discussions don't include the perspectives of consumers, technologists, marketers and investors, four key groups that would help come up with practical and actionable ideas. "To build next-gen journalism, we will need all the help we can get.  And that means bringing many more players to the table than the usual suspects who turn up at most journo-futuramas." (Reflections of a Newsosaur)

Optimizing Social Media Activities With Disclosures: Disclosures don't have to limit your social media activities, marketing programs and corporate communications -- they can actually optimize your use of social media for improved engagement and ROI. Remember that disclosures are about your reputation, not just compliance. (Convince and Convert Blog)

How to Get on a Journalist's Bad Side: PR professionals are in the business of getting on people's nerves because they're "contacting someone who doesn’t know that they want to hear from you." However, there are some things to avoid to help your cause. Among the 17 ways to get on a journalist's bad side are sending a mass email, calling them and not knowing anything about the company you're pitching, including large files in emails, asking to see a list of questions before an interview, and sending a pitch then going on vacation. (PR Daily)

How Twitter and Reddit Can Be Used to Build the Newsroom of the Future: Twitter and Reddit are continuing to produce examples of how real-time information networks can be utilized to report on breaking news stories. A recent example is a member of Reddit using tweets to generate a news report about a shooting in Toronto. When comparing this with a CBC story, it's clear that the story on Reddit is harder to read. But the Reddit version is also easer to fact-check, since it includes links that the CBC story doesn't. "Imagine how much better the CBC story could have been if it had made use of some of the background and linking practices that you see in the Reddit post, or if the two had worked together, and you get some idea of what the newsroom of the future looks like." (GigaOM)

Public Relations and the Myth of ROI: When a client expects to see a direct benefit from media coverage to their bottom line, it's a problem. Volume is a good place to start when measuring PR success, but it's not the end of the matter. After understanding what publicity offers and how best to capitalize on it, it's time to distinguish between the short-term and long-term benefits of PR. (Business 2 Community)

The 40 Best Blogs for Journalism Students and Professionals to Follow: While this list of 40 journalism blogs is targeted at journalism students, it's relevant for anyone who works or is interested in journalism. Included in the list are Online Journalism Blog, Backpack Journalism Blog, BuzzMachine, PhotoBlog and Reportr.net. (OEDb)

ProfNet, a service of PR Newswire, has helped journalists and experts connect since 1992. Writers can search the ProfNet Connect database of more than 50,000 profiles; send a ProfNet query by email to thousands of subscribers around the globe; or get timely experts and story ideas by email.

Following is a roundup of 10 interesting PR- and media-related stories found online last week:

Journalists and the Obsession With Being First: The news industry's growing obsession with being the first to break news is hurting journalism, according to The New Republic's Amy Sullivan. Nevertheless, even she can't see the news cycle slowing down. Here's a look at what other journalists think. For example, Ben Smith, editor-in-chief of BuzzFeed, doesn't hold anything against scoops and being first to report something, but has admiration for those who are first and right. "That isn't easy, as other outlets showed. This doesn't mean great explanatory reporting -- or for that matter, great poetry -- don't matter. That's a false choice. But often the great explanatory reporting comes from people whose deep connection to their beat also gives them a steady stream of scoops." (Adweek)

Summertime To-Dos for PR Professionals: Summer is the perfect time for PR pros to stop and clean up a bit. Here are five things you can accomplish in a week: 1) update and clean up contact information; 2) renew your memberships; 3) review and update media lists; 4) put together a yearlong PR plan; and 5) dust off your crisis plan. (PRBreakfastClub)

Crowdfunding for Journalistic Projects: Crowdfunding journalistic projects is nothing new, but it's getting more attention recently. Individual journalists aren't the only ones going to these sources of funding -- newspapers are also joining in, too. Spot.us, Kickstarter, IndieGoGo, Emphas.is and Funded by Me are among the sites where journalistic projects can be crowdfunded. Pay-per-view models, such as Kindle Singles, are also a form of crowdfunding. (PBS MediaShift)

Three Lessons From Fox News and CNN's Reporting Mistakes: When the Supreme Court announced its health care decision, communication and teamwork helped the likes of AP, Bloomberg and SCOTUSblog get it right. Things at Fox News and CNN, however, didn't go so well. Here are three lessons for newsrooms to take away from their guffaws: 1) use multiple sources, 2) avoid the echo chamber and 3) prepare for failure. (Poynter)

Six Mobile Apps for Business Journalists: Business journalists using only mobile websites to keep up with news are missing out on apps, which offer a superior way to have access to immediate information on the Web. "Smartphone apps provide a user-friendly, screen-adjusted, and rarely changing 'home page' that gets rid of clutter and narrows the focus to exactly what you need." Here are six apps business journalists should check out: 1) SEC Filings Finder, 2) S&P Ratings CreditMatters, 3) powerOne Finance Calculator, 4) LinkedIn, 5) CNBC Real Time and 6) Quickoffice Pro. (Reynolds Center for Business Journalism)

What's Next for News: Farm It, Milk It, Feed It: The newspaper business used to be simple: "Build the largest possible audience, sell the most possible ads, charge the highest possible rates, print the fattest possible papers and pump out the biggest possible profits." But with the rise in competition and drop in advertising, it's clear that things need to change. Recent actions from Warren Buffett, the Newhouse family and Rupert Murdoch show three approaches for a new way forward: farm it (stay the course and hope to optimize the existing franchise for as long as possible), milk it (accept the inevitable fall of the traditional model and do what you can to haul the most profits as long as possible) and feed it (leverage the strengths of the business and invest in digital products). (Reflections of a Newsosaur)

The Origins of the 'Sanctity of the Byline': Journatic's byline practices have the "church of journalism" in an uproar. Some of the indignation was protectionist in nature, while others saw this as yet another sign of the newspaper crisis. However, most of the coverage has focused on the poor ethics of using fake bylines. So where does the "sanctity of the byline" come from? Why do respected newspapers allow notable figures to claim bylines for their ghostwritten op-ed pieces? Here's a brief history of what the byline has meant in the past and where we stand today. (Reuters)

Six Steps for Getting Better Press Coverage via Twitter: Twitter is a channel that gives journalists a way to connect with sources and gather content. For those looking to get better press coverage via Twitter, consider these six tips: 1) create a targeted list of reporters; 2) position yourself as a qualified source; 3) engage with reporters and their content; 4) offer quotes and soundbites, not just links to external information; 5) cultivate relationships; and 6) fight against negativity. (Radian6)

The 10 Biggest Mistakes PR Companies Make: PR firms relay a lot of information and even send products for evaluation, but dealing with those that go too far can be a nightmare. Among the 10 worst mistakes PR companies make are not knowing who you're dealing with, not understanding social media metrics, using tired words, not fulfilling a promise and not linking to information in a press release. (GeekBeat.TV)

Four Things You Shouldn't Say to a Journalist/PR Pro: The mistakes journalists and PR professionals make when communicating with each other cut both ways. For example, here's something PR pros should never say to a journalist: "Can I see the story before it runs?" Here's something journalists should never say to a PR pro: "I would prefer it if you were not present during the interview." (PR News Blog)

ProfNet, a service of PR Newswire, has helped journalists and experts connect since 1992. Writers can search the ProfNet Connect database of more than 50,000 profiles; send a ProfNet query by email to thousands of subscribers around the globe; or get timely experts and story ideas by email.

Following is a roundup of 10 interesting PR- and media-related stories found online last week:

Columnist Sues Over Being Fired for Using Press Releases: Steve Penn worked for the Kansas City Star for about 31 years before being fired by the paper this month for using press releases in his column about upcoming high-school and college sports events, without attribution. Penn argues that this is a "widespread practice in journalism" and that the Star made an example of him. He's suing the Star and McClatchy Newspapers. (Courthouse News Service, The Plog)

Journatic's Mistake: Looking Backward: Journatic, a Chicago-based startup whose aim is to help news providers cover local and community news, has received a lot of heat lately for using fake bylines for some of the content it provided to some newspapers, including the Chicago Tribune. But the real issue here isn't that the company used fake bylines, but that it used bylines at all, according to industry blogger John Betehune. Journatic looked backward instead of forward, trying to fit new content into an old model. (GigaOM)

How to Spin a PR Nightmare: It's been said that there's no such thing as bad press, but organizations that have been on the receiving end of bad press would disagree. After all, negative PR hits businesses right in the pocketbook. Using lessons learned from examples of companies that managed to turn bad press into something good, here are six tips for spinning a PR nightmare: 1) own up, 2) show commitment to repair the negative fallout, 3) stay the course, 4) continue effective communication, 5) be creative and humorous, and 6) fight. (Investopedia)

How to Repost Newsworthy Instagram Photos With Statigram: Instagram, "a visual Twitter," continues to gain traction among smartphone users. But unlike Twitter, there's no function to retweet to curate and spread newsworthy photos. Enter Statigram, a third-party Web interface for Instagram that has a repost function. Reposting an Instagram photo using Statigram requires four simple steps. (Poynter)

How to Overcome Writer's Block: There are many well-known tips for overcoming writer's block -- take a nap, call a friend, take a hot shower, etc. But what's the real source of writer's block, and how can you truly defeat it? Here's some input from John Carlton and Ray Bradbury: go back and study your topic more, and find a topic that you actually feel passionate about. (Spin Sucks)

Your Tweets Are Not Your Own: The City of New York demanded the release of all the tweets from an Occupy Wall Street protestor from Sept. 15-Dec. 31, 2011, in addition to his email address and any other information associated with his account. Last Monday, a judge in Manhattan ruled that Twitter must turn over the requested information. "In doing so, the judge, Matthew A. Sciarrino Jr., indicated that although private speech was protected, the same did not apply to public comments on Twitter." (NYTimes.com, Mediabistro's AllTwitter)

A Journalist's Guide to Infographics: Infographics are popular these days, so journalists might still be figuring out how to utilize them as resources or content. All they need to do is assess the infographic, decide how to use it, and publish and share it with readers. When choosing how to use the infographic, journalists can use one to support a trending topic, accompany an article or be featured by itself. (talkTECH Communications)

What to Do Before Going to Grad School for Public Relations: While going to graduate school for public relations isn't for everybody, it was appreciated by this PR executive. "I learned a lot about my profession that I didn’t already know, and I helped the PR field by publishing scholarly research." If you decide to go back to school to learn more about PR, here are four things to do: 1) do your research and know why you're going for; 2) know the degree or program you want; 3) get real-world experience before going back to the classroom; and 4) network. (Ragan.com)

A Master's in Journalism and Entrepreneurship: Dena Levitz, manager of digital strategies for the Newspaper Association of America, shares about her her realization that she needed to make herself more marketable and qualified. She is set to be a member of American University's inaugural class of master's students studying media entrepreneurship this coming fall. "By the time I'm done with my coursework, I hope to be ready to develop an entirely new news product and then pitch it to financial investors so that it can come to fruition." (PBS MediaShift)

The Guide to PR Entrepreneurship: Here's an A-to-Z guide for PR business owners at all levels of experience or aspiration. The guide starts with "A is for advice," then proceeds through entries like "E is for expectations," "J is for journalist" and "T is for taxes" before finishing at "Z is for zzzzzz’s." (Proper Propaganda)

ProfNet, a service of PR Newswire, has helped journalists and experts connect since 1992. Writers can search the ProfNet Connect database of more than 50,000 profiles; send a ProfNet query by email to thousands of subscribers around the globe; or get timely experts and story ideas by email.

Following is a roundup of 10 interesting PR- and media-related stories found online last week:

How the iPhone Has Changed News Forever: The iPhone's debut five years ago disrupted many things, including news and journalism. More specifically, Apple's device has changed news consumption and news creation. It made the consumption of news a pleasure, and it became a tool for users to create and publish multimedia content from anywhere. But the iPhone couldn't do it alone -- it had help in the forms of Twitter and the app economy. (GigaOM)

Why I Didn’t Open Your Email Pitch: This reporter shares why she didn't open three emails from a PR firm about a new startup. She manages her emails by scanning three things: the sender, the subject line and the first sentence. After seeing this information for the three emails from the PR firm, she chose not to open them for a handful of reasons, including: she never met or heard of the people sending her the news, she had never heard of the startup and the most interesting part of the news wasn't mentioned early. (Business Insider)

Is Process Journalism to Blame for Fox and CNN's Big Mistakes?: Fox News and CNN mistakenly reported last week that the Supreme Court struck down the “individual mandate” part of the health care law, reports that were seen by President Obama himself. "Fox and CNN’s mistakes stemmed from their decisions to report what they knew, or thought they knew, as soon as they knew it. In other words, it stemmed from their embrace of process journalism: Publish what you have now, figure out the story as you go, correct your mistakes as you update." Fox and CNN weren't the only news organizations who had to deal with guffaws that day: The Associated Press ordered its reporters to "stop taunting on social networks about CNN and others’ SCOTUS ruling mistake and the AP getting it right." (Poynter, ABC News, JimRomenesko.com)

NewsGame Brings Real Reporting to a Virtual World: A Dutch startup called VJ Movement is developing NewsGame, a Facebook game where players act as foreign correspondents and take on mini-challenges within the virtual world. "You’re going to be cooperating or competing with other players you meet," said CEO Thomas Loudon. "You can decide to team up with a photographer, for example, and go together. Or you can ignore the photographer and say, ‘I’m going on my own,’ but you might not be as safe.” Players will encounter issues that are likely happening in the real world, and they can pitch stories to actual journalists, who will populate NewsGame with original reporting and be paid to do so. (Nieman Journalism Lab)

There Is Hope in Online Journalism for Those Who Can Adjust: The Internet isn't killing journalism -- it's changing it. This is frightening for traditional journalists, partly because their platforms are falling apart. News organizations that are pathologically committed to an unsustainable model are the ones killing newspaper journalism. "If any part of journalism is dying, it’s the part that believes it has an inherent right to live." (The Kernel)

Five Ways to Give a Non-News Event a Twist to Attract Reporters: "If you’ve been in media relations for longer than, say, a month, you’ve probably come across that delicate situation in which a client wants to publicize something that just doesn’t warrant publicity." PR professionals are paid to take a plain story and reframe it to make it more exciting or interesting. Here are five ways to do that: 1) widen the angle, 2) use social media, 3) create a real news hook, 4) choose different media outlets to pitch and 5) be honest with the client. (PR Daily)

What News Corp.'s Split Means: News Corp. has made the decision to split its business into two publicly traded companies, one for publishing and one for entertainment. This move appears to be an attempt to appease critics of News Corp.'s recent scandals. As a standalone operation, the newspapers could face increased financial pressure, as they no longer have the luxury of the money from the company's entertainment business. (Reuters, Adweek, Newsonomics)

Five Mistakes PR Professionals Make When Pitching Journalists: "If you were applying for a job and spelled the contact person's name incorrectly, inserted the wrong organization name in the cover letter or didn't have any of the qualifications specified in the job posting, you probably wouldn't be surprised if you didn't get called for an interview." PR professionals who make similar mistakes shouldn't be surprised when their pitches don't get the responses they want. Here are five mistakes PR pros make that guarantee them trash-bin status: 1) not knowing who the journalist is, where they work or what they write about; 2) following up an email with a (hasty) phone call; 3) assuming the existence of a friendship; 4) not delivering the goods; and 5) getting angry. (Manage your Message)

How to Become a PR Technologist: PR/marketing professionals have a responsibility to stay ahead of technology. "The PR pro as a technology tester is one of the eight new practices we need to perform in order to transform our position at the decision-making table and to remain relevant in today’s marketplace." Social media monitoring and measurement tools, collaborative social media platforms, and content management systems are among the tech categories they should understand. Here are five ways to stay ahead of the curve: 1) use it yourself, 2) follow blogs and influencers, 3) test new technology, 4) don't take shortcuts, and 5) understand the language. (Spin Sucks)

Why Media Training Matters: Here's a video of a junior minister in the U.K.'s treasury department getting grilled on a BBC program. This highlights why media training is so essential. It's a reminder that you must know your key messages and convey them well, you shouldn't be afraid to use an anecdote to make your point and you should slow down when you speak, among other things. (LEWIS PR)

ProfNet, a service of PR Newswire, has helped journalists and experts connect since 1992. Writers can search the ProfNet Connect database of more than 50,000 profiles; send a ProfNet query by email to thousands of subscribers around the globe; or get timely experts and story ideas by email.

Following is a roundup of 10 interesting PR- and media-related stories found online last week:

'Officials Say' Journalism Isn't Reporting: The recent official claim from coalition forces regarding Taliban insurgents attacking a U.S. outpost near the Afghan-Pakistani border was misleading and in some cases false. While it's common for false claims to be made during war, this incident highlights an important point: "the overwhelming reliance by American media outlets on the claims of government and media officials invariably produces propagandistic and false journalism and subverts the intended function of a free press. It’s one thing merely to include the claims of 'officials' in news accounts. But that is not what this reporting is." American media outlets often use a template when reporting stories involving the government and military. This practice converts media institutions into "little more than glorified press release outlets." (Salon.com)

When to Pitch Journalists: Here is the input of a few journalists regarding the timing of PR pitches. Nearly every reporter contacted about this topic said they are more likely to respond to pitches sent early in the day. One reporter said he responds to pitches at all hours of the day if they're sent via social media. Another suggestion is to send press releases to reporters and their news desk, so that if the reporter is busy, there's still a chance an editor will assign the story to someone else. (PR Daily)

A Tale of Two Announcement Press Releases: Apple iPad vs. Microsoft Surface: Here's a side-by-side comparison of Apple's press release announcing the iPad in Jan. 27, 2010, and Microsoft's recent press release announcing its Surface tablet. The key difference between the two press releases is that Apple chooses to focus on what people can do with its product, while Microsoft focuses on the features and attributes of the product. (Rex Hammock's RexBlog.com)

How PR Professionals Can Screw up Social Media Connections: This founder and CEO of a social media marketing company shares a story of how he followed a PR professional on Twitter then invited them to follow his personal Facebook and other social media profiles. This was the response he received: "Social Media Expert. I have a rule Auto DM asking me to connect on Facebook get unfollowed. Get a website or blog. Be real.” This should serve as a reminder to PR pros to be mindful of assumptions made when interacting in the social media realm. (bundlepost)

Behavio: The Future of Journalism: Behavio, a startup that uses people's location, phone contacts, physical proximity and movement throughout the day to predict a range of behaviors, is one of the six winners of the Knight Foundation's $1.3 million in grants for media innovation. What does this have to do with journalism? This kind of data can serve as essential context for stories involving crowds of people (think Twitter and YouTube during revolutionary movements). (TechCrunch)

The 25 Skills Student Journalists Must Have: At The Poynter Institute's Teachapalooza 2012, a three-day workshop for journalism professionals and professors, "gurus" Al Tompkins and Vicki Krueger shared a list of 25 skills every student journalist must know up on graduating. Included on the list are reporting basics, storytelling, real-time reporting, blogging and Web writing, mobile and backpack journalism, and passion for journalism. (College Media Matters)

Ten Signs You May Have an Unhealthy Relationship With Social Media: Social media is pervasive, and it's a big way we connect with personal and professional contacts each day. But how much is too much? Among the 10 signs that may alert you to an unhealthy relationship with social media are: you use social media terms as verbs (e.g., "I need to Instagram that"), you check your Klout score (period) and you use social media as a justification for getting unreasonable perks. (Influential Marketing Blog)

How Journalists Decide Their Preferred Interviewing Method: Today's journalists have many ways to interview people: in-person conversations, phone calls, emails, Skype, instant messages, text messages, etc. So how do journalists choose which interviewing method they prefer? Here's the input of five journalists. The consensus seems to be that in-person interviews are best, while email should be viewed as a last resort or as a way to set up interviews. One journalist notes that remembering how her sources like to be interviewed has helped her to be more efficient. (Poynter)

Ten Ways to Make Your Public Relations Strategy Mobile-Friendly: "The power of mobile growth and its reach are too big for PR to ignore." Among the 10 ways a public relations strategy can be optimized to reach mobile users are: ensure your website, newsroom, internal and investor communications are each mobile-friendly; use links to trim bloated content; use visuals and video clips; and make your content shareable via mobile. (The PR Coach)

Five Ways to Deal With Freelance Isolation: If you're a freelancer who often feels isolated working from home, Starbucks or another remote-office location, you're not alone. Here are five ways to cope with being an isolated freelancer: 1) move around, 2) avoid the fridge, 3) network for business and social purposes, 4) get a P.O. Box, and 5) create a schedule and stick to it. (Mediabistro's MediaJobsDaily)

ProfNet, a service of PR Newswire, has helped journalists and experts connect since 1992. Writers can search the ProfNet Connect database of more than 50,000 profiles; send a ProfNet query by email to thousands of subscribers around the globe; or get timely experts and story ideas by email.