Clippings for November and December 2010
Brenton Stacey
Public relations officer
Cooranbong, New South Wales, Australia
The inside story on where (and why) Avondale College featured in the media over the yearend.
COSMOS
Graduates Reuben Ennor and Jessica Parsons on the cover of Record.
The story of the members of an Avondale College student club who risked sore feet and sunburn on a 25-kilometre hike that raised $1000 for clean water in Malawi appealed to the media. Two days after suburban newspaper the Lakes Mail published Advancement PR’s media release (and a photograph of COSMOS president Joshua Zyderveld and club members Jedda Britten, Emma Doyle and Tammy Zyderveld), regional newspaper The Herald did the same. The publication of the release on a Saturday (November 27) means more would have read the release. The journal of the Seventh-day Adventist Church in the South Pacific, Record, published the release before the newspapers. The release appeared on Record’s website on November 22. Four days later, Record InFocus broadcast the story as part of its “Adventist News” segment.
Atoifi Adventist Hospital
In the same “Adventist News” segment, Record InFocus featured the story of the seven mission-minded Avondale College nursing students who served with their lecturer at Atoifi Adventist Hospital in the Solomon Islands. Lakes Mail had published Advancement PR’s media release a week earlier (November 18), but Record published first, on its website (November 12).
The Promise
Also on Record’s website (December 9): news of Avondale College vocal ensemble The Promise recording a new album with music label Psalter. The interest is understandable—Psalter and Record are ministries of Adventist Media Network.
Reckless Love
A former editor of Record is Dr Bruce Manners, now senior minister of Avondale College Seventh-day Adventist Church. The journal featured Advancement PR’s media release about and graphic designer Ann Stafford’s photograph of the launch of Bruce’s book Reckless Love on its website and in its magazine (December 4). NorthPoint, the newsletter for the Seventh-day Adventist Church in northern New South Wales, went further, also publishing Advancement PR’s review of the book in its December edition. Why the interest? Bruce is one of the church’s field ministers. The content about the launch fills page two of NorthPoint.
Greg Combet
Federal Member for Charlton Greg Combet’s visit to meet Avondale College students who gave up their holidays to serve in regional New South Wales makes news in Towns on the Move. The newsletter, produced by Southlake Business Chamber and Community Alliance, features Advancement PR’s media release and photograph on page four of its December edition.
Graduation
Advancement PR’s graduation media release led with faces rather than figures. The story of Reuben Ennor and Jessica Parsons—they studied, they served and now they plan to marry—appealed to the Lakes Mail and to Record.
The newspaper published the release and a photograph by Ann Stafford on page six of its December 16 edition.
The magazine published the release and Ann’s photograph as a news feature in its December 18 edition. It also published another of Ann’s photographs of Reuben and Jessica on the cover, twice—the cover also appeared on a wraparound that week.
Advancement PR pitched the graduation media release to Record on the Wednesday before graduation to ensure the magazine published the release before the end of the year—December 18 is Record’s last edition for 2010.