Clips

I had a blast going through some work boxes the other day. If you'd like to see my work as Editor in Chief of Lady Couture Magazine click here.

I am available for hire as a writer and/or editor. If you'd like specific writing or editing samples, let me know. I've written opinion pieces, investigative reports, feature stories, general news stories, business articles, profiles and other articles at national and local newspapers and magazines. I also have edited two magazines and several publications.

 I had the privilege of working with First Amendment and FOI expert and veteran reporter Jack Taylor on this investigative piece.

 This was one of the biggest stories at the time. I took the lead and worked with our South Texas and Mexico City bureau chiefs the day this story broke.

Below is my work as Editor in Chief of RGV Woman magazine. Although it's a Q&A, I particularly liked my intro.

This is one in a series of articles that appeared each Sunday in the Monitor as a lead in to the first-ever Welcome Home Vietnam Veterans event called LZ:RGV. 

A few years prior to this cover article on Dr. Cardenas, I had written another cover article for Hispanic Outlook in Higher Education featuring former president Miguel Navarez.

This cover article for the 2006 edition of McAllen Journal helped garner a prize for the publisher. (Or at least, that's what the editor told me when he thanked me for the piece.)

I enjoy writing and editing and working with other journalists. I plan to include more clips at OneVoice2. I am available for hire so feel free to share. Thanks!

My Christmas Story

Christmas is more than one day; it's a state of mind. My Christmas wish is that you carry Christmas in your heart all year long. That you find peace and joy. That you are kinder and gentler to the people you encounter. That laughter, love and music abounds. And, that you lead a grateful life. Merry Christmas my friends! And Happy Chanukkah, Kwanza, Holidays too.

I wrote this story in 1996 and updated it in 2011. I hope you like it.

                                                              MY CHRISTMAS STORY

                                                                              by

                                                                 Julia Benitez Sullivan

         At this time of the year I get a lot of comments about my birthday. Some people express delight when they discover I was born on Christmas Day, but the most frequent response is “how awful” it must be for me. They say my birthday must get lost in the Christmas rush and that I must have felt cheated at a child. When I reply that being a Christmas baby isn’t awful, that I have many happy memories and have never felt cheated, I get the impression that they assume I’m just being a good sport.

            But the truth is that I feel blessed to have been born on Christmas and credit my family, especially my parents, for making me feel special.

            My parents didn’t have a lot of money. They were farm laborers who worked hard to provide a good home, good food and the basic necessities. But no matter how tight things might have been, they made sure we had a Christmas tree. Sometimes we had a small tree that was placed on top of a coffee table, other times the tree was bigger. We even had an artificial tree that was handed down to us – that one lasted several years and I was glad when my parents finally threw it out. To this day it isn’t Christmas or my birthday without a fresh, beautiful tree. My husband, son and I have established a tradition of visiting a tree farm to select our tree, drink hot chocolate or Wassail, and maybe take in a hay ride. But back then, even thought the town we lived in billed itself as the Christmas Tree Capital, we used to go to our neighborhood grocery store to pick out a tree from the parking lot.

            Our presents were things we needed – underwear, warm clothing and such. The toys I received came from my older brothers and sisters. I’m the youngest of six and there is a 20-year age difference from my oldest brother Tommy and me. I didn’t get a lot of toys, but if I missed them then, I certainly don’t remember it now. What I do remember is the Suzy Homemaker dishwasher I got one year from my sister Thelma, my first bike, a red four-wheeler, that my brother Tommy gave me, even though he had his own children to purchase gifts for that year, and two beautiful Asian dolls from Vietnam that I wish I had taken better care of and saved because my brother Arturo, who survived the war only to be killed later by a drunken driver back home, brought them home for me.

            My sister Helen (who’s seven years older than me and the second youngest in the family) used to surprise me in the summer with birthday gifts, just because. Helen gave me my first birthstone ring and other jewelry and took me to have my ears pierced when I was 16.  My father didn’t like that gift, but I sure did!

            But the best gift I ever got was from my parents. It is a gift that is still with me, even though my parents have both passed away. Their gift was to make me feel that the entire holiday was in celebration of my birthday. Yep, me and J.C.

            How many children have entire cities decked out for their birthdays? I had a vacation from school for my birthday, beautiful decorations, Christmas carols, parades and a Posada that always ended at my house with a magical celebration on Christmas Eve. People seemed to be nicer and happier (they still do) and we had lots of company, wonderful treats, and special Masses at church.

            My birthday season would start the week after Thanksgiving. Papa would take me for a drive downtown. He’d point out all the decorations and say, “Hey, they’re already setting up for your birthday.” Of course I knew that the decorations and activities weren’t about me, but rather something much bigger and more wonderful. But I couldn’t help feeling a part of it anyway.

            Oh, and I always had a birthday party – the Traditional Surprise Birthday Party. It was held the Saturday right after school let out. Mom continued “surprising” me with these parties until I finished college and moved away from home. There weren’t a lot of kids from school at those parties, but our home was filled with friends and family and my birthday parties were a lot of fun. That’s also when I opened my birthday presents – socks, underwear and other necessities. On Christmas Day, mama made sure the family sang Happy Birthday around the table before dinner.

            After I left home, every year, no matter how far away I was, the first call I’d get on Christmas morning was from mama, singing Happy Birthday. She continued this new tradition every year until the year she died. I still miss that phone call, or better yet, hearing her sweet voice in person.

            There was one Grinch at Christmas, even in my family. The Grinch was my tia Lupita, an aunt who always managed to find the same card (maybe she bought a whole case one year). The card had a candle burning from both ends and said “Happy Birthday/Merry Christmas.” But she also was the one who organized the Posadas, so, as far as Grinches go, my tia Lupita wasn’t so bad and her cards are something to chuckle over now.

            Posada, is the Spanish word for Procession. This traditional, Catholic Christmas celebration takes place for nine nights, and depicts the story of Mary and Joseph seeking shelter in Bethlehem. Each night, we would meet at a friend’s home, half of our group would proceed to the home’s front door singing that we were seeking shelter, another group inside the home would reply, also in song, that there was no room for us. Then we’d all gather for refreshments.

            This took place at a different home each night until Christmas Eve, on that night the Holy couple finally found shelter and were let in the home, there the baby Jesus was laid in a nativity scene, prayers were said and then we celebrated with refreshments of hot, Mexican chocolate, finger sandwiches, tamales, pastries and candies. That last night was always held at our home. Later that night, after our guests had left, we’d go to Midnight Mass.

            We’ve lost some of those traditions over the years, mostly because we moved so far away from our closest friends and family. But we’ve established our own traditions. In addition to the Christmas tree outing, which is a day-long affair, we take drives to look at all the decorations in neighborhoods and cities, we go to Christmas parades and festivals, get together with friends and sing lots of Christmas carols. We celebrate Christmas with a formal dinner on Christmas Eve, and open one gift. On Christmas morning, when Santa’s gifts are under the tree, it’s all about our son. Then we go to brunch to celebrate my birthday, just the three of us unless we have company at Christmas that year.

            Even after all these years, I still feel special at Christmas. That’s the gift from my parents.

The End

2011 – Our celebration has evolved over the years, now our Christmas Eve dinner includes a modified Advent Wreath, where we remember our loved ones who we have lost over the years. In this way, we keep them alive in our hearts and memories. I read my story and the essay, One Solitary Life, written by Jim Bishop. We still have a live tree in our home each year, but it’s been a long time since we visited a Christmas tree farm – mostly because there aren’t any close to our home in deep South Texas. Our son, James, is now 25-years-old and says Christmas is his favorite holiday. I believe that he will continue some of our traditions and add some of his own as the years progress.

            I am blessed to celebrate my birthday with the best Christmas present our family has ever received, my baby niece, Regan Elizabeth Akst, born on Christmas Day 2010. This year, she celebrates her first birthday and I hope that she feels as blessed throughout the years as I have felt. I am sure she will because she has wonderful parents – Jason and Becca, aunts, and grandparents who will help her feel special and blessed. Reagan is my sister Helen’s first grandchild and guess what? Reagan had a half-year birthday celebration in June thanks to her aunt Lisa and ama Helen. Lucky girl! Happy Birthday Reagan! See you soon! Love, tia Julie
 

Helen, Julie & Thelma

Julie's Birthday 2012

Julie & Becca at Grandma Elena's home

Julie & Jamie (1 month)

Reagan at 4 months.

Jamie, Becca and Lisa (holding Reagan) 

Julie is the little one, with Helen smoothing Julie's hair. Don't know the other girl.

In Support of Small Business

Saturday's "Shop Local" campaign is a great way to call attention to the small businesses that make our community unique and special. But these local businesses extend to products and services that go beyond storefronts. I'm excited and humbled to be a part of a committee that is searching out these businesses for Small Business Administration awards. The work we're doing now will call attention to the Rio Grande Valley businesses regionally and, perhaps even nationally.

If you own or know of a locally-owned small business that deserves recognition for its contributions to our community and to the economy, let me know. There is still time to nominate. In addition to the Business Person of the Year, we are going to be selecting nominees for these categories:

• Small Business Exporter of the Year: Any individual who owns and operates a small business engaged in exporting may be nominated.
• SBA Young Entrepreneur of the Year: To be considered a young entrepreneur, the individual must serve as a majority owner and operate or bear principal responsibility for operating a small business with a three-year track record, and who will not have reached the age of 30 by June 1, 2014.
• Environmental “Green” Conservator of the Year*: Any individual who owns and operates a small business that employs, promotes and exemplifies environmental innovation in manufacturing, technology, recycling, architectural design, conservation, waste reduction and/or organic/holistic products.
• Innovation Through Technology Business of the Year*: This award honors a small business that creates and/or discovers an innovation that breaks with conventional processes and goes beyond marginal improvements in areas such as manufacturing, medicine, software, the Internet, wireless and consumer electronics and can be in the form of new products, patents, inventions or services.
• Jeffrey Butland Family-Owned Business of the Year: This award honors a family-owned and operated business which has been passed on from one generation to another. The owner must also serve as a majority owner and operator or bear principal responsibility for operating a small business with at least a 15-year track record.
• Small Business Journalist of the Year: Journalists representing television, radio, electronic or print media who report and champion small business issues may be nominated.
• Financial Services Champion of the Year: Individuals who assist small businesses through advocacy efforts to increase the usefulness and availability of accounting or financial services for small businesses may be nominated. Nominees may or may not be small business owners.
• Home-Based Business Champion of the Year: Individuals who have experienced the rewards and difficulties of owning a home-based business and have volunteered to improve the climate for these businesses may be nominated. Nominees may or may not be current small business owners.
• Minority Small Business Champion of the Year: Individuals who have fulfilled a commitment to support minority entrepreneurship may be nominated. Nominees may or may not be small business owners.
• Veteran Small Business Champion of the Year: Individuals who have fulfilled a commitment to advancing small business opportunities for veterans of the U.S. armed forces may be nominated. Nominees may or may not be veterans.
• Women in Business Champion of the Year: Individuals who have fulfilled a commitment to the advancement of women’s business ownership may be nominated. Nominees may or may not be small business owners.

If you'd like your business to be considered, or want to recommend one, please let me know ASAP. E-mail me at Julia@onevoice2.com.

We'll be reviewing our nominees on Dec. 17, so please e-mail me no later than Thursday, Dec. 5 so I can forward you the additional information you need.

Instant Oatmeal vs Instant Oatmeal

We've all heard expert tips to select items with the least ingredients on the package when grocery shopping. For the most part, I try to do this, so I was shocked: "SHOCKED, I tell you!" to discover that my healthy instant, pre-packaged oatmeal had 30+ ingredients listed. Really, you too oatmeal...

Anyway, right next to the pre-packaged stuff in my cupboard sits a box of Irish Oatmeal that I use for baking breads and such. There was only one ingredient listed on the McCann's box: 100% whole grain Irish oats. So I made my own instant oatmeal. Breakfast took under 3 minutes (including the prep time) sand it was delish! So I don't think we'll be restocking the prepackaged stuff again.

My Instant Oatmeal: 1/2 cup Irish oats, Organic, sun-dried Goji berries, 1 TBS locally grown honey, ground cinnamon and ginger to taste and 1 cup water. 1.5 minutes in the microwave. I'd share a picture of my oatmeal, but ate it hours ago. So here's a photo of the ingredients (not counting the water).
 

 

The recipe on the box calls for 1/2 a cup of the oatmeal and 1 cup of water. Cook in the microwave for 1.5 minutes. I added the Goji berries to the oatmeal prior to cooking it and then stirred in the rest of the ingredients when it was done.

 

However you decide to flavor it; at least you'll know and can control what's in your oatmeal. Enjoy!



 

 

 

 

 

 

 



The Art of Effective News Communication, Part III

This is the final part in my series on the components that make up a news release. The reason I spent so much time on these building blocks is because the first step in effective news communication is knowing how to properly prepare a news release. When editors have to rewrite your release or have to dig through it to figure out what they need to know... chances are they won't. While knowing how to put together a good news release helps, the most important things to remember are: Make sure that it's newsworthy in the first place, and make sure it is well-written with accurate information.

In this final installment, I'll cover the components that comprise the body of the release.

5W's & H: If you ever sat through J-101, you know all about the 5 W's and H. There's a lot more that goes into good news writing, but it all starts with answering these basic questions:

For our purposes, the 5 W's and H serve as checklist to make sure we don't miss any information that a journalist and the public needs to know. It's best to cover these in your lead paragraph. Remember that journalists, editors and news producers have a lot of material to review. So the faster you can convey your message, the better. The rest of your release can expand on your lead with more details, quotes, etc. But please remember to always keep your releases to one page (including the photo caption and your boilerplate).

Call to Action: When I can, I like to incorporate something in the news release that gives readers a sense of urgency; that they need to act on this now, especially when you have registration, tickets to sell, or event deadlines.

Public's Contact Info: It's a good idea to let the public know where they can go for more information and it's a good excuse to promote your website too.

End: End your release with three pound signs (###) centered. This is standard and  shows the journalist that there aren't missing pages.

Photo Caption (cutline): Please, please, please never include a photo embedded in the news release. (I'm talking about Word documents.) It should be sent as a separate attachment. What IS appropriate for the news release is the photo caption. This is where you identify anyone in the photo or tell the public what the photo is about.

Boilerplate: If you are asking yourself "What is a boilerplate?" you're not alone. Even experienced marketing professionals don't always know or understand the term. It refers to how print got stamped onto the newspaper. Boilerplate copy was stamped on steel plates that could be reused over and over again. For our use, the boilerplate is a statement that tells anyone reading it, who you are and what you do. It should be short. Brevity is key. On a news release, the boilerplate is the last thing that appears on a release, appearing under the END symbol and (if you have it) the cutline. A boilerplate is one of the most effective tools in branding, and, if you're not using yours on every communication, you are passing up a golden opportunity to tell the media and public about your company.

Well, that's the end of this series on the components of a news release. If you take nothing else away from this series, please take this one tip:  Before you write a news release, ask yourself, "Is this newsworthy? Is this something that the public will want to know?" If the answer is "no," then don't do it. As you know, there are a lot of other components to effective news communications: knowing when and where to send them, establishing good media relationships, knowing the jargon, etc. I'll write about some of these in future articles.

What are your must-have components? Let me know what you think.

The Art of Effective News Communication, Part Deux

As promised, here are the components of a News Release highlighted on an actual release. I illustrated them as bullet points in Part 1.

Components of a News Release

 

In Part 1, I talked about the importance of the contact person listed on a release. Also, although this sample doesn't feature a logo, I talked about taking advantage of branding your business or organization by sending out News Releases on your letterhead or a template that features your logo. Today, I'll cover the Date, Headline, and Lead Paragraph.

 

Date: It's important to let the media know the release date. Most of the time, I will use FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE. Keep in mind that just because it says for immediate release doesn't mean that it will appear the next day and sometimes not even the next week. The use of "For Immediate Release" just lets the media know that the information is not embargoed and can be used immediately.

Make sure to allow as much lead time as possible. Send releases out at least two weeks before you'd like to see it appear. Send it out even earlier for events you want listed on calendars.

About embargoes: A news embargo is a request by a source that the information or news provided not be published until a certain date. Embargoed releases are often used by businesses making a product announcement, by medical journals, and by government officials announcing policy initiatives; the media is given advance knowledge of details being held secret so that news reports can be prepared to coincide with the announcement date and yet still meet press time. In theory, news embargoes reduce inaccuracy in the reporting of breaking stories by allowing reporters time to research and write, often complicated pieces.

The Headline: Make it bold. Make it catchy. And just like the rest of your news release, make sure it's newsworthy and relevant. It will be centered (left to right, not top to bottom). You can use all caps and/or make it 1-2 font sizes larger than the body to help it stand out.

Sub-Headline: You don't always need a sub-headline for your news release. The sample above, for example, doesn't have a sub-headline, but I want to mention it because you may need to use one at some point. A sub-headline provides additional information to the headline. I used these a lot at the University of Texas-Pan American because some of the releases we sent out were complicated. The format I recommend when using the two-line headline is to use ALL CAPS on the main headline and upper and lowercase  for the sub-headline.

Dateline: The dateline is used to set the geographic location of the article or event. When using a dateline, it is placed on the first line of your text. I prefer to us AP style.

Next comes your Introduction or Lead paragraph: Outside of your headline, most of your focus should be on crafting a strong lead —that's where your news release lives or dies. After reading the lead of your news release, the person reading it should have answers to the 5 W's and H.

Your goal with the lead is to hook the reader while providing a clear, concise overview of your story. Please don't start with "So and So from Such and Such company is pleased to announce a first of its kind widget...." Instead, "A first of its kind widget that promises to ....," announced So and So from Such and Such.  The second paragraph is a great place to include a quote from the So and So that expands on the lead.

The rest of the news release reinforces the lead paragraph and provides more details.

I'll go into more detail on the 5 W's and H in the final installment in this series, as well as discuss the rest of the building blocks. One of my handouts at workshops includes tips for writing a strong lead and for composing a boilerplate. Contact me and I'll email it to you.



The Art of Effective News Communication

With advertising and marketing budgets getting tighter, we need to look for other ways to reach our audiences. If, like me, you come from the small business and non-profit world, you no doubt are already a pro at looking at creative solutions to get the word out about what you do and what services you provide. In future articles, I plan to touch on some ideas on promoting your organization or small business through community outreach. But for now, let's start with one tried and true way to communicate with the general public and our specific audiences through the news media. The News Release.

Almost anyone can write a news release and send it out. But there's an art to making sure it doesn't end up in the trash. It starts with a well-written, informative, brief, and newsworthy press release. So here are my tips and what I like to call "building blocks" to a well-written, effective news release.

• Heading/Company Logo. These typically go out on your company's letterhead. But you can easily create a template specifically for News Releases, that have these components in place so that you don't have to recreate it each time.
• News Media Contact Information. This contact is typically the person that handles media relations or is the company's spokesperson.
• Date (Release or Embargo Date). This lets the media know when it's okay to release the news.
• Headline. The headline should let anyone reading it know immediately what to expect.
• Introduction (Lead).
• 5 W’s & 1 H
• Call to Action. (This one is optional because you won't always need it. But giving the public a reason or motivation to act is a good thing, especially for event releases.)
• Public’s Contact Information.
• The End.
• Photo Caption (if needed).
• Boilerplate.

I'll go into more detail on each bullet, starting here, and will include a news release with the components highlighted in my next post.

Your Logo: Like your boilerplate, your logo is a great branding tool, so any correspondence, including your news release, should be sent out on letterhead or a News Release Template that features your logo.

Contact Information: Give complete contact information for the person in charge of your media relations. This is the person who a reporter will call to field all questions about the release. You want to give as much contact information here as possible. office & cell phone and Email at the very least.

One of the biggest pet peeves among reporters and editors has to do with contact information. I can't stress enough how important it is to make it easy for a reporter, editor, or producer to reach the contact person. So make sure that whoever is listed as the contact on a news release is available and reachable. It doesn't help to include a cell phone number and e-mail address if the person is too busy to return calls and check e-mails. Typically, the contact information listed at the top of the release is for the media only. The contact for the general public should be listed in the body of the copy, if it's appropriate.I'll go into more detail on other components in my next article. 

I'll go into more detail on other components in the next article.  As always, I'd love to hear from you. Let me know what you think.