![\"\"](\"http:\/\/photos1.blogger.com\/x\/blogger\/2227\/557\/1600\/133352\/Sandringham.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\nThe Queen invites Kate to Christmas at Sandringham<\/b><\/p>\n
By KATIE NICHOLL, Mail on Sunday Last updated at 20:54pm on 25th November 2006<\/p>\n
She has already been granted a rare private audience with the Queen, and now Prince William’s girlfriend has been honoured with an invitation to Sandringham for the Royal Family’s Christmas lunch. <\/p>\n It is the first time an unmarried partner has been invited to the festivities at the Norfolk estate, and it clearly indicates how close Kate Middleton has become to the Royal Family.<\/p>\n However, the 24-year-old has not yet accepted the prestigious invitation, as she struggles to find a compromise if she misses her own family’s traditional Christmas get-together.<\/p>\n We can speculate that somewhere a PR person typed a press release and sent it to the Daily Mail.<\/p>\n What\u2019s the news angle? That someone outside the Royal Family has been invited to Christmas lunch.<\/p>\n Why is that news? <\/p>\n Bluntly? Because the press release says it is.<\/p>\n And the addition of the personal conflict \u2013 a young girl trying to decide whether to have spend the holiday with her own family, or the family of her boyfriend – only adds to the appearance of news. (And a photo couldn\u2019t hurt).<\/p>\n There\u2019s a great benefit to publicity. It\u2019s reported by the news department, rather than the advertising department. To the reading (or listening, or viewing) audience news has much more credibility.<\/p>\n What have you done that may be newsworthy? Did you explain your industry to a class of 4th graders? Donated in every blood drive for the last 8 years? Discovered your great grandmother\u2019s teddy bear in a trunk in the attic?<\/p>\n Have you considered releasing the story to the media?<\/p>\n Here\u2019s another thing to consider: many smaller newspapers don\u2019t have a large staff of reporters, and are begging for local news content. If you send the story already written in newspaper style (aka the inverted pyramid), there\u2019s a good chance your story will be picked up as is. The chance improves with a good black and white photo.<\/p>\n Clip the story, run a few photocopies, and add them to your press kit.<\/p>\n Your company does have a publicity\/press kit, doesn\u2019t it? If so, a human interest story is a great addition. If not, it\u2019s a great start.<\/p>\n Got a story? Will you make an effort to find or create one?<\/p>\n What\u2019s holding you back?<\/p>\n
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