Memorandum on Switchboarding
Diocesan Press Service. October 14, 1975 [75357]
The Diocesan Press Service continues its policy of circulating ( "switchboarding ") news and feature stories of national interest. I solicit from diocesan and other editors stories of models (especially relating to the General Church Program) which may be appropriately shared with the entire Church. Some suggested areas from which stories may be drawn are :
Bicentennial Observance * Church and Public Affairs (such as juvenile justice, prison reform, public welfare, etc.) * Communication Use (media, networks, methods, etc.) * Ecumenical Programs of all Kinds * Education Programs for all Ages * Evangelism * Hunger (Domestic and World) * Liturgy * Ministry (Lay, Ordained, Chaplaincies, etc.) * Recipients of National Church Grants (Ethnic Groups, Presiding Bishop's Fund, United Thank Offering, etc.) * Refugees Resettlement * Renewal (Parish, Personal) * Social and Personal Problems (Alcoholism, Drugs, etc.) * Stewardship * Youth and College Ministries * Women's Ministries * Etc.
The above is a list of selected examples, not a final, exhaustive list!
Here are a few suggested criteria for submitting stories:
1. Select stories that seem to you to be of national (and not merely local or diocesan) interest.
2. Submit carefully edited, double-spaced, typed copy. If the same story appears in your diocesan publication, be sure people and places are properly identified for a readership who may not be familiar with your local situation.
3. Mark clearly on the story that it is intended for SWITCHBOARDING.
4. Allow lead time of a minimum of one month when announcing events, since it may take a week for the story to be processed and mailed through the DPS, and another few weeks to appear in print in diocesan publications.
5. Glossy prints, preferably 5" x 7", are encouraged for use with news or feature stories. Prints can be reproduced in quantity in a day or two in New York.
6. Be as brief as it is possible to be, since most diocesan publications have quite limited space for such articles.
7. If you are sending the same release directly to diocesan publications, there is no need to switchboard it through the DPS. (Yes, that actually happens !)
8. Authorized officers of boards, commissions, committees, coalitions, etc., as well as editors are invited to submit news stories for circulation via the DPS.