The Art Of Writing Press Statements

As visitors to this blog might know, I love to read, and sometimes write, press statements/releases. Press statements are like structured prose that have their own unique blend of style and substance. They usually contain 'spin'. There's a difference between this and say, op-eds. Op-eds are spin too sometimes, but press statements are 'higher degree' spins, in the sense that the reader, before reading the piece, assumes that some sort of spin is imminent! Nonetheless, my sympathies are with people whose jobs require them to do write press statements. I can imagine the same dilemma I myself would experience if I happen to have a PR job. Most of the time, press releases are an essential source of information (like iPod press releases, for e.g.), and at other times, it can also be used for more interesting purposes... Now one thing about PR stuff is that it's not easy to write good spin: it takes practice and repeated training. One important skill is 'remembering what you've written before', especially if the spin is conducted over a period of time. So there's this interesting ongoing exchange in the ST Forum between Cherian George and Chen Hwai Liang, Press Secretary to the PM. You can read the full context at Mr. Wang's. Now the very interesting thing is that on Wednesday, Hwai Liang says...

IN 'MANAGING civil disobedience' (ST, Oct 10), Dr Cherian George regretted that the PAP Government's 'calibrated approach to coercion' and its self-restraint had made it harder for 'pro-democracy activists - (to) remind Singaporeans that they should care about political liberalisation'... ... Third, zero tolerance for law breaking does not equate to zero tolerance for dissenting views. On the contrary, we encourage people to speak up and express their opinions on national policies and community life, so that out of the diversity of views a consensus can be forged, and a better decision made for the good of the nation. Dr George's critical article was published in The Straits Times, contradicting his own claims.

Cherian wrote a letter to the newspaper again on Thursday, and on Friday (today), Hwai Liang responds with...

DR CHERIAN George, in his letter 'Govt shouldn't equate analysis with advocacy' (ST, Oct 13), regrets that the Government had 'cast (his) article ('Managing civil disobedience'; ST, Oct 10) in partisan terms'. His article states that it was 'based on an academic paper on calibrated coercion'. This paper, titled 'Calibrated coercion and the maintenance of hegemony in Singapore', describes Singapore as an instance of 'authoritarian rule', declares that 'the normative thrust of this essay is directed at democratisation', and claims to offer a 'sophisticated understanding of what makes certain kinds of authoritarian rule endure - the better to resist and challenge them'. These statements, which show Dr George's true intention, were omitted from his Straits Times article, which was a sanitised version of his original paper. Is this being non-partisan? ...

That's why I say lah, not easy to write press statements. And statements are easily contradicted by their own claims! hahaa... So yes, the article was printed in the ST, but the critical parts were 'sanitized' and not included. Maybe Cherian might want to include it in the next printing of his book, Singapore: The air-conditioned, sanitised nation : essays on the politics of comfort and control. Update (!): SingaporeClassics, which recently celebrated its first month of wholesome blogging, has lots more on this snafu, here and here.