The Cameroon Flag and The Togo Flag

Cameroon

The Cameroon flag was established May 20, 1975. This was after Cameroon became a unitary state. It was a part of France until gaining its independence in 1960. The flag is broken up into three main parts. The left third of the flag is a green vertical stripe. The right third is a yellow vertical strip and the middle third is a red vertical stripe with a yellow star in the middle. The green is representative of a of the lush, rich forests and vegetation of the southern region of the country. It is also said to represent the hope of the future. The red represents independence and unity. The yellow stands for the savannas in the north and the sun, which is their source of happiness. The star also represents the country’s unity. The colors are pan-African and Cameroon is only the second modern African state to use them.

Togo

This flag is similar to the Cameroon flag in that it also was established when it gained independence from France. This took place on April 27, 1960. The Togo flag also contains the pan-African colors, but they are arranged differently. There are five stripes alternating with green and yellow. There is a red box in the upper left-hand corner that contains a white star in the middle. The red on the Togo Flag is symbolic of the loyalty and patriotism the people should feel towards their country. The green shows hope, fertility, and agriculture. The yellow is representative of mineral wealth and faith in the ability of hard work and strength to bring prosperity. The white star represents life, purity, peace, dignity, and Togo’s independence. In addition, there are five stripes to show the five distinct geographical regions of the nation.

The First Press Release

The news release is very common nowadays, but the first press release was created October 28, 1906. It was written by Ivy Lee after the a Pennsylvania Railroad car jumped a trestle in Atlantic City, NJ and fell into the Thoroughfare creek.

Later that day Lee, who is now commonly considered the father of modern PR, wrote the first press release. It was difficult to convince Pennsylvania Railroad to release a public statement, but he was able to do it. Not only that, but he also got them to set up a railroad for the press that led to the scene of the accident.

The Reaction

This was the first time a company had done anything like this, so they were not sure what the media and public reaction would be. The feedback was extremely positive. The company was praised for its openness and honesty, and The New York Times published the public address verbatim, which is almost unheard of for PR practitioners today.

Ivy Lee tried this new approach again when a coal operating company went on strike. This time the media did not respond as favorable. They angrily declared that it was a “ad disguised as news,” and it was meant to sway the news coverage.

Principles

Lee issued a declaration addressing this issue, and is summarized as follows:

• The work is done openly
• Its aim is to supply news
• The media is under no obligation to use it
• It is accurate
• It is verifiable

The press release has come along way since then, but these principles still apply to modern day PR practitioners. Yes, it is true that the goal is to receive positive media coverage, but everything that is said must be true and newsworthy or the likely hood of getting any part of the release published is minimal. We have many more tools available to us nowadays. Learn about 5 ways to use Twitter.