Writing a Press Release
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A news release usually begins, "For Immediate Release -- Contact (your name and phone number)" and continues with writing similar in format and style to that found in a newspaper. The first paragraph almost always contains the crux of the announcement, and is almost always followed by a direct quote from an executive of the company commenting further on the announcement.
Sometimes a news release is embargoed -- that is, news organizations are requested not to report the story until a specified time. For example, news organizations usually receive a copy of Presidential speeches several hours in advance. In such cases, the news organizations generally do not break the embargo, lest they fail to receive future copies of advance, embargoed material.
- Make sure whatever it is you are announcing is indeed newsworthy.
- Select those assignment editors and media appropriate for your story. For example, TV news assignment editors prefer stories where something visual is happening, don't send them to cover a speech by a talking head unless you provide a visual tie-in.
- If you are promoting something that will require the media to cover a story at a particular time and place, send your news release well ahead of time (say three weeks or so).
- Use double-spacing.
- Make it clear where the release begins and ends, use "MORE" at the end of pages if there are more pages, or "-30-" at the end of the last page of the release.
- News releases are typically written in an inverted pyramid style with the most news-worthy points (the "hook") at the beginning and then gradually more detailed information is added. This is because many media companies are inundated with press releases and they frequently don't read beyond the 3rd or 4th sentence. A successful release is one that is able to develop interest in the first couple of sentences so that the reader will continue reading the details and decide to use the material.
- If possible, try to tie the release to a current news story (called a "news peg").
