How to Write a News Release
A news release, more popularly known as a press release and also known as a media release, is a written or recorded communication directed at members of the news media about a topic or event that has value to be a news item. The main purpose of a press release is to announce news items from the entity who released it – usually a business enterprise. These news items can range from scheduled events, personnel promotions, awards, new products and services, sales accomplishments, and the like which are often used to generate a feature story.
Press releases are often produced by the press relations department of the organization, professional publicists or commercial third-party press release distribution services. They are tasked to attract media attention to their client and provide publicity for products or events provided by their clients. These press releases reach the media via fax, mail or email. Media contacts may include editors at newspapers, magazines, television stations and networks. Press releases often follow a structure of elements with their documents to help journalists who receive them. These elements are often present in most press releases and here are some tips on how to write news releases:
Headline – This is used to grab the attention of journalists. Briefly summarize the news to fit in a phrase or a sentence but don’t forget to keep it short, clear and straight to the point while using keywords and the company name. This part of the press release is often written in larger characters compared to the rest of the document to make sure it grabs the attention of the journalist who will read it. Omit articles like “a” and “the” as well as “to be” forms of verbs. Headlines are preferred to be written in present tense.
Dateline – This is an important element in the press release. Along with the release date, the place of origin is also indicated, usually the name of the city where the document is published.
Introduction – This is the first paragraph in a press release so make it catchy and informative. Starting strong will get the journalist reading along. Usually, the 5 Ws of journalism are mentioned in this paragraph: What, When, Where, Who and Why.
Body – Additional paragraphs hold further explanation, statistics, quotes, background, or other details relevant to the news. You might also want to include some history if the news demands it for the reader to have a clearer understanding of the news being presented. As much as possible, use facts and eliminate opinion, repetition, jargon and fancy or street language. Be as professional sounding as possible. Everything here should support the first paragraph and nothing more.
Boilerplate – This is a short section devoted to information pertaining to the individual or organization or the press release service provider and their client.
### - This signals the end of the release and usually appears centered directly underneath the last line of the press release. This is a journalism standard.
Media contact information – This contains the company name and the contact information of the press relations officer or other person the media should contact for interviews or with questions. The contact information usually contains the name, phone number, email address, mailing address, website and the time availability. This is so the journalists know who to contact if they wish to contact the entity who issued the press release.
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