Elements of a Press Release
A press release, news release, media release, press statement or video release is a written or recorded communication directed at members of the news media for the purpose of announcing something ostensibly newsworthy. Typically, they are mailed, faxed, or e-mailed to assignment editors at newspapers, magazines, radio stations, television stations, or television networks.
Technically, anything deliberately sent to a reporter or media source is considered a press release. However, public relations professionals often follow a standard format that they believe is efficient and increases their odds of getting the publicity they desire. Generally, a press release body consists of 4 to 5 paragraphs with word limit ranging to 400 to 500.
Some of these common structural elements include:
- Media contact information — name, phone number, email address, mailing address, or other contact information for the PR or other media relations contact person.
- Headline — used to grab the attention of journalists and briefly summarize the news.
- Date — contains the release date
- Location – include the originating city at the beginning of the first line
- Introduction — first paragraph in a press release, that generally gives basic answers to the questions of who, what, when, where and why.
- Body — further explanation, statistics, background, or other details relevant to the news. Include a quote if possible, to make it personal and exciting.
- Conclusion — generally a short “about” section, providing independent background on the issuing company, organization, or individual.
- Close — in North America, traditionally the symbol “######” appears after the conclusion or body indicating to media that the release has ended.
A few more suggestions:
1. Use of quotes makes the story more interesting. It breaks up the paragraph and also gives you a chance to “name drop.” If your quote comes from someone the reader is likely to recognize, that’s good. Editors like this!
2. We generally don’t use “we” or “I’ statements in a press release unless they are part of a quote.
3. The extra effort it takes to create your own banner for the top of the page might pay off in a press release since a creative banner will make your release stand out and perhaps more likely to get printed.
Some Basic Truths
Here are some truths that you ignore at your own risk:
- Editors don’t care about helping you.
- Editors are hassled all day by PR people and they’re pretty much sick of it.
- Editors don’t care about your website, your book, your products or your life story, unless you are providing something that helps make their job easier — that is, a really good story.
In that case:
- Reporters love you.
- Reporters are happy to take your call.
- Reporters are fascinated by your website, your book, your products and maybe even your life story.
If you want to be successful getting press releases printed from time to time, develop a relationship with local reporters. That means…. When they call you, return their call immediately!
To see a copy of a standard press release format go to:
Press Release Format