How to write a. Press Release. By MediaHQ.com

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Felix Payne
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1 How to write a Press Release By MediaHQ.com 1

2 Introduction Thank you for downloading MediaHQ s Guide to the perfect press release. We know that sending a press release can be a daunting task. Where to start? What to say? How to say it? Fret no more. We have gathered all we know about press releases and have given you a simple, but effective, framework for writing releases. We cover the basics like headlines, what comes first, what is newsworthy and essential housekeeping tips and tricks. In this document, we share some of the things we have learned through clients like Paddy Power, Fáilte Ireland, daa and Argos. MediaHQ has helped send almost 120,000 press releases to every journalist in the country. We hope this guide helps you earn the media you deserve. Remember, all of the following articles are available on our award-winning blog at mediahq. com/blog where you will find hundreds of insightful articles on media and public relations. You can also listen back to episodes of our Mediaflash podcast at soundcloud/mediahq. The MediaHQ team. WHAT IS MEDIAHQ.COM? MediaHQ.com is Ireland s leading media directory. With contact details for over 8,000 journalists listed on our system, our media intelligence is unrivalled. We have helped hundreds of brands including Paddy Power, daa and Fáilte Ireland share their stories through our press release distribution hub. To find out more about the system, us, info@mediahq.com or call

3 PRESS RELEASE 101: Headlines Almost 80% of the stories in our newspapers are generated by press releases, and your objective is to get your message to appear in the media. For this to happen, the media release must read the same way as a news story. It might seem obvious, but it is a skill that has to be mastered So what are the key components of a media release that will get your message noticed? A good media release has a good headline. Today, journalists are bombarded with media messages and you only get one chance to make a first impression. This is an example of a poor headline: BMW REGION CAPITAL ALLOWANCE OF 1 MILLION WILL ENABLE IMPROVEMENTS IN INFRASTRUCTURE FOR PHERIPHAL AREAS Why? It is too long. Great headlines can be spoken in one breath. Use simple language. Headlines need to be succinct, short and snappy. It is passive, there are no active verbs suggesting movement or action. The headline should provide a basic image of the content of the article. Here is a good headline: 10 MILLION GOOGLE INVESTMENT CREATES 100 JOBS FOR BALLINASLOE Why? It s short tells the story in seven words. It s in vivid simple and active language. It s in the present tense so it s newsy. When you are writing a headline, remember the obligation is on YOU to attract the reader. 3

4 The secret to the first paragraph A good media release answers the key questions in the first paragraph Why? In many cases all the journalist will read is the headline and the first paragraph. If you don t make an impression with them then your release is doomed to fail. If your story makes it to print, and a bigger story Think of your release as an inverted pyramid comes along before it goes to print, the journalist will edit your story. This is usually done from the bottom up. Readers are busy and distracted. They may not have time to read every story to the end. So you need to deliver the key information early: What (is happening)? Who (is involved)? Where (is it happening)? When? Why? Always remember the 5 W s when writing your release. In journalism this is known as the inverted pyramid. The widest part at the top represents the most substantial and important information you mean to convey, illustrating that this kind of material should head the article, while the tapering lower portion illustrates that other material should follow in order of diminishing importance. 4

5 How to make the news Of course all PR and Marketing folk think that their company news is of interest to all. The truth is- it isn t. It is a good idea to apply a simple test to check the newsworthiness of all your potential stories. Here s how to tell if you ve got yourself a news hook or not: Timing: Make sure your story is fresh enough for the media in which you want to place it. Angles: Have you looked behind the facts and come up with the most interesting and newsworthy angles for journalists to pursue? Reader interest: Will your story prompt action or comment among readers? News diary: Ensure it will not be fighting for space with other similar news on the day you release it. Topicality: Watch for other news stories or events which might add value to your story. They might make you rethink your news angles and add a crucial hook to your own story that will push it onto the front page. While on the subject of timing, here are the times we find work well for pitching to the press: Between 8.30 and on a week day is a good time to send out a national release. Sunday or Monday is a good time to release to national newspapers. Saturday is the worst time in the week to send out a media release. Establish local newspaper and radio deadlines; ensure that copy is finalised well in advance of the deadline. Always send your piece to a particular person. Ensure it has been received by following up each submission with a call to them. Always ring the local radio station and offer the candidate (or yourself) for interview. Don t wait for them to come to you. 5

6 Housekeeping cheat sheet Refer to this little cheat sheet each time you go to send a release until it comes naturally to you. Remember: Always use 1.5 line spacing for media releases. Type Media Release in 36 point Times New Roman or other well used font. Type headline in 14 point Times New Roman. Type sub heads in 14 point Italics Times New Roman. Type main text in 12 point Times New Roman. Always type the headline of the media release in the subject line of the . Always type the main text of the media release in the body of the NEVER attach a media release to an it won t be read. Paragraphs Broken up text is much easier to read than text which is presented in long, uninterrupted blocks. Use one paragraph for each new idea and for quotations. If you find a paragraph running to more than three sentences, think about breaking it into two. Quotations When we see quotation marks in a story, we know that there is a human being, a voice in the story. Quotation marks, properly used, pull the eye of the reader. They can make the reader continue to read a media release. Putting some of the data in the mouth of the speaker gives greater variety to what otherwise may be just a presentation of details. Keep the attribution simple, for instance: Jack Murray said, Jack Murray replies, Jack Murray states. Ends It is important that the recipient of the release knows where it finishes. Putting ENDS in the middle of the line after you have finished, but before you put in the source. This means your biographical detail/the background to your organisation won t creep into the release. Source No newspaper or radio station will give a moments consideration to a media release that does not come on a letter-headed sheet indicating the organisations name and address. In addition, at the end of the release the news editor needs to know who sent this particular release and where they can be reached if anything needs to be clarified. Ensure the contact details are correct, that the address is one you use regularly, that the telephone number will be answered! 6

TeachingEnglish Lesson plans. Conversation Lesson News. Topic: News

TeachingEnglish Lesson plans. Conversation Lesson News. Topic: News Conversation Lesson News Topic: News Aims: - To develop fluency through a range of speaking activities - To introduce related vocabulary Level: Intermediate (can be adapted in either direction) Introduction