Writing a Press Release

What is a press release? Welcome to the 24-hour news cycle, where daily newspapers, round-the-clock TV stations and thousands of news blogs compete to feed our voracious appetite for the latest, most engaging and most outrageous news.

Every day isn't a big news day, so journalists sometimes scramble to fill airtime and column space with fresh and timely stories. That's where press releases come in.

Concisely written and targeted, press releases draw media attention to newsworthy events. Mainly used by public relations specialists, press releases are written to gain free publicity and contain enough information required to write a compelling news story.

A press release is a short, compelling news story written by a public relations professional and sent to targeted members of the media. The goal of a press release is to pique the interest of a journalist or publication. The press release should contain all the essential information (who? what? where? when? how? and most importantly why?) for the journalist to easily produce his own story.  
A press release must be useful, accurate and interesting; they are in actuality "cookie cutter". Once you get the hang of writing them, all you do is fill in the blanks, as press releases conform to an established format. Journalists receive so many releases a day, they have set standards and expectations that you must conform to just to have your release read, let alone published.

PRESS RELEASE FORMAT

Read and follow carefully.

Press releases should be printed on company letterhead. (Use the logo of the organization you have chosen) The organization's name, web address, location address and phone number should be printed clearly at the top of the page. PRESS RELEASE should be spelled out in all CAPS and centered in bold. The press release contact person's name (that's you) should be underneath the wording and all contact numbers printed clearly underneath. (Use the school's number) If the press release is for IMMEDIATE RELEASE, say so, on the left margin directly above the title in all caps.

TITLE

The next essential component of the press release is the Headline or Title. It should be centered, and in bold. The heading of the press release should capture the journalist. The title of the press release should be short and snappy, and hopefully grabbing the attention of the journalist and impressing them enough to read on.

Content

You are now ready for the useful, accurate and interesting BODY of the PR. The body of the press release begins with the date and city for which the press release is originated. The body of the press release is very basic; who, what, where, when and why.

The first paragraph of the press release should contain in brief detail what the press release is about.

The second paragraph explains, in detail: who cares; why you should care; where one can find it; when it will happen. Also, included in the second ‘informative’ paragraph is generally a quote that gives the release a personal touch. Touchy-feelies go a long way with journalists. Press releases and news stories are boring to journalists without a ‘human interest’.

The third and generally final paragraph is a summation of the release and further information on your event with the event's coordinator's (someone in your group) contact information clearly spelled out.

The content of the press release, beginning with the date and city of origin, should be typed in a clear, basic font (Times New Roman, Arial, etc.) and double-spaced. If your press release exceeds one page, the second page should indicate ‘ Page Two’ in the upper right hand corner. (Yours will only be one page) Journalistic standards have set basic parameters to define the end of a press release: ###. Three # symbols, centered directly underneath the last line of the release indicate the end of a it.

CHECKLIST

• Company Letterhead, Name, Address, Phone Number, Web Address
• PRESS RELEASE in all caps
• Contact Person’s Name
• Immediate Release or Release Date(all caps)
• HEADLINE or TITLE in BOLD/CAPS
• BODY-Date/City-who,what,when,where and why.
• Catchy Text
• Sum it up…
• Basic Font, Double Spaced, Page Numbers, and ###

Here is an example of an event press release, which is mostly like the format you will use. Don't forget the logo

Morning Mist Health Foods
2 Foodroad, FL 35367
www.morningmist.com
Phone– 555.555.5555
Fax – 555.555.5555
Info@morningmist.com

PRESS RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Manny Squire
Office: 555.555.5555
Pager: 555.555.5555

Morning Mist Health Foods Inaugurates College Town Marathon

Morning Mist Health Foods Inc. had its beginnings in Chapel Hill, NC. Now the national chain has returned to the college town to sponsor the First Annual Chapel Hill-Durham Marathon. The race will take place on April, 27th and has already attracted many well-known marathoners, including multi-race winners Herb Putkin and Shelly Walters.

“Morning Mist is all about health and staying young,” said company CEO Manny Squire, “What better way to give back than to have a road race between these two great college towns.”

Morning Mist was founded by Squire and college roommate Tracy Scroggins as a small health food store in Chapel Hill near the University of North Carolina campus. The company grew to several stores in the Raleigh area, including one in Durham near Duke University. Morning Mist has expanded to forty-five full-size grocery stores nationwide.

“The race will start in front of the Duke store and follow highway 501 to the original Chapel Hill store,” said company president Scroggins. “We hope this becomes a great tradition”.

Morning Mist Health Food was founded in 1989. It is headquartered in Raleigh, NC, and employs 12,500 people in the US and Canada. It is listed on NASDAQ as MMHF.

###

 

Example 2

CityScape Communications
447 North Walnut Springfield, IL 62703
www.cityscape.net
Phone– 217.535.1010
Fax – 217.535.1009
Info@cityscape.net

PRESS RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Luan Aten
Office: 217.535.1010
Pager: 217.622.0134

CityScape Communications Forges Strategic Alliance with EduNet to Offer School Fundraising

Springfield, IL December 30, 1998 – CityScape Communications has signed a strategic alliance with EduNet of Springfield, IL. EduNet offers fundraising solutions to school systems in Illinois by reselling Internet services.
CityScape Communications will provide the Internet service, technical support and billing. School children will solicit family, friends and neighbors to sign up for Internet service to support their school system.
The EduNet fundraising solution provides school systems a much higher return than traditional fundraisers such as candy sales. CityScape Communications President and Chief Technical Officer Steve Horrighs, Jr. stated, “We are very happy to have formed an alliance with EduNet. We feel strongly that this fundraising program will benefit schools, not just by raising much needed funding, but also by offering affordable and reliable Internet services to communities that do not yet have access to the Internet.
CityScape Communications is a ‘total solutions provider’ offering expert data networking consulting, design, implementation and maintenance. CityScape Communications provides a wide range of data and telecommunications services, including Internet services, professional web site design, telephone systems and voice mail applications. For further information, contact Luan Aten at 888-248-9722.

###

 
example 3: 

OUR MISSION IS STUDENT SUCCESS…ACADEMIC, ARTISTIC, AND HUMANISTIC 45 Prince Street at University                                Rochester, NY  14607                          585-242-7682

 

 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

February 27, 2013

Contact: Adele Fico, Art Center Director

              585-242-7682 ext. 1551

SCHOOL OF THE ARTS DRAMA DEPARTMENT

INVITED TO PERFORM IN SCOTLAND FOR SECOND TIME!

Rochester, NY –The School of the Arts interim principal Kelly Nicastro announced today that SOTA’s Drama Department has been selected to perform at the 2014 American High School Theatre Festival (AHSTF) in Edinburgh, Scotland. The AHSTF is part of the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, the largest and most prestigious arts festival in the world. This is the second time that School of the Arts has been selected to perform at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. In 2011, fifteen SOTA students were honored to participate. The SOTA Drama Department will spend the next year and half preparing for this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Under the direction of SOTA Drama Department faculty member, Lorie Dengler Dewey,SOTA’s performance will be showcased at the AHSTF in August 2014.

Each August, Edinburgh, Scotland, becomes the one of the most magical places on earth as performing artists from all over the world take part in the Edinburgh Fringe Festival.  The whole city becomes a stage and visitors can view performances everywhere from playgrounds to conference rooms, from city parks to churches.  The Fringe Festival includes more than 2,000 different performances of music, theatre, dance, and comedy during its three-week run. 

SOTA, long recognized for its entertaining and innovative productions, was selected by the AHSFT Board of Advisors. Made up of college theatre professionals, the AHSTF Board reviews all completed applications and identifies the top high schools based on their most recent bodies of work, awards, community involvement, philosophies and recommendations.

SOTA drama students, their parents and teachers will conduct a variety of fundraising activities to finance this two-week educational, cultural exchange to Scotland and England. Friends of School of the Arts have set up a special account where all donations and proceeds from the various fundraising events will be kept for the Fringe Festival 2014. Contributions and donations are welcome. For more information contact: Adele Fico, Art Center Director at 585-242-7682 x1551 or Lorie Dengler Dewey at 585-242-7682 ext.2240 or 585-233-0338.