Writing Press Releases

Who, What, Where, When, Why and How? Your intro will cover most but not necessarily all of them

. Keep your article short and simple (Kiss). Remember, news is something new and unusual (see Galtung and Ruge, 'News Values' in Wikipedia).

The second sentence or 'lock-in' builds on the news in the intro. By paragraph three you will probably use the best or 'killer' quote from the main source for your story. Always attribute a quote to somebody.

1. A news item should be in a readable font size, usually 12 point Arial or Times Roman and double-spaced.

2. The article should be given a unique keyword to identify it. This is called a 'catchline'. For example, an article about a poisonous snake sent, undetected in the post, might be catchlined "snake" and each page of the news release then numbered Snake...1, Snake...2 etc. This information is placed in the top right-hand corner of every page.

Do not use: 1. A subject's name, i.e. Blair, because, if they are famous, there could be lots of stories about them in one day, or the name could be confused for that of a fellow journalist. Or, a word so general, like health, that there might be many stories on the subject similarly catchlined. A good catchline will ensure that every page of your news release can be easily identified in a busy media office.

3. The by-line, the journalist's first name and surname, should appear at the top left of the page.

4. Between the byline and catchline should be placed the date on which the article was written. This information helps the editor to judge whether an update will be necessary, especially if the article is a time-sensitive news story.

5. Your text should have a simple headine of perhaps no more than three words above the intro, telling the reader what the article is about. Try not to attempt a catchy tabloid-style headline. Sub-editors jealously guard their job as the headline writer.

6. At the bottom of each page, to tell the reader that there is more copy to come, put MORE FOLLOWS, More or just MF (centred).

7. To tell the editor that the article is complete put the word End or ENDS on the last page.

8. Don't forget to include your full contact details on the first or last page.

Importance of Presentation

Proofread, proofread and proofread. Check the spelling; don't rely solely on spell check. There are some words that are spelled correctly that are not the word you meant to put in the sentence.

Check the grammar. Again, the word processor's grammar checker is good to a point, Use the word processing software as your helper but remember that you are the final judge of accuracy. For each news release draft, no matter how small, create a word processing document, name and save it on a disk, memory stick or on the hard drive so you can easily get back to it later. Keep a printed 'hard copy' in a safe place.

Writing style and completeness

You are expected to write clearly and concisely - using complete sentences that flow logically from thought to thought.

Sources

Since you are not necessarily an expert on the subject about which you are writing, it is essential that you source the information provided. Even if you are just using facts from a document or webs site, cite the paper, book or internet source. This will give your writing credibility and authority. If you don't source, it will look like you're trying to claim the information as your own creation. You don't want to be accused of plagiarism.

Be objective.

Try not to use "the first person" (I or we). Carefully put together an outline before you begin writing.

by: sourabh

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