Writing A News Releases and Media Advisories

News releases (also called “press releases” and “media announcements”) are used to release information or announce an event for the media to cover. Releases should be written so they could be reprinted directly or with few changes. A news release differs from a media advisory (discussed below) by providing specific, detailed information on the issue or event you want covered. If you are launching a new campaign or holding a press conference on a specific issue, the news release should be distributed on the day of the launch or event. It should be no longer than two pages to ensure that it will be read, with contact numbers for those who want additional information.

Starting Your Press Release

Be sure to use the title “NEWS RELEASE,” with contact information in case the media have questions, need additional information or want to follow up. Also, make sure you note “FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE” at the top so editors understand the information can be printed as soon as it is received. If you want to send out the release early, but do not want it to be printed until a certain date, you can note that at the top with “EMBARGOED UNTIL [date you are releasing the information].”

Guidelines For Headlines

Compose a short phrase that conveys the most significant benefit your reader would derive from the news. Ask yourself if the statement is meaningful to someone not closely involved with your center or project. Better yet, ask a few people outside of your organization to read your draft headline, and give you feedback on what it means to them. Try to achieve the greatest impact among the broadest audience using the fewest words.

Your headline does not have to be as dramatic as newspaper headlines often are. Editors are looking for facts in the headline, so try to include answers to at least who, what, and why. Whatever headline you use, it must accurately reflect the content that follows.

Examples:

Local Man to Participate in Special Olympic Games

New Center to Offer Services for Area Disabled

First Paragraphs

Your first paragraph will sell the story (or not). It is often the only part an editor has time to read before deciding to continue reading or to throw it away. Who, what, where, when, why, and how are the six critical ingredients for all news releases. Therefore, your first paragraph should start with the city of origin and date, and contain answers to the five “W’s” and the “H.” Keep each paragraph relatively short—two to four sentences. This will make it easier for editors to quickly extract the information they may want to use in a news story.

Examples:

Salem, OR, March 25, 2005. Salem’s Hispanic families in need of services for children with developmental disabilities will have a new one-stop center in the spring. Funded by a grant from the U.S. Administration on Developmental Disabilities, the Human Service Research Institute in Portland will officially open the center, called Juntos Podemos (Together We Can), on April 10, at 2475 Lancaster Drive NE.

Middle Paragraphs

Because most editors read through releases quickly, and often not to the end, you must consider what additional information is most important, and position it after the opening paragraph. This is called “pyramiding.” A statement from your spokesperson explaining the importance of your issue, or the key finding from a study that supports your actions would provide additional information and credibility to your news release. If you are pushing a national story, you will also want to include the angle that relates the information to persons with disabilities in your community.

Examples:

We're testing this model within the Latino community because they have been excluded from so many things for so many years," said Dr. John Agosta, the project’s co-director.

The three-pronged approach includes offering: government services, such as food stamps and Medicaid; private-sector services, such as child care; and family-to-family bartering support. A unique component of the project is a micro-loan program allowing families to borrow money and repay it in dollars or in time donated to other families.

The End

Click here to see a sample News Release. (Word Document)

Writing A Media Advisory (or Media Alert)

A media advisory alerts the media to an upcoming event (including a press conference) that will honor certain individuals in your community, release new information, or make an important announcement. Media advisories usually simply answer the who, what, when, where, and why, as opposed to news releases, which give more context and detail.

Your media advisory should go out four to five days before the event to alert the media that it is coming so they can save the date and schedule reporters to cover it. You may also want to send it out a second time—one or two days before the event—just as a reminder. This is when your media list comes in handy by allowing you to send releases and advisories directly to reporters who have covered or shown an interest in your issues in the past. Use your media list to follow up with phone calls the day before the event as a courtesy reminder. This can also help you learn how many media outlets to expect at your event.

A media advisory might look like this: