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BEST TIPS: |
Press
Releases
Before you do a press release, answer these questions:
• Why is this important and how does this make news?
• What are the main points?
• What research is there to back up the information? Can it be checked
easily if reporters ask to do so?
• Who can be quoted as an authority on the topic?
• Is a fact sheet needed for additional information?
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PRESS RELEASES,
MEDIA ADVISORIES,
AND FACT SHEETS:
A CLOSER LOOK
• Press
Releases
• Media
Advisories
• Fact
Sheets
Preparing and disseminating
press releases, fact
sheets, and media advisories
or backgrounders make
up the nuts and bolts
of most government
press operations. In
different countries,
these tools of the
trade go by different
names, but their purpose
is the same: to tell
a story, announce an
event, and give facts
and figures.
"Press releases
are good disciplinary
tools because they
encourage you to try
to create the story
you would like to see," says
David Beckwith, former
press secretary to
Vice President Dan
Quayle. "If done
clearly and simply,
press releases improve
accuracy. It is hard
to misquote a press
release."
What follows are the
universally recognized
standards and conventions
for these basic press
relations materials.
Press
Releases
Press releases are
a summary of facts
about a program or
issue on which you
want media attention.
They are presented
in a standardized format.
The main criterion
for a press release
is that it must contain
news.
Similar to a straight
news article, a press
release is written
in an inverted pyramid
style. The first paragraph
is the "lead," and
it contains the most
important information;
subsequent paragraphs
expand on that information
and give more detail
in decreasing order
of importance. The
least important information
is at the end.
Like a good news story,
the good press release
answers who, what,
when, where, why, and
how. Who is the subject
of the story? What
is the story about?
When is or was the
event? Where is or
was it happening? Why
is the information
important? How is this
of significance? All
of these should appear
in the first paragraph.
The sentences and
paragraphs in a press
release should be short
so they can be quickly
reviewed by an assignment
editor or a reporter,
and they should contain
no jargon, abbreviations,
unexplained details,
or cliches. Quotations
may be used, but it
is more usual to find
these in the second
or third paragraph;
they are always attributed.
Press releases that
read like a news story,
without a lot of inflammatory
adjectives, are more
likely to be picked
up by the press.
Typically, press releases
in the United States
follow a formula that
includes:
- Double spacing;
- Plain stationery,
preferably with the
organization's name
and address printed
at the top.
- Wide margins — at
least one inch (2.54
centimeters) around — providing
for ease in reading
and allowing editors
and reporters to
make notes in them.
- Typed on only one
side of the paper.
The standard press
release contains the
following information
at the top of the release:
- The date the release
is being put out.
- A contact name,
phone number, fax
number, and e-mail
address. Sometimes,
cell phone numbers
of after-hours contact
persons are listed,
particularly if the
press office deals
with reporters in
several time zones.
- A release time.
Often, news releases
are sent in advance
of an event but cannot
be used until a specific
time so that reporters
have time to read
the material and
process the information,
particularly if it
is a complicated
story. If this is
done, write "EMBARGOED
UNTIL" and the
date and specific
time the news can
be released. If the
information can be
used immediately,
write "FOR IMMEDIATE
RELEASE."
- A headline, summarizing
the news of the release,
that is attention
getting and capitalized.
- A dateline, capitalized,
beginning the first
paragraph that states
where the news originated.
In the United States,
press releases typically
run one to two pages.
If there is more than
one page, type "more" at
the end of the first
page. At the end of
the release, type --30--
or #### to indicate
the end. Be sure to
check for spelling
errors, typos, incorrect
punctuation, and poor
writing.
Press releases can
be sent to the attention
of an editor, an assignment
editor, or a reporter.
Follow up on the press
release with a phone
call. Ask if the intended
recipient got your
release and would like
additional information.
Press materials, such
as press releases and
fact sheets, should
always be written and
distributed before
a news event such as
a press conference,
and not afterwards.
One new government
found that out the
hard way. Ministers
stayed behind closed
doors all night to
develop a new economic
plan. They concluded
at 7 a.m. and alerted
the media to an important
press conference at
10 a.m. The ministers
announced the new economic
policies, and then
the press staff began
writing the press materials.
Because the staff was
so occupied with writing
the press announcement,
they did not have time
to properly explain
the new policies. For
hours, the press had
no written materials
to work from in preparing
what was a major and
complicated story,
and many got some of
the details wrong.
The government press
office had to work
for weeks attempting
to correct the misinformation.
Media
Advisories
Typically, media advisories
are used to announce
an upcoming event on
which you would like
press coverage. They
are similar to press
releases in answering
who, what, when, where,
why, and how, but they
are shorter, intended
to entice reporters
to come to the event.
Some press offices
even list this information
in bold type, followed
by the details, in
order to attract attention
for the upcoming event.
Media advisories are
in the same style as
a news release with
the date, contact names,
phone numbers, and "FOR
IMMEDIATE RELEASE" or "EMBARGOED
UNTIL" at the
top, and with ####
or --30-- to indicate
the end of the release.
Fact
Sheets
The fact sheet, or
backgrounder, gives
more detail than the
press release by using
facts and figures,
but not quotations,
to embellish on a press
release. The fact sheet
is presented in as
readable a form as
possible. It often
has subtitles in bold
type and is highlighted
with bullets.
Like media advisories,
fact sheets follow
the format of a news
release with "EMBARGOED
UNTIL" or "FOR
IMMEDIATE RELEASE," contact
names and numbers,
and -30- or #### indicating
an ending.
Officials in one government
media office observed
that the members of
the press would come
to a press conference,
take materials, and
leave before the press
conference began. The
press spokesman decided
to distribute the materials
after the press briefing
in order to keep journalists
there. This didn't
work. A number of journalists
stayed for only part
of the briefing, left
early, and wrote stories
from their notes. Sometimes,
the press officers
felt the reporters
got it wrong. If the
reporters had had the
written material with
the basic facts to
pick up before the
press conference, they
likely would not have
misinterpreted issues.
Journalists usually
have a number of events
to cover, and a spokesperson
should not assume that
if reporters stay for
only part of a briefing
they are not interested
or will not write a
story. Many may want
to write stories, but
their schedules may
preclude them from
staying for the entire
press briefing, particularly
if a briefing runs
for more than an hour,
as this press office's
did. If the reporters
had had the written
materials, chances
are they would have
referred to them while
writing their stories.