Press Releases

As Oscar Wilde is supposed to have said, "the only thing worse than being talked about is not to be talked about at all."

Press Releases and Publicity: How to "make" news

 * Press Releases are how general news is constructed...
 * A news release, press release or press statement is a written or recorded communication directed at members of the news media for the purpose of announcing something claimed as having news value.
 * Typically, it is mailed, faxed, or e-mailed to assignment editors at newspapers, magazines, radio stations, television stations, and/or television networks. Commercial newswire services are also used to distribute news releases. Sometimes news releases are sent for the purpose of announcing news conferences.
 * Press Releases comes from the field of Public Relations

Public Relations
Public relations is the art and science of building relationships between an organization and its key publics. .

Marketing
Marketing is "the process of planning and executing the pricing, promotion, and distribution of goods, ideas, and services to create exchanges that satisfy individual and organizational goals."

Advertising
Advertising is the promotion of goods, services, companies and ideas, usually by an identified sponsor.

How is a Press Release different than a news article?

 * A news article is a compilation of facts developed by journalists published in the news media
 * A news release is designed to be sent to journalists in order to encourage them to develop articles on the subject.
 * A news release is generally biased towards the objectives of the author.

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How does this relate to public relations?
The use of news releases is common in the field of public relations, the aim of which is to attract favorable media attention to the PR firm's client, and publicity, the aim of which is to attract favorable media attention for products marketed by the client. 

How to Write a Press Release

 * does your release have enough substance?
 * make yourself newsworthy ("News is anything that other people are interested in")

Formatting

 * Press releases are written in block style, so no paragraph indentation is necessary.
 * write in objective third-person style
 * keep under one page generally
 * first paragraph must sum up entire document/announcement
 * avoid fancy language (cnn english)
 * Strong lead (5Ws&H: Who, what, when, where, why, how)

e-mail

 * break at 75 characters (75-80 characters is where most email programs break lines)
 * make it plaintext rather than html/rtf
 * good catchy email subject (include dates and url in subject)
 * include urls bare (no markup)
 * NO MARKUP (html, css, etc)

pdf

 * format on letterhead
 * just convert from standard document (doc, etc)
 * generally a good approach is to email out the plain text PR with attached high quality PDF
 * no markup generally

Essential Parts

 * 1) Company Letterhead, Name, Address, Phone Number, Web Address
 * 2) PRESS RELEASE in all caps
 * 3) Contact Person's Name
 * 4) Immediate Release or Release Date(all caps)
 * 5) HEADLINE or TITLE in BOLD/CAPS
 * 6) BODY-Date/City-who,what,when,where and why.
 * 7) Catchy Text
 * 8) Sum it up...
 * 9) Basic Font, Page Numbers, and ###
 * 10) Action Plan/Calendar

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Examples

 * http://wiki.creativecommons.org/CcHost_Press_Releases
 * http://openclipart.org/wiki/index.php/Announcement
 * http://rejon.org/index.php?s=press


 * http://www.publicityinsider.com/release.asp
 * formatting email pr: http://www.xpresspress.com/PRnotes.html
 * localized vs. national: http://www.stetson.edu/~rhansen/press.html

Guides

 * http://www.stetson.edu/~rhansen/prguide.html
 * http://www.ehow.com/how_8793_write-press-release.html
 * http://www.stetson.edu/~rhansen/prhowto.html
 * http://lamar.colostate.edu/~hallahan/hpubty.htm

What is Publicity?
Publicity is the spreading of information to gain public awareness in a product, service, candidate, etc.


 * MUST READ: http://lamar.colostate.edu/~hallahan/hpubty.htm

Four keys to Success

 * Understand what's newsworthy
 * Understand basic formats, and genres
 * Understand conventions and grammar of story-telling and framing
 * Understand routines, competitive concerns, constraints



3 Ways to Generate Publicity Coverage

 * Write materials (press releases, articles, blog postings, etc)
 * Provide spokesperson, conduct interviews (lecture, present, get interviewed)
 * Stage an event (press releases and so much more)



More Detailed Ways to Generate Publicity

 * Organizing an event open to the public
 * Achieving significant recognition in your field
 * Release of a book or record, opening of an exhibit,
 * Performing an important service to the
 * Running for office
 * Writing legislation, testifying at hearings, etc.
 * Inventing, manufacturing, or offering a new product or service
 * Being present at--or, better still, involved in--major news events
 * Joining or taking leadership in a professional or community service organization--especially one with membership standards
 * Offering apprenticeships, training programs, classes, or opportunities to volunteer
 * Teaching, lecturing, or presenting at a professional conference
 * Winning a contest, sweepstakes, or lottery
 * Offering franchises of your business

Other events that might garner press (weaker)

 * Moving or opening a new branch
 * Educational achievements (including attending work-related seminars) or other accomplishments by members of your staff
 * Hosting an open house
 * Hiring or promotion of employees
 * Annual meetings
 * Issuance of any publication available to the public

Events rule supreme for generating a buzz / news
The easiest way to turn the press into your publicity bureau is by having an event. An event gives the press a handle; they understand how to treat events as news, and as promotable calendar items. Having any kind of event makes you automatically newsworthy. So a good trick for you as the publicist is to phrase your activity as an event. Yes, the same techniques apply to other promotable activities, but so many more doors are opened by linking your publicity agenda to some kind of event that I'd encourage you to do them whenever possible.

If you want to generate lots of notoriety, recognition, and waves, generate events and master press releases/publicity surrounding these events.

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Where to submit your press release

 * http://www.prweb.com/
 * http://www.upcoming.org/
 * Your mailing list (announcement list)
 * Personal contacts
 * Social Networking Sites
 * http://www.myspace.com/
 * Customize some contacts as well depending on content and context.

E-mail Etiquette

 * Generally, don't add people to a list without asking first
 * Do not just send generic press releases to all your contacts (good way to make enemies)
 * Good to make a general discussion list and a purely "announcements" list for releases, etc.