How to Write an Organizational Press Release

When somebody says, "We need to put something in the paper" about an activity or event, do they turn to you? Have you submitted news releases for your organization or club only to see them printed in much-changed form or not at all? Newspaper editors are notoriously careless about organizational press releases (unless you're an advertiser), so it pays to know how to put your release in a form they can use with as little need for editing as possible.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Form to use
• Spell check or a spelling dictionary (just words)

1. Make yourself a form. Some word processing programs have templates you can use. It should have a header with the name of the organization, date of the release and name of the newspaper or other media outlet (FROM, DATE, TO) in a bold font at the top. You should also include a space for the subject and a contact name, telephone number and email for further information.

2. Think of a catchy headline. It should tell readers what you want them to know about (HGC Annual Meeting Tuesday) and challenge the to read for more information (Exhibit Entertains 1000th Visitor). It should be brief with few modifiers and use only active verbs. ("Fenton Toppers Take State" as opposed to "Fenton Cheerleaders are State Champions"). If you can't come up with a catchy headline, leave the task until you've written your article and come back to it later.

3. Remember the newspaper "Ws" from school. Who is the article about? What happened? When did it happen? Where did it happen? Why did it happen (or How should we act upon it)? If the article is about an event (What), don't forget to include any important or interesting information such as the history of an event or how something is going to work. Make an outline (or list) with all of your information.

4. Write it up in short paragraphs. Be sure to start your article with a well-crafted sentence that "grabs" your reader's attention. Each paragraph should have one point to make and take two to four sentences to make it. Front load the important "Ws". Place this information early in your piece and repeat anything you want remembered before the end. Make it short. Make it active. Make it something that will intrigue your target audience.

5. Check your work. Try not to use favorite words more than once or twice and avoid using words that your high school student wouldn't understand. Check for slang and idioms. They add nothing to your article and confuse or bore your readers. Simplify compound sentences. Eliminate redundant modifiers. Get rid of wordy prose and concentrate on basic information in your article. You're writing to communicate, not impress.

6. Proofread, proofread, proofread. Make your article more than 300 but less than 400 words. The longer your piece, the more likely an editor is to cut it. If your editing is careful, your piece is likely to be printed (or read) just as you wrote it. Print it double-spaced in a standard 10-point font.

Tips & Warnings

• If you're writing for a club or service organization, try to get as many people's names (spelled correctly) and pictures in as possible. It increases interest in your article.
• Drop your first release off in person. Introduce yourself and tell the editor a little about your organization. Besides making a contact for future releases, you may discover what kinds of information or format the editor likes to use.
• Be sure to indicate on your press release form whether your contact person may or may not be published. If you have not included contact information in your article, some editors will simply publish the organizational contact information.
• Remember that many local newspapers use Macs instead of PC's. You can often submit your release by e-mail although many editors cannot open attachments. Although there are programs to navigate between the two systems, try to keep floppy or email files in text format.
• Editors reserve the right to edit work submitted to them.

Resources

• Educational sources