The art of media release writing

Perhaps the most useful skill I learned during my placement at the Department for Communities was how to best communicate to the media, and I believe this starts with quality media releases.

The trouble is that I’d actually become so used to writing dull reports and essays at uni that I had to learn to adapt my writing style to more punchy and concise sentences oozing newsworthiness. Not coming from a journalism background, I found it initially challenging to develop good news angles. I think it would have been great if public relations classes and other learning opportunities were more integrated with techniques learned in journalism studies. Many of the Community Relations officers at the Department for Communities were ex-journalists whose techniques from their previous workplace proved very useful in finding the best ways to express information and ultimately, gain maximum media coverage.

Also, since the skill of writing media releases is so sought after by every organisation practising public relations, it’s a shame that many of the units didn’t incorporate more media releases as part of the assignment tasks. Although it was a focus for the Public Relations Media unit, I think we should have practised writing media releases in assignments for further units. That way we would have been exposed to media release writing for a greater variety of situations and companies.

Soon enough though, I built my confidence in developing good news angles by writing numerous media releases throughout my placement. It is something that I seek to continually improve on and I have definitely learned a lot already. A few things that I have learned are that:

• Journalists love visual language and detail. I learned that it wasn’t enough to promote a launch as the “biggest edition” of Living Histories; what was newsworthy to the media was the launch of “563 Living Histories” to show its true magnitude. My media release soon became a media placement in the Southern Gazette and I was very happy with my efforts!

• Newsworthiness can also be created by including a prominent figure in the media release. In my case, I included the Minister and the Department’s Director General. I had fun with creating their quotes – apparently the ones most picked up by the media are personable and attach something meaningful to the event/activity/policy being promoted.

If possible, I am considering continuing with extra work experience at the Department for Communities over the Christmas holidays because I think the writing opportunities will help me strengthen my skills before entering the workforce. I will also seek to maintain my relationship with contacts at the Department, as I am deeply touched at how willing they are to help me develop and become the best writer and public relations practitioner I possibly can be.

-Alana
Curtin University, Bentley