Greetings
everyone!
It’s been a
great week for me at Corporate Comm. In this reflection, I’m going to share my
experience and learning’s on preparing a press release.
Coming into the
real world, different agencies or departments have their style of writing a
press release. They have a format or a guideline to follow.
Writing a press
release in class has always been a piece of cake. But that piece of cake work
does not work in the real world. Everyone takes baby steps and makes mistakes
but the important part is we learn from our mistakes. As it was the first time
drafting a press release, I learnt something really important. To get your news
published, it has to be CATCHY and NEWSWORTHY!
Here are some
tips on writing a newsworthy press release and how to get it published.
Press releases
will be published if they have newsworthy elements in their headlines and
content. If you want the editor to use your press release, you must have a
newsy-angled, attention-grabbing headline and content. Your headline should be
able to sell news immediately.
NEWSWORTHY
What, why and
how does an editor choose a press release?
- · Anything newsworthy will make to the news.
What do you mean
by newsworthy?
- · Anything news that has a value. For an example an announcement by the government regarding a new policy or an issue will be of interest to the public. In your press release, you should be able to tell your target audience what will benefit them.
What are the
successful PR strategies in getting your story in the media?
- · The name of the game is to pitch an angle in a unique way (it should be exciting) that the media will buy your idea and publish or broadcast it.
KEY POINTS IN WRITING A PRESS RELEASE
- · Do not forget the importance of the headline
- · Include statistics
- · Tell a story or relate attention grabbing statements
- · Keep it short, factual and well written
- · Avoid jargons.
- · Use quotes by identified people
- · Write it in the inverted pyramid style
- http://www.curtin.edu.my/campusnews/mediarelease/2013/PR_13-052.htm
- http://www.curtin.edu.my/campusnews/mediarelease/2013/PR_13-053.htm
Below are some links on tips for a press
release by professionals.
Best regards,
Parvither Preet Kaur
Curtin Sarawak
15131982
2 comments:
Hi Parvither,
Thank you for the informative reflective blog on writing a press release. I agree that things are much easier in class for us with an academic professional checking for accuracy, etc. In the real world, writing a press release is much more intimidating as there is no one to check for accuracy once you submit it to your supervisor.
I also believe that our training from PR classes like PR Media have prepared us for writing a media release that follows the important guidelines that you have noted.
I also agree that different firms have their own ideas of what makes up a good press release and we must be aware that their requirements may differ slightly.
I have just sent on my first approved (by my supervisor) media release through to Curtain University PR to follow their protocols. This is not as an academic piece, but a real media release and I am so happy that it has got this far. Yippie!
Best wishes!
Chelsey Phillips
Curtin Bentley
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