About Media

Who are the Media?
What Makes News?
Why Publish a Press Release?
Writing a Press Release
Hard-Hitting Headlines
Strong Leads
Who, What, When, Where, Why and How?
Body Language
Making Contacts

Who are the Media? Who, What, When

The word media is used to describe the various channels by which news, messages and information is disseminated.

As well as the organisations that provide the physical infrastructure and products for news delivery, such as newspapers, magazines, newsletters, radio, television and internet sites, the collective term ‘media’ also encompasses the publishers, presenters, editors, producers, sub-editors, journalists and others that work for them.

Understanding the different types of media, their specific needs, roles and responsibilities, and how they operate is important in maximising the impact of a media release and improving the probability of it being published and/or broadcast.
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What Makes News?
News is all around us, every minute of the day. In our daily newspapers, on television and radio, and increasingly on the internet, we are literally bombarded with news items on every conceivable subject.

So what the makes the news and why? And, what are the chances of your press release being published and/or broadcast?

The answer is in the word ‘news’ itself. Whatever the platform, the media is fundamentally interested in newsworthy stories and information – preferably information that is new (has not been announced or published previously), topical and interesting.

But different media have different interests and needs. Daily newspapers, radio and television, for example, crave event-driven news. Increasingly, internet news sites – including those operated by newspapers and television stations – are publishing breaking news as it occurs.

In newspapers, the front or early general news pages cater to local, national and world news. Specific sections, such as business, entertainment and sport, seek out news that relate to their area. And, within each section, individual journalists will have specific ‘rounds’, such as travel, finance, technology or football.

Magazines and trade publications work on longer publishing times, sometimes over several weeks or months, with their news focus on publishing more in-depth articles – known as features – and profiles. Their content is generally less time sensitive, but still aims to provide articles that are newsworthy and interesting to the reader.

There are magazine and trade publications, often several, for virtually every industry and working profession, which are generally on the look-out for good news stories related their area.

The more targeted a press release is to a specific industry or section, the better its chances of success.
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Why Publish a Press Release?
The reasons why you would publish a press release are only limited to your imagination. Ask yourself what readers or a reporter will be interested in:

In essence, press releases are disseminated every day on all sorts of topics. Below is a list of some of the more common reasons to publish a press release.

Do you have something newsworthy to say or announce?
Do you offer unusual products or services?
Do you have the results of a poll or survey that are newsworthy?
Can you make a timely analysis or prediction?
Can you comment on an issue or event currently taking place?
Has your company expanded through takeover, merger or launched a new division?
Is your company exporting or winning contracts offshore?
Is your company or organisation new or unique?
Have you acquired a new major client?
Have you introduced a new product, concept or service?
Is one of your products being used by clients in a new way?
Is your company reporting financial results?
Are you changing your existing products or services?
Do you have experience, credibility or recognition in your field?
Has your company or organisation completed a study or research project?
Have you published a book, booklet or white paper?
Have you moved or opened a new office?
Has your company won an award, contest or achieved special certification or recognition?
Is your organisation hosting or sponsoring a program or event?
Are you raising funds for a special cause?
Are you speaking at a conference or seminar?
Is your company celebrating a milestone or anniversary?
Have you relaunched your company brand?
Have you launched a new website?
Has your company made changes to improve its working environment?
Are you making a change in product pricing?
Are you offering a new training program for employees?
Do you have a way for people to save time or money?
Do you have news that could improve the health and wellbeing of others?
Has your company hired a new employee?
Has one of your employees won an award?
Have you discovered a new use for your product or service?
Do you have a good success story related to one of your clients?
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Writing a Press Release
Once you have reached the decision that you have something newsworthy to publish or broadcast, unless you have determined to leave the writing part to the experts, you will need to start putting pen to paper or fingers to the keys.

Writing a strong, hard-hitting news, press or media release takes skill. Its primary purpose is to immediately attract the attention of the reader – the editor, producer or journalist that will be receiving it in their email inbox or over the fax machine.

There are four key components of a well-written press release:

The headline
The lead or introduction
The body text
The contact information
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Hard-Hitting Headlines
The headline needs to be well-worded, eye catching but not too sensational, and not too long. It should be near the top of the press release, but under the words MEDIA RELEASE and the dateline.

The headline needs to capture the very essence – the key message – of your media release, because that will be the first line that editors or journalists will read. If the headline isn’t compelling, they’re unlikely to read further, and your finely crafted release could be relegated to the deleted items folder or recycling bin.

A headline generally should be in upper and lower case and, where possible, be no longer than one line. Two lines are acceptable, but certainly no more.
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Strong Leads
Having being enticed by your headline to read on further the next, and equally critical component of a well-written press release is the lead or introduction. It is where you spell out the most important facts about your announcement, backing up your headline and providing additional information to interest the reader.

If the lead is weak, it is also unlikely your release will gain too much interest and again, will probably be rejected.

Every press release must answer six questions in the lead:
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Who, What, When, Where, Why and How?

What will happen or, has happened?
To whom it will happen?
Where it will happen?
When it will happen?
Why it will happen?
How it will happen?

It may not be possible to incorporate all these factors in the opening sentence, given a lead should ideally be no more than 25 to 30 words. However, it is important that all key points are addressed, even if some need to be continued in the second sentence.

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Body Language
On average, a press release should be no longer than about 500 words. That is equal to approximately one Word page of text, although once the header information, headline and contact information are inserted, most releases generally spill over to two pages.

Once the strongest part of the press release has been written, the remainder should really be supporting information to the core subject of the release. This should include additional relevant information and, where possible, direct quotes from individuals that can be contacted by the media for additional comment.

Quite often, media will follow up a press release to gather additional comments or information that they can build into their article.

The last part of the body text can be some background information on your company or management, such as details about what the company does, its products or subsidiaries, and its operating history.
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Making Contacts
One of the most important components of a press release is the contact information. As detailed above, media will often require additional comments or information.

Contact information needs to include a contact name, their position, and a landline and/or mobile telephone number.