NEWS RELEASE OR PRESS RELEASE HOW TO WRITE AND WHAT ARE THE ESSENTIALS

A news release or press release 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 or faxed to assignment editors at newspapers, magazines, radio stations, television stations and television networks. Commercial newswire services are also used to distribute news releases.

A news release is different from a news article. A news article is a compilation of facts developed by journalists published in the news media, whereas 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.

Reporters don’t go out and dig up all the stories they write. Many stories come to them. They are mailed, telephoned, telexed or hand-delivered by people who want to get something in the paper. They come from people or offices with different titles: public relations department, public information offices, community bureaus, press agents, press secretaries and publicity offices. The people who write them call their stories news releases.

Because good publicity is so important, private individuals, corporations and government agencies spend a great deal of money to obtain it. Much of the money goes for the salaries of skilled and experienced personnel, many of whom have worked in the news business. Part of their job is to write news releases that newspapers will use.

Skilled public relations or public information practitioners know how to write news, and they apply all the principles of good news writing in their news releases. A good news release meets the criteria of a good news story.

News releases — both a help and hindrance to a newspaper:

As an editor, you must recognise that news releases are both a help and hindrance to a newspaper. They help because without them, newspapers would need many more reporters. They are a hindrance because they sometimes contain incomplete or even incorrect information. Most of the time, in one way or another, they are self-serving and, unlike objective journalism, start with a point of view.

Nevertheless, wise editors do not discard news releases without reading them. These editors often give them to reporters, often the newest ones, to check out for possible rewrite.

When your editor hands you a news release, you are expected to know what to do with it. You must be able to recognise the news in the release by applying all that you have learned about news values. The release may lead you to a good story. Your resourcefulness may improve your chances of being assigned to bigger things. 

Types of news releases: Generally, news releases fall into three categories.

1. Announcements of coming events or of personal matters -- hiring, promoting, retiring and the like.

2. Information regarding a cause.

3. Information that is meant to build someone’s or some organisation’s image.

Recognising the types and purposes of news releases (and that some are hybrids and serve more than one purpose) will help you know how to rewrite them. 

Announcements: Organisations use the newspaper to tell their members and the public about coming events. For example:  

The Islamabad Camera Club will have a special meeting at the Marriott at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, December 22. Marvin Miller will present a slide programme on ‘Garden Avenue in Autumn.’ All interested persons are invited to attend.  

Although the release promotes the Islamabad Camera Club, it also serves as a public-service announcement. Newspapers that print such announcements are serving their readers.

Other news release announcements concern appointments, promotions, hiring and retiring. 

The announcement of an appointment may read like this: 

Jennifer Smith, internationally known rural sociologist, has been appointed to the board of directors of Bread for the World, according to James Coburn, executive director of the humanitarian organisation.

Jennifer attended her first board meeting on November 15 in Islamabad. She has been on the Quaid-i-Azam University faculty since 1974. Prior to that, she served as the Ford Foundation representative in India for 17 years.

The 19,000-member Bread for the World organisation is a “broad-based movement of Christian citizens who advocate government policies that address the basic causes of hunger in the world,” says Coburn.

The occasion for this release is the appointment of Jennifer Smith. But the release also describes the purpose of the Bread for the World organisation.

Cause-promoting releases: The second category of news releases seeks to further a cause. Some of these releases come from worthwhile causes in need of funds or of volunteers.

The Society for Protection of the Rights of the Child received a cheque for Rs10 million from the Aga Khan Foundation.

This amount will be spent on the rehabilitation of street children in the twin cities of Rawalpindi and Islamabad.

Image-building releases: Another kind of news release serves to build up someone’s or some organisation’s image. Politicians seek to be elected or to be re-elected. They desire as much free publicity as they can get. For example:

Sheikh Rashid Ahmed laid the foundation-stone of a girls’ college in Satellite Town Thursday.

He said that he would construct ten more academic institutions in the congested localities of the city.