From a former journalists perspective Three keys to a good press release

Posted: Friday, December 18, 2009

Despite the common notion that journalists view public relations representatives as adversaries, the truth is, journalists and P.R. reps have an intrinsically symbiotic relationship. As a former journalist-turned-P.R. professional I can attest to the fact that P.R. reps can often be the best sources of information for reporters. From the P.R. perspective, journalists can be both great colleagues and valuable working partners in helping get information to the public.

During my years as a staff writer for newspapers in Massachusetts, I was pitched my fair share of press releases. A couple that stand out to me include one from a national bank trying to hook me on a story about a group of Japanese businessmen visiting the local bank branch. The other was a release from a green business working to renovate area homes for increased energy efficiency.

Without debating the veracity of either story, there were three main reasons why the press release about energy conservation made it onto my story list and the other didn't: quotes, contacts and cutlines. To really grasp a reporter’s attention -- in additional to a publication-relevant story -- a press release needs strong quotes, contact information and hopefully, images.

Quotes: Good quotes are arguably the most important part of a press release. Good quotes should be genuine comments about a prospective story from individuals directly involved in the issue or event detailed in the press release. Preferably they should provide new information or insight into the topic being discussed. Simply regurgitating the information already contained in the release isn't of much value to a reporter. Quotes should also be used in the first few paragraphs -- the more the better.

Contacts: Even if your release has a ton of good quotes, reporters may want to talk with sources for their story. You should include the contact information for key sources in your press release. Journalists know how to get in touch with people, so if you don't include the information and they want to contact the source directly, they will. Don't hold back the contact information, it's an unnecessary annoyance and can make your release less attractive.

Cutlines: They're often overlooked in the preparation of a press release, but graphics, photos and even videos can enormously boost the appeal of your release. Look through most newspapers today and you'll notice the vast majority of stories have at least one picture or graphic accompanying it. It's much more appealing than a large block of text. But before you send an image, don't forget to include a brief cutline describing what's happening in the picture or video, as well as the names of any individuals in the image.

There are three common factors impacting the majority of working journalists today: high stress, heavy workload and limited time. Although some journalists may scoff at the idea of writing a story based on a press release, good releases are invaluable when a reporter is on deadline and needs a quick-hit article to make their quota of stories. In the best of both worlds, a good press release will provide a reporter the chance to put together a quick article about an interesting topic, while also successfully helping the public relations representative to highlight an issue for one of their clients.