Using a press release to make news

If you’ve never come across a press release before, then you’re probably wondering what it looks like and how to use it to make news.

Well first off, the style of press releases varies from sender to sender but most have the common words PRESS RELEASE written somewhere at the top, clearly indicating that the contents are intended for press use.

What it’s about will generally be clear from the headline, which usually acts as an obvious clue to the contents of the release rather than something that would be suitable to use as a real news headline.

For instance, as part of my current job as a freelance publicist and writer, I sent a press release to the media headlined “Halloween spells wedding bells for Lancashire couple”.

Now even I would have been shocked if that very long headline had been used as a news headline as it certainly doesn’t have that short and snappy, memorable style that you’d expect to read over your morning coffee.

Instead the newspaper went for “A shocking proposal!” which has a far better ring to it. They used my press release headline in the introduction though, so that was good!

But my press release headline wasn’t intended for use as a newspaper headline. Its purpose was to give the journalist a sort of ‘at a glance’ big hint that this was something that was happening in their news patch that was worthy of being reported.

Somewhere near the headline you’ll generally see the date of release and whether it can be used as news straight away (i.e. for immediate release) or whether it’s embargoed for use on or after a later date, which will be stated.

It’s common for press releases to include a paragraph or two about the company or person either at the beginning or end of the release that those in public relations (PR) call a boilerplate, all of which can be used as part of your story.

Quotes from relevant spokespeople or named person(s) that can be used as part of your story are often included in the body of the main press release or sometimes at the end.

Some press releases might contain similar quotes written in various lengths, as pros in PR are mindful that you might miss out quotes that are too long or might cut them down and exclude the important bits that they want including.

The thinking behind giving you various options is a tactic they use to get the best possible chance that a quote will be used in any story that is used. 

But whether or not you use the news release, how much you use, whether you use a long or shortened version of a quote, pursue another spokesperson or use no quote at all, is entirely down to you and dependent on the story’s news value.

Your editor or news editor should be able to help you decide this and what is the best angle for the story but with experience you’ll quickly be able to decipher its likely news value for yourself and how much space or airtime it’s worth.

As I’ve said though, there is no one style to a press release and just like a bottle of beer, the contents are usually more important than the label, so bear that in mind no matter how pro it looks.

At the end of a press release you’ll often find something called ‘editor’s notes’ or ‘notes to journalists’. These are additional bits of information that are not necessarily in the main body of the press release but might be of interest to use as part of the overall story.

You can use anything in this section for your news story but don’t use any information that is marked ‘not for publication’ or is clearly the contact information of the sender (unless it states you can do so) as that’s there for you, in case you want to clarify anything or require further detail.

The press release might come with a picture or details of how you can get one or if there is any press picture opportunity, the where, what and when.

Basically then, the style is generally PRESS RELEASE, headline, date for release, boilerplate (this could be at the end), main contents/quotes of the press release, notes to editors, not for publication.

And remember, how you use the press release and what you use is up to you, usually in consultation with your news editor or editor, so don’t dive in and report what you see if you spot a better, more newsworthy story, or its contents can be linked to something else to make better more newsworthy news.