PR 317 Ch. 5

General Lead Characteristics -

The mechanics of a lead paragraph are relatively simple. Always keep these guidelines in mind to help readers quickly understand the information: - Use strong declarative sentences. - Use 25 words or less for the first sentence of a lead. - Keep the number of dependent clauses to a minimum. - Never start a lead paragraph with a prepositional phrase such as "At a meeting held ..." - Keep the lead paragraph limited to a maximum of three to five lines. - Rewrite any sentence that is more than three lines long.

News Release Headline -

- Headlines are difficult to write. - Some say that the headline takes about 50 percent of the time needed to write a news release because you have to be creative, in a few brief words, to write something that persuades people to continue reading. - It's better, for example, to write "15 Ways to Study for a Test" than have a headline that says, "Research Shows Students Study for Tests in Different Ways." - At the same time, headlines are supposed to give the "bottom line"—the most newsworthy aspect of the story—because surveys show that 8 out of 10 people (including journalists) will read headline copy, but only 2 out of 10 will read the rest. - Headlines have to be factual, devoid of hype, and offer something of value or interest to the reader. - A good axiom is to always test your proposed headline by the "So what?" and "Who cares?" criteria. If the answer is no one, start over. - The format is easier than the writing. - In general, news releases should contain a headline of 10 words or less. - Other professionals say they should be a maximum of 50 to 70 characters. - In either case, make headlines boldface and in a larger font (14 or 16 point) than the text of the news release. Here are some examples: - Merck Develops New Drug for Asthma Sufferers - Comcast Donates $250,000 to Tornado Relief Efforts - Southwest Airlines Names New Vice President of Cargo & Charters

News Release Template -

- Many organizations use their letterhead or a standard news release template for the first page. - The template often gives the name of the organization and its logo, address, telephone number, and website. - The name and contact information of the public relations person is also included by various organizations, but the standard today is to list the contact at the end of the news release to ensure that the news release headline gets top billing. ex. In an online news release, for example, the copy above the "fold" (what fills the page on the computer screen) gets the most attention from journalists and search engines. This is related to SEO, or search engine optimization. - The phrase "For Immediate Release" was often used in the past but has now been dropped because it's not relevant in the digital age of instant 24/7 news. - There are times, however, that a writer will request a specific release time, such as "For Release after 1 p.m. on March 31." - This is often done when the release is an advance summary of a speech or an award that will be given the next day. - The primary reason is that unplanned things happen. ex. The speaker or award recipient, because of a plane delay or another emergency, may not show up. In such a case, the media would look foolish reporting on a speech or an award that was never given. - On occasion, an organization will attempt to "embargo" information about a major new product until a formal announcement at a news conference or a meeting. ex. Apple Inc., for example, often sends advance material to the media but with the understanding that they won't publish or broadcast it until the official unveiling at Macworld or a similar venue. - leaks always occur. - In general, publicists use the embargo sparingly—usually in the case of announcing a major new product, a merger between two major companies, or a change in executive leadership.

Adding a Summary Statement -

- Most news releases today also include a subhead that is also called a summary. It's basically a synopsis of the information contained in the release. - There are two reasons for including a summary in your news release: (1) First, it gives reporters and editors a quick preview of the key information. (2) Second, search engines such as Google or aggregators like Digg often display only the headline, the summary, and a link to the news release so it's wise to have the core information summarized for search engine optimization (SEO). Examples of Well-Written Headlines + Summary Statements - (Note that these headlines and summaries are written in the active present tense. Avoid past tense; it gives the impression that the news item is not timely.) 1 - eBay Arrives in Latin America (distributed in English, Spanish, and Portuguese) - Shoppers in South America—as well as Central America—can now shop eBay in Spanish and Portuguese, view local currencies, and connect to the world's inventory in more relevant, personalized ways. 2 - Varsity Tutors Dissects the "Anatomy of a College Dorm Room" with New Infographic - Infographic Offers Tips and Tricks for Ideal Campus Living to Incoming Freshmen and Their Parents 3- Consumers Prefer Conducting Most Business Interactions Online, According to New Temkin Group Research - Study of 10,000 U.S. Consumers Examines Preferences for Using Different Channels for Interacting with Companies Across Age Groups - News releases often have a major headline followed by a subhead or statement that summarizes the key information so busy journalists and bloggers can immediately assess the news value.

Facts From PRNewswire -

- News releases on PR Newswire get millions of reads each month, and more than 60 percent of those find the content directly via search engines. - PR Newswire for Journalists tallies more than one million news release reads each month. - News releases are shared multiple times a minute on social networks. - More than 10,000 websites worldwide repost news releases by PR Newswire.

Planning a News Release -

- Practically any topic can be the subject of a news release. Some of the most common release topics, according to PRWeb, are: (1) announcing a new product or feature, (2) winning an award, (3) hosting a fundraising dinner or technology seminar, (4) announcing an executive appointment or promotion, (5) acquiring or merging with another company, (6) donating money or services to a charity group, and (7) sharing survey results. - The topic is often a given depending on your client or employer, but figuring out the best news angle that will draw the attention of journalists and online readers is a bit more difficult. Mickie Kennedy, president of eReleases, poses some questions that you can ask yourself: - How can I tie my company into current events and other popular news stories? - Is there a new angle on an old story? - Do I have any well-known, respected customers or clients whom I can quote? - Has anyone in the company received a special award? - Are we using any innovative processes or technologies that make us stand out? - What industry trends can be commented on? - Do we have any interesting statistics or case studies? - To help you select a news angle, you can also use the Autocomplete tool on the Google News site. It provides the most popular search phrases related to topics or key words that you enter. In this way, you can write a news release that uses key words and phrases that are of most interest to millions of people who do searches on Google. - The first step to planning a news release, before writing anything, however, is to complete a planning worksheet.

The Multimedia News Release -

- SEO also plays a major role in the multimedia news release, which was pioneered by the major electronic distribution services, such as Business Wire, PR Newswire, PRWeb, and Marketwire. - Thanks to ever-increasing broadband capability, it's now possible to embed a news release with high-resolution photos/graphics, video, audio components, and PDF files that not only appeal to journalists and editors but also to the general consumer. ex. A multimedia release, for example, will include social media tags so the content can be circulated through Digg, Technorati, Delicious, and other social bookmarking sites. - - Doing so helps increase the search engine rankings of the release and drive targeted traffic to the organization's website. - Other links will be to blogs, an organization's online newsroom, and even a space where readers can post comments about the news release. - Marketwire, in particular, has added services to address social media. - According to Craig McGuire in PRWeek, "The service includes social bookmarks and tags, news channel distribution, audio headline summaries, search-engine-friendly permalinks, social video hosting on Photobucket, photo hosting on YouTube, and more."

The Backbone of Publicity Programs -

- The News Release, traditionally called a press release back in the days when releases were only sent to newspapers, has been a staple of the public relations business for more than a century. - News Release : a news story prepared by an organization and sent to media outlets. Also called a 'press release'. - the basic template used today goes back to l906 when Ivy Lee, a leading pioneer in the development of the public relations field, wrote a "press" release for the Pennsylvania Railroad. 2 Facts: - First, various studies have found that between 55 and 97 percent of all news releases sent to media outlets are never used. - Second, there is massive competition for the attention of reporters and editors. - Given the odds, this means you must do three things if your release content is to stand a chance of being read or even published: - First, you must follow a standardized format. - Second, you must provide information that will interest the audience. - Third, your material must be timely. As Wikipedia notes, a news release is "... for the purpose of announcing something claimed as having news value."

News Release Formats -

- The basic components of a news release remain the same, but the format and length may differ depending on whether it's text only, multimedia, or social media oriented. - online news releases are shorter, for example, than ones distributed by first class mail. Experts recommend that you keep the following numbers in mind when writing a news release: - A news release should focus on only one topic. - Headlines should be a maximum of 65 to 70 characters, or about 8 to 10 words. - Use 25 words or less in the first line of a lead paragraph. - A lead paragraph should be no more than three to five lines. - Paragraphs in the body of a news release should be three to six lines. - Break up any sentence that runs more than three lines. - The standard paragraph at the end of the release about the organization should be 100 words or less. - An online news release should be 200-250 words or less.

News Release Dateline -

- The dateline appears at the start of the lead paragraph, which is discussed in the next section. - The dateline is simply the city where the release originated, in all capital letters, followed by the date. -You don't have to mention the state if a major city such as CHICAGO is used, but the current Associated Press (AP) style for smaller cities is to use state abbreviations instead of the U.S. Post Office designations. ex. For example, a news release might be datelined WABAN, Mass., or IRVINE, Calif. -After the name of the city, the date of the release is given. ex. For example, a complete dateline would be as follows: ST. LOUIS—Feb. 8, 2015. - If a news release is being distributed to other nations, however, it's wise to use the day first, followed by the month and the year ex. 8 February 2015 - which is the pattern used by almost every nation except the United States.

Body of the Text -

- The journalistic "inverted pyramid" is the template for the body of a news release. - Essentially, it means that the most important information is the apex of the pyramid and other information or details are given in descending order of importance. - The top of the pyramid is always the lead paragraph, the next most-relevant information is placed in the second paragraph, and so on. - There are three reasons for using the inverted pyramid structure for a news release: (1) if the editor or reporter doesn't find something interesting in the first few lines, he or she won't use the story; (2) editors often cut the bulk of a news release so it's wise to have the most important information at the start; and (3) most people only read headlines and perhaps the first paragraph or two of a news story. The inverted pyramid has three parts, says Jeremy Porter, founder of the Journalistics.com blog: - PART ONE: The opening paragraph or lead, where you give the "must have" information to convey your key message - PART TWO: Additional information that is helpful, but not necessary. This can be information that elaborates on the key message and provides supporting information. Quotes from an executive are often used; see the Tips for Success to learn how to write such quotes. - PART THREE: The least important information that is "nice to have" but not "need to have" stuff. How to Write Executive Quotes - - A standard practice in news release writing is to include quotes. There are four reasons for this: (1) they help differentiate opinions from facts, (2) they often add more context and meaning to what is being announced, (3) they can humanize the story and make it more compelling, and (4) they satisfy the journalistic concept of attribution in a news story. - You should constantly edit your news release to remove excess words and make every word count. Conscientious editing will help you condense inflated sentences. Example of excess verbiage below with the rewrite: (Ex. 1) - The new company and its management team has invested a substantial amount of their time and effort in laying the groundwork for the company's unique value proposition to its potential customer base while setting the stage for developing its brand of products. OR (Ex. 2) - The new company is developing a marketing plan. - The vital need to ensure that your copy is free of spelling errors and typos is worth mentioning again. - Don't make the mistake of saying "pubic health" when you mean "public health" or write "bust size doesn't guarantee success" when you really want to say "but size...." - Jargon and hype phrases such as "world-class," "cutting edge," and "state-of-the-art" should also be avoided.

News Release Contacts -

- The last item on the news release is the name of a person who can be contacted by journalists and bloggers if they have additional questions. - The contact person must be readily available to answer any phone calls or email queries and also be knowledgeable about all aspects of what the news release is about. - Reporters get very annoyed when a contact is impossible to reach or doesn't seem to know anything more than what is already stated in the news release. - Many stories, as a result, are never used simply because a reporter couldn't reach a contact before the publication's deadline. ____________________________________________________________________________ Example of how a contact should be listed is from the eBay news release: eBay, +1 408-250-8644Johnna [email protected] for eBayRay Delgado, +1 [email protected] - It lists the company spokesperson, followed by the contact information of the person in the public relations firm that helped prepare the release.

Boilerplate Description of the Organization -

- The last part of a news release is a standard paragraph titled "About ..." - - Provides basic information about the company—just enough to give reporters some idea about the organization's purpose and size, particularly if the organization is not a household name. - This standard paragraph, up to 100 words, is often called boilerplate because the same copy is used as a standard addition to all news releases. Information that can be included in a boilerplate statement is: - market position, - aspiration, - size, - scope of business activity, - geographic coverage, - website, and - social media pages. - Trademarked products should be noted with a ® or a ™ so journalists are aware of what names must be capitalized.

The Online News Release -

- The major turning point for the traditional news release format was probably in 1996 when the Internet made news releases available to everyone, not just journalists. - Today's standard is the online news release that can reach virtually anyone via a search engine, a website, or an emailed copy. The basic components of the traditional news release are still present in an online release, but online releases have certain characteristics and guidelines: - Copy is now single spaced instead of double spaced. - The ideal length is 200 to 250 words. - The emphasis is on brevity so journalists see the most important information on one screen without having to scroll. - The subject line in the email, instead of the release headline, becomes the most important factor in determining whether a recipient clicks "open" or "delete." In one study by Greentarget, 80 percent of the journalists say subject lines are the main factor in determining whether to open or delete the release. - Links to the organization's website or other relevant information are provided. - A quote in larger type is often highlighted in the body of the news release. - Bullets are often used to convey key points. - Never send a release as an attachment. Journalists, because of possible virus infections, rarely open attachments unless they know and trust the source.

Making the Most of the Format -

- The most desired component of a multimedia release is the inclusion of photos. - A Business Wire survey of journalists and editors, for example, found that almost 75 percent wanted photos, followed by graphics (43 percent), infographics (32 percent), and video (27 percent). - There are several psychological reasons for adding photos and video to a news release or any other content. - Studies show that two-thirds of the population are visual learners, and they don't retain or respond well to text-only material. - A second reason is that up to a third of the population are auditory learners, so podcasts and audio files help the brain process information more effectively. - 1 minute of video equates to 1.8 million words because the brain processes images faster than text. ____________________________________________________________________________ Practical reason for using visuals: (1) SEO - Search engines such as Google and Bing give more weight to content with visuals in their page rankings. - Other studies also show that multimedia releases are shared more often on social platforms than text-only. ____________________________________________________________________________ - There's also the issue of cost. - Producing and embedding visual and audio elements is labor intensive, to say nothing of distribution. - Adding a single photo to a release distributed by Business Wire, for example, can cost up to $500, and the more elements you add, the higher the cost. - Consequently, multimedia releases are usually done only when the news release concerns a major new product launch or a major announcement. - There's also some evidence that many journalists just want a text-only release sent in an email. Public relations professionals often prepare an email text version and a multimedia version of the same news release. ex. One firm, for example, distributed a one-page email release that only provided the client's Web page, where reporters could get information. The second release was formatted so reporters could click on links to: (l) photos and video clips, (2) the client's YouTube channel, (3) the client's micro site about the product, (4) the iTunes App Store, and (5) the client's Facebook page.

News Release Lead -

- The most important part of any release is the lead paragraph. - Lead : the first sentence or paragraph of a news release or feature story. - In one to three sentences, you must give the reader the basic details of the story or entice the reader to read the second paragraph. -Marvin Arth, author of The Newsletter Editor's Desk Book, says the trick to good lead writing is to focus immediately on the most newsworthy or interesting point and to reserve other details until later in the story. 3 Common Mistakes : (1) Too much Info (cramming too much info into a lead) - The result is an elongated lead paragraph of 9 or 10 lines that tends to turn off journalists and readers because such a mass of words in one paragraph is visually unattractive to the average person. (2) Flowery Adjectives (using flowery adjectives in a lead) - This is particularly true in the tourism and entertainment industry. One news release for a Caribbean resort had a lead paragraph that used such terms as "a hidden gem in paradise" with rooms featuring "breathtaking ocean views," "fabulous outdoor pools," and the "world's most incredible cave diving." (3) Lengthy Technobabble (writing long leads with technical jargon) - The third mistake is a lead paragraph of 9 or 10 lines filled with technobabble. Here is an example of the first 4 lines of an 8-line lead paragraph: ex. Applied Micro Circuits Corporation, a global leader in embedded Power Architecture processing, optical transport, and storage solutions, announced its two new versions of its successful family of Rubicon products that enable low cost Carrier Grade Ethernet services over Metro and Core SONET/SDH and OTN networks. - Inexperienced writers, even those not writing a high-tech release, often clutter up a lead paragraph with unnecessary words and a tangle of information that is difficult to digest. Here is an example: ex. Evergreen Community College is pleased to announce a Medical Career Education Expo to be held this Saturday, March 29, 2015, from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m. Both Richmond campuses, South Side at 800 Moorehead Park Drive and West End at 2809 Emerywood Parkway, will be participating in this exciting event. - This lead is cluttered in several ways: 1) First, it's not necessary to give the year; this is assumed. 2) Second, there are unnecessary "hype" words such as "pleased to announce" and "this exciting event." 3) Third, two locations and addresses are given that would be better placed in a subsequent paragraph. - Clutter also occurs when a writer tries to put too many of the five Ws and one H in the lead paragraph. - The solution is to put only the most important element of the story in the lead paragraph. Examples of Leads that emphasize only one element: - WHO: Recording artist Lisa Atkinson will lead a sing-along and entertain preschool children. - WHAT: "Fire, Earth, and Water," a major exhibit of pre-Columbian sculpture from the Land Collection, opens Friday. - WHEN: November 15 is the last date for filing claims for flood damage caused by ... - WHERE: A golden retriever has won Best of Show honors at the 90th Golden Gate Kennel Club Dog Show. - WHY: Farnell of Britain will merge with Premier Industrial of Cleveland. The deal, valued at $2.8 billion, is an effort to consolidate the worldwide distribution of electronics equipment. - HOW: Flextime, the system that permits employees to set their own starting and stopping times, has reduced labor turnover at Kellogg Enterprises by ...

Use a Worksheet to Ask Basic Questions -

- The news angle and the content of your news release are best defined by completing a planning worksheet before you begin to write. The worksheet should answer the following questions: - What is the subject of the message? What is the specific focus of this release? - Who is this message designed to reach? For example, is it aimed at local citizens, or is it mainly for executives in other companies who read the business page and might order the product? - What is in it for this particular audience? What are the potential benefits and rewards? - What goal is the organization pursuing? What is the organization's purpose? Is it to increase sales of a product? Position the company as a leader in the field? Show company concern for the environment? - What do you want to achieve with the news release? Is the objective to inform, to change attitudes and behavior, or to increase attendance at a local event? - What key messages should this news release highlight? How can they be tailored to the format of a specific publication and its readers? - The release can still meet the journalistic goal of presenting information objectively and in correct newspaper or broadcast style, but it must also be carefully crafted to include key messages. - This kind of planning is the major difference between writing as a journalist and writing as a public relations professional. - you must think like a journalist. - Every time journalists receive a news release, they ask themselves "So what?" and "Who cares?" In other words, their primary criterion for using a news release is whether it's interesting and of benefit to their readers or viewers. Tips to tell if Your Release is Newsworthy? - 1) WHO gives a crap? If you can answer this question, your response belongs in the headline or subject line. Hint: Relatives don't count. 2) WHAT makes my story outshine the other 372 that crossed the desk of the reporter or blogger today? Hint: Pitch purple snowflakes. 3) WHERE would my story fit in the reporter's world? Hint: Relevance rules. 4) WHEN is this most important? Today, tomorrow, next Tuesday? Hint: Yesterday = snore. 5) WHY would anyone sitting in their den in Utah, driving on I-95 in Florida, or bowling next to my dad in New Jersey want to pay attention to this story? Hint: Connect with emotions and the human factor. 6) HOW can this story help other people? Hint: It's not about buying your book or hiring you to train execs. - In terms of format and content, a news release should be the same as a news story. - Like a journalist, a public relations writer needs to include the five Ws and one H: who, what, when, where, why, and how. If you have the answers to these questions at your fingertips, you are ready to begin. - If a news release conforms to AP style, it makes the work of reporters and editors much easier.

The Basic Components of a News Release -

- The news release has seven components: (1) release template, (2) headline, (3) dateline, (4) lead paragraph, (5) body of text, (6) boilerplate about the organization, and (7) contacts.

The Value of News Releases -

- The primary reason for writing a news release, of course, is to help achieve organizational objectives. News releases, when they form the basis of stories in the news columns of newspapers and magazines or are part of a TV news hour, create awareness about ideas, situations, services, and products for literally millions of people. - A new product on the market, or an appeal for Red Cross blood donations, is brought to the attention of the public. A manufacturer of a potato-chip maker, for example, sold out its entire stock after the New York Times included parts of a news release in an article about new kitchen gadgets. - News releases appear in the news columns of newspapers, and studies consistently show that people consider information in a news story to be much more believable than an advertisement. - In one such study, the Wirthlin Group surveyed 1,000 adults. Almost 30 percent of the respondents said that a news article would affect their buying decisions, whereas only 8 percent indicated that an advertisement would. - News releases also continue to serve the needs of the media because (1) they are a major information source of story ideas for journalists and bloggers, and (2) they are the basis of many news stories that, in turn, are amplified through blogs, re-tweets, and links via email and social media platforms. - In fact, a survey of consumers by Inkhouse and GMI found that the traditional news release was the most trusted source of company-generated news. - It has already been noted that public relations sources account for a large percentage of published and posted news stories.

The Traditional News Release -

- This double-spaced, text-only document on 8.5- by 11-inch paper was mailed or faxed to newspapers and broadcast media. - Margins for a traditional news release are 2 inches from the top of the page and about 1.5 inches from each side and the bottom of the page. - If you have a letterhead, start writing copy about 2 inches below it. Some other formatting rules are as follows: - Use 10- or 12-point standard type. Courier and Times Roman are popular fonts because they are easy to read. Avoid "squeezing" copy to fit on one page by reducing the size of type: This is self-defeating. - Don't split sentences or paragraphs between pages. - Never hyphenate a word at the end of a line. Unjustified right margins are acceptable. - Number the pages of a news release. - Place a slug line (a short description) at the top of each page after the first one. This identifies the story in case the pages get separated. - Write "more" at the end of each page if the news release continues. - Use "###" at the end of your news release. This has replaced the old journalistic "-30-"

Examples of Company Boilerplate Statements -

About KFC - KFC Corporation, based in Louisville, Ky., is the world's most popular chicken restaurant chain. KFC specializes in Original Recipe®, Extra Crispy™, Kentucky Grilled Chicken® and Extra Crispy™ Tenders, Hot Wings™, Go Cups, Famous Bowls, Pot Pies, freshly made chicken sandwiches, biscuits, and home-style side items. There are more than 18,000 KFC outlets in more than 115 countries and territories around the world. KFC Corporation is a subsidiary of Yum Brands, Inc., Louisville, Ky. (NYSE: YUM). For more information, visit www.kfc.com. Follow KFC on Facebook (www.facebook.com/KFC) and Twitter (www.twitter.com/kfc). About Doritos - Doritos tortilla chips is one of the billion-dollar brands that make up Frito-Lay North America, the $13 billion convenient foods business unit of PepsiCo (NYSE:PEP), which is headquartered in Purchase, NY. To learn more about the Doritos brand, visit its website at www.doritos.com or on Twitter at www.twitter.com/Doritos or on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/DoritosUSA.

Rules for Writing an Effective News Release -

DO: - Use short, succinct headlines and subheads to highlight main points and pique interest. They should not simply repeat the information in the lead-in paragraph. - Use descriptive and creative words to grab an editor's attention, but make sure they are accurate and not exaggerated. - Tell the news. Focus on how your announcement affects your industry and lead with that rather than overtly promoting your product or company. - Localize whenever possible. A local news angle trumps a generic news release. - Critique your writing by asking yourself, "Who cares?" Why should readers be interested in this information? - Verify all facts and statistics that you are using. Provide attribution for credibility. - Target your writing. Create tailored releases that will go out to different types of media and social media platforms, rather than a general release that isn't of great interest to either group. - Look for creative ways to tie your announcement in to current news or trends. - Write simply. Use contractions, write in active voice, be direct, avoid paired words like "clear and simple," and incorporate common action-oriented phrases to generate excitement. Sentences should be no longer than 25 or 30 words. - Follow the Associated Press Stylebook and specific publications' editorial standards for dates, technical terms, abbreviations, punctuation, spellings, capitalization, etc. - Write colorfully to focus on small, specific details and include descriptions of people, places, and events. Distribute news releases Monday through Thursday; Fridays are a black hole in terms of media and consumer attention. - Amplify your news release by sharing it across your social media channels. - Be accessible at all times to answer any follow-up queries from reporters and bloggers. DONT: - Rely exclusively on a spell-checker. Proofread for spelling, grammar, and punctuation errors. - Highlight the name of your company or product in the headline if it is not highly recognized. Focus on the news instead. - Boldface or underline words in a news release; it looks like spam. - Use lame quotes full of corporate jargon and boring platitudes. - Stick to the same formula in every news release.... Not every release must start with the name of the company or product. Break out of the mold to attract media attention. - Expect editors to print your entire release. Important information should be in the first two paragraphs.

Summary of Writing the News Release -

The Backbone of Publicity Programs -- - News releases are a basic element of almost every publicity plan. When published or broadcast, they can raise public awareness and influence decision making. - The media are flooded with hundreds of news releases. To beat the odds and get space or time, your release must be newsworthy, timely, and well written. The Value of News Releases -- - News releases are a cost-effective way of informing the media and the public about an organization's products, services, and operations. - Journalists and bloggers rely on news releases as a source of information on which to write stories and cover events. Planning a News Release -- - Planning worksheets and answering the five Ws and one H are the basic first steps in writing a news release. - News releases should answer two important questions: "So what?" and "Who cares?" - A news release follows the same rules and format of a journalistic news story; it should conform to Associated Press (AP) style. The Basic Components of a News Release -- - The news release has seven components: a release template (or letterhead), headline, dateline, lead, body, boilerplate, and contacts. - The headline and the lead should include the most important information and use keywords that will help search engines index it. - Lead paragraphs summarize the basic story in 25 words or less. Feature leads should arouse interest and encourage people to keep reading or listening. - Don't try to get all five Ws and one H (who, what, when, where, why, and how) in the lead paragraph. Choose the most important one or two elements. - Write news releases that will appeal to editors and their audiences. Too many releases please the client or employer but violate journalistic standards. - News releases are highly structured pieces of writing. Use inverted pyramid style, with the most important facts first. - Keep news releases factual. Avoid puffery and hype. - Contacts listed on a news release should be knowledgeable about the topic and highly accessible to reporters who call for more information. News Release Formats -- - There are three basic formats: (1) the traditional news release, (2) the online news release, and (3) the multimedia release. Other formats are evolving. - The use of visuals in a news release increases its use by journalists and the public. - The online release is now the predominant format; it is a single-spaced document with an ideal length of 200-250 words. It is sent to journalists via email or can be downloaded from the "pressroom" of an organization's website. If emailed, the subject heading must be concise and clear to attract attention. - Search engine optimization (SEO) is the process of carefully selecting keywords that can be indexed by search engines such as Google. The best keywords are those that an average person would use when conducting a search. - The multimedia release includes embedded photos, videos, audio, and links to other websites and information.

The Vital Need For SEO -

News releases distributed online are only effective, however, if the writer carefully uses what is known as search engine optimization (SEO) techniques. - SEO : refers to the selection of keywords that search engines, such as google, would index in terms of a particular topic. - Essentially, SEO is the process of selecting and using keywords for the news release that make the content easily retrievable if a journalist or even a consumer conducts a search on Google, Bing, or Yahoo!. - Another SEO tactic is using one or two keywords within the headline and making sure they appear in the first 65-80 characters, because any characters after that are often cut-off in Google search results. ex. A cruise line, for example, might want to publicize its "eco-friendly" tours but most people would probably use the term "green cruises" in a search. Therefore, the cruise line should use "green" as a keyword in its news release. - Although using keywords or phrases is important, keyword stuffing and excessive links tend to make your news release somewhat convoluted and redundant. - Google's PageRank (who gets listed in the first 10 searches) is now more sophisticated and is better at evaluating quality instead of quantity. - Once you have identified some key words, you need to build them into the news release

Types of Lead Paragraphs -

Several types of leads are possible: 1- the straight summary lead, 2- the informal lead, and 3- the feature lead. - The type of lead used often depends on the subject matter. ___________________________________________________________________________ - If you are making an announcement, a straight summary lead is preferred. (1) Straight Summary Lead Examples : - United Airlines today announced that Richard B. Hirst has been named senior vice president of corporate affairs and general counsel. - More than 25,000 grocery workers in the Baltimore-Washington area represented by the United Food and Commercial Workers Union (UFCW) have reached a tentative agreement with Giant Foods and Safeway. - Forty high school seniors today were named finalists for the Intel Science Talent Search. The competition, called the "junior Nobel Prize" is America's oldest and most prestigious high school science competition. __________________________________________________________________________ - Informal Lead, which often provides factual information but in a more informal way. - Such leads are often used for publicizing community events or reporting the results of surveys, which are timely but not exactly "hard" news. (2) Informal Lead Examples : - The sky will be ablaze with the crackle of scale-model machinegun fire this weekend at the Hill Country Air Museum in Morgan Hill. - A new national survey finds as parents celebrate their child's graduation, they and their children may not be prepared for all the "real world" costs. When asked if their child had a medical emergency or needed health care while uninsured, only 44 percent of parents say they would pay for their child's expenses, while 39 percent would offer to share the cost or teach the child how to take out a loan. (news release from Aetna, an insurance company) - The results are in!!! The Tooth Fairy Poll from Securian Dental Plans reports an increase in the current average "gift" U.S. children receive from the Tooth Fairy. Children receive an average of $2.09 per tooth, which is up from last year's gift of $1.71, a 22 percent increase. Tooth Fairy gift amounts range from a low of five cents to a high of $50 per tooth. __________________________________________________________________________ - the feature lead, which raises the reader's interest. - Essentially, the lead is a "hook" that encourages the reader to read the second paragraph for more information. - Feature leads are often used for news releases that are sent to specialized sections of a daily newspaper, such as the travel, auto, lifestyle, and food sections. - are not as time sensitive as announcement releases. Feature Lead Examples : - One hundred years ago, Italian immigrant Amedeo Obici "cracked the nut" on how to deliver fresh-tasting peanuts when he established Planters, known today as America's grandest nut company. This year, Planters marks 100 years of history, heritage, and delivering consistently fresh-tasting nuts with a year-long anniversary celebration. - Most 8- to 11-year-olds would rather go to school year-round than pay a nickel of "allowance tax." But put that nickel against Nickelodeon, and they'd gladly fork it over to protect their tube time. They also imagine Batman would pay more income tax than either Superman or Spiderman. (news release from H&R Block, the tax preparation firm, about a survey) - What makes maps so hypnotic? Is it their endless detail that magically draws us in? The worlds of possibilities they offer as they take us on vicarious journeys? The connection to a moment in history? Their sometimes dazzling beauty? (news release from the Field Museum in Chicago on an exhibition of maps)

Other News Release Formats -

The news release continues to be the backbone of most media relations, but it keeps evolving to take advantage of new digital technologies, increased broadband capability, the mobile revolution, and the popularity of social media. - The multimedia news release, for example, is now quite common, but organizations are also experimenting with other formats. - One approach is the social media release (SMR), which is even more appropriate for social media platforms. - Shift Communications and other public relations firms are restructuring the news release to have much shorter text and to include even more audio-visual elements that can be easily downloaded, shared, and even discussed online. - Shift Communications has pioneered the development of the social media news release that can be used across a variety of platforms, including traditional media, websites, and social media networks. The format even includes a section that allows individuals to make a comment and engage in a discussion about the information contained in the news release. - Other companies, although still using standard news releases, are also experimenting. ex. Amazon's public relations team, for example, launched the latest Kindle Fire tablet with 14 tweets. Each tweet focused on a different product feature. And Dell used a company blog to announce that it would take Bitcoin payments. - Other organizations are de-constructing news releases to fit other platforms. - One approach is to pin a photo from your news release to your Pinterest board and include relevant tags for users to reference the original news release. - Another approach is to also make a video news release and post it to the organization's YouTube channel. - A news release can also be restructured, be made more conversational, and be considerably shortened to be posted on a Facebook page. - Surveys already show that a large percentage of the population (including journalists) is using smartphones to access information and news releases. - As a result, news releases are being restructured and re-sized to be much shorter and easily readable on a small screen.

How to prepare a Multimedia News Release -

When preparing a multimedia release, keep in mind that "more" doesn't always equal "better." Here are some tips: - Place keywords in headlines and first paragraphs. - Include links to pages where multiple instances of your keywords/key phrases reinforce your message. - BUT be judicious with links. Too many links will confuse journalists and draw focus away from key messaging. - Distribute a release through a service that carries hyperlinks to downstream sites such as Yahoo!, Google, Digg, Facebook, and Twitter. - Use high-quality visuals that can be opened or downloaded with minimal wait time. - Be selective about photos and videos; make sure they complement the key message.