LESSON - 8: PRESS RELEASE

 B A (JMC) (3-YDC), SEMESTER SYSTEM

SEMESTER –IV

SEC III: PUBLIC RELATIONS AND EVENT MANAGEMENT

Unit -1: PUBLIC RELATIONS

LESSON - 8: PRESS RELEASE

 Objectives:

1.    Understand what is a Press Release

2.    Know the necessity of issuing a press release

3.    Learn about types of press release

4.    How to write a press release?

5.    List out the benefits of press release

Introduction:

Press i.e. print media is specifically Newspapers, Journals, Books and other periodicals. It is a mass medium of communication. Even after the advent of other mass media like Radio, Television and Digital media, together all these are called either Press or Media. Therefore, the yesteryears term Press release and today’s Media release are used interchangeably. Press release or Press note is also called News release because some news-worthy information is released to various Media houses through that communication.

The profession dealing with writing for newspapers, magazines, radio, television, digital media etc is called journalism. It is the profession of communicating the information to the public through any medium. The people that write or contribute news to these media are called Journalists or Media men. Journalism is described as a bridge between the Govt and the Public because it caters to the information needs of both. On the other hand, Public Relations is a management function and the people that disseminate organization’s information to the targeted Public and the Media are called PROs or Corporate Communicators.

Press or Media is considered as the Fourth Estate in a democracy as it commands a respect and also sensitize the Society by informing, educating, entertaining and influencing the public. Every organisation wants to inform about its activities and events to its targeted publics through Newspapers, Radio, Television and Digital platforms. Here lies the importance of a Press release or Media release or News release. In this lesson we will be discussing about what is a press release, its meaning, types of press releases, occasions to write press releases, how to write a press release and its benefits.

Meaning of Press Release

A press release is a statement issued by an organization or individual to the media or the public with the intention of informing the public about specific news or events.

A press release is an official statement delivered to members of the news media for the purpose of providing information, creating an official statement, or making an announcement directed for public release.

A press release is a written, official statement that is prepared for and delivered to the members of the press – also called the media – for making a newsworthy announcement or providing information in relation to a specific event.

Another meaning of a press release is that, it is a document that companies or individuals create and share with professionals from the news media industry so that they can make it public, thus giving the event media coverage and expanding its reach.

History of News Release

Press release dates back to 1906 with the first press release sent to newspapers when a train accident took the lives of over 50 people in New Jersey, USA.

In 1920, the first Radio news program was aired on the Station 8MK covering local election results in Detroit, Michigan.

In 1939, Lowell Jackson Thomas hosted the first television news broadcast in New York, which was a camera simulcast of his radio broadcast. Simulcast is simultaneous transmission of the same programme on radio and television.

Majority of news that is generated by the Media houses is from their Staffers, Correspondents and through News Agencies. Only 5 to 10% of news is through the press releases sent by the Organisations prepared by PR people. Though the percentage is small, it is important from public relations point of view because news about the activities and events of the Organisation will get publicised by the Media, free of cost, without resorting to advertising. Advertising costs an organisation on the basis of the space measured in column centimetres in the print medium and calculated by minutes and seconds in electronic media i.e. Radio and Television.

Before proceeding further, it is necessary to understand the functions of Media to know why a media release assumes importance in the practice of public relations.

Functions of Media

There are 4 broad functions performed by any medium of communication, be it Newspaper or Radio or Television.

1.    Information: It is the primary duty of the Media to communicate ideas and information to the readers or listeners or viewers in the form of news, stories, features. Media also dig up stories on its own, concerning public welfare.

2.    Education: Media educates the public by giving background information on subjects of topical interest. Guidance is given to public through various articles or programmes of human interest in order to educate them.

3.    Entertainment: It is the another purpose of media as they provide information with cartoons, puzzles, movies, movie songs, games, drama, dance, cultural programmes, musical concerts etc to entertain the public.

4.    Influence: The power of media to change people’s minds may be limited, but their persuasive power is undeniable. By conveying the information on various topics, the media enables the public to form an opinion or change the already formed opinion.

What actually is a press release?

A press release is a news release. It is an official statement - written or recorded - that an organization issues to the news media and beyond. Whether we call it a “press release,” a “press statement,” a “news release,” or a “media release,” we're always talking about the same basic thing.

While the heading should contain action verbs, the first paragraph which is called the Lead should answer the 5 W’s i.e. “who,” “what,” “why,” “when” and “where” and 1H that is “how”. The press release should also contain understandable language and a quote.

The length of a press release shall be 300 to 500 words. Companies want to provide enough information so that news outlets have sufficient material for publishing their own stories about whatever the company is announcing in the release. One thing to remember is that press releases live in the public domain, which means the stakeholders and customers can see them. So, instead of thinking of a press release solely as a ticket to earning news coverage, consider it as a valuable piece of marketing content.

While there's no cut-and-dried formula for what a press release should include, here are a few types of occasions to help focus and determine what content would help in broadcasting the Organisation’s news in the best way:

Types of Press Release

1. Product Launches
2. Mergers and Acquisitions
3. Product Updates
4. Events
5. Openings
6. Partnerships
7. Rebranding
8. Executive Promotions/Hiring
9. Awards
10. CSR
11. Crisis

Let us discuss them one by one.

Product Launches: The product launch type of press release is valuable to get the word out about the new solutions an organization is offering to consumers. It should emphasize the product's specifications, pricing, availability and any other details that may be valuable to consumers.

Mergers and Acquisitions: Organizational change is noteworthy enough to warrant a press release, especially for informing current and future stakeholders about the growth and trajectory of a company. To announce an acquisition or merger, include details about all organizations involved, information about the merger or acquisition, and quotes from the leadership teams.

Product Updates: Similar to a new product launch, product updates and expansions are also ripe for promotion. Explain what the change is, why it was made, and how it benefits the user.

Events: Press releases are an important component of event marketing to attract promotion from news outlets and other media sources. Press release can say what the event is about, who should consider attending, when and where it will be held, pricing etc

Openings: Whether a new office is opened, relocated it, or are opening for the first time, announce the details with a grand opening press release. Announce the date and location of the opening, who is involved, how the grand opening is being celebrated, and the reason for the move.

Partnerships: Similar to mergers and acquisitions, a press release announcing new partnerships is a mutually beneficial marketing tactic. To effectively execute this type of release, be sure to write a summary about each company, why the partnership was created, who benefits, and any additional important details for current and future stakeholders.

Rebranding: Rebranding is a difficult thing for any business to do, and it can occasionally result in confusion and awkwardness. One way to make the transition smoother is by announcing the rebrand with a press release, including details on what is changing, the reason for making the change, date on which the changes will come into effect, and quotes from the leadership team etc.

Executive Team Changes: Executives often serve as faces of the company, and a press release functions to kick off their role. It may include biographical information of the Board of Directors, Top Executives to establish their credibility along with a photo and other pertinent details.

Awards: When it comes to business excellence, it is OK to brag and boast. Press releases about awards and accomplishments serve to elevate an organization as an authority in business environment. Such a press release includes information about the company and why they were given the award, information about the award itself, and details about the ceremony etc.

Corporate Social Responsibility: Every organisation exceeding a certain capital outlay and a certain annual profit shall take up activities permitted by the Government, mandatorily. CSR gives a lot of scope for organisations to publicise themselves through press releases on every occasion. This helps the Organisation in several ways even during a crisis. First, it can reduce the likelihood and severity of a crisis by improving risk management, compliance, and quality standards. An organisation with a strong environmental policy can avoid fines, lawsuits, and reputational damage from pollution or waste. Media also evinces interest in CSR stories because there involves some kind of development and welfare.

Crisis: We know crisis is a disruption or breakdown. Crisis can be both natural and manmade. Crisis creates confusion, anxiety, fear, anger, guilt or helplessness. In such a situation, Organisations feel suffocated and hesitate to inform the truth to their stakeholders, but Media becomes curious and tries to dig out the truth. Unlike other press releases, a crisis press release is a formal written statement issued by an organization in response to a significant and potentially damaging event or situation that could negatively impact its operations as well as reputation. This written statement shall aim at asserting control, clarify the situation and assure stakeholders about the organization’s commitment to effectively managing and resolving the crisis.

Thus, there is absolutely no bar on shooting out a press release. Every event and every happening in the organisation, if it has any news value, that opportunity can be seized to send up a press release for availing appropriate media mileage. 

Press Release Format

When formatting a press release, it should be written in a newsy, straightforward way so that a journalist who might write about it can imagine it as an article on their own news platform.

Here are the basics that every press release should include:

• Organisation’s contact information should find place on the top left corner
• The phrase “For immediate release” to be on the top right
• A headline to quickly explain the announcement
• Location of business in the first sentence of the press release
• A quick bio about the company at the end of press release.

Press release should also include dots or dashes or hash marks or another signifier as an indication to the journalist that the release has ended. This prevents busy journalists from waiting or flipping the page for more information when there was no more news. This is a tradition and is still adopted and highly-respected even today.

How to Write a Press Release?

Writing a press release to break important news can help businesses grow better, but doing it right is just as important as the business itself. Here's how to write a press release, step-by-step.

1.    Compelling headline.

2.    Add more context with a sub headline.

3.    Convey the news value to the press.

4.    Offer a tempting quote.

5.    Provide valuable background information on the subject.

6.    Summarize the ‘who’ and the ‘what’.

7.    Include contact information.

8.    Proofread before publishing.

1. Compelling headline.

You have got your announcement in mind, and now it’s time to get it down in words to share with your community, industry and followers. Setting up your press release for success starts with your headline. Consider your words carefully to make your headline captivating. Here are some tips to make your headline stand out: Use action verbs, be specific, keep it short and most importantly make it interesting: Keep in mind that reporters get number of releases each day, so invest the time to write a compelling headline. Consumers, on the other hand, see news stories all over their timelines. As such, your headline needs to be interesting enough to attract them.

2. Add more context with a subheadline.

While your headline is meant to draw readers in, your subheadline gives readers a better idea of the news you’re sharing. When crafting your subheadline, aim at encapsulating your press release in one sentence. Make sure it supports the headline you crafted to entice people and keep them reading.

3. Convey the news value to the press.

If you want your press release to be newsworthy, you have to give readers a reason to care. A good way to ensure this is by using the inverted pyramid formula when writing your press release that is going from the most important information to the least important. While the first paragraph of your release should explain the who, what, where, when and why the second paragraph should cover the how. Reporters don’t have time to sift through details and fluffy background information — they just need the facts that will help them tell your story to someone else. There shouldn't be any new, crucial information covered after these sections because the readers could potentially miss them.

4. Offer a tempting quote.

Once you have set the scene, it’s time to bring your details to life with a quote that reporters can use for context around your announcement and help paint a picture of how your news affects the given industry, customer base and landscape. Ideally, quotes will be from key stakeholders in your company including your executive team, project leads, or those directly impacted by your announcement. Quoting key figures and authorities underlines the importance of your development. The chosen quote should shape your narrative and emphasize the core of the announcement. Need not ask everyone in your office for a comment or feel compelled to quote. Pick one or two critical spokespeople and focus the quotes around their unique perspective.

5. Provide valuable background information on the subject.

In this paragraph of press release, keep in mind that the reader should already have key details they need regarding your announcement. Offer details here that strengthen your narrative, like creative or noteworthy ways your company developed the project or announcement at hand. Or, when applicable, comment on the future implications of your announcement. Another good way to add value to your press release is by using news jacking, a process of relating your press release to something currently going on to make it more valuable to the journalist and the readers.

6. Summarize the “who” and the “what” in a boilerplate.

Describe what your company does in clear, plain language in a boiler plate. Boiler plate is nothing but a standardised paragraph at the end of a press release that provides background information about a company. It is a shorter version of “about us” of “who we are”. If you cite data, include a reference link for the data source, and make sure every name in the release has an associated title and company as well.

7. Include contact information.

Make it easier for journalists to reach out to your company by providing your media contact information. This allows them to quickly get in touch with you to get additional details, schedule an interview or request accompanying visuals or materials. It can also help streamline the communication process and increase the likelihood of receiving media coverage or engaging in further dialogue with journalists or relevant stakeholders. When giving your contact information, be sure to include contact person’s name, e-mail address, phone number etc of your side.

8. Proofread before publishing.

As with anything else you write, you should always proofread your press release before sending it out to the media. When you want to present your company in the best light possible, typographical mistakes can distract from your message. Take the time to do one final read-through before publishing. Better to have an editor or colleague look at it. This gives you the opportunity to tweak sentences, fix any confusing parts, double-check the formatting, and ensure that it is easy to read and understand. In addition to proofreading your press release, utilizing AI rewriter tools can further enhance the clarity and coherence of your message. To keep yourself honest on this front, ask a colleague to read the release without context and ask them to relay the information back to you. If he can't recall the who, what, or why get back to rewriting the press release.

Tips for Publishing Press Releases

Writing a press release is only half of the task. Once you are finished with production, it will be time to focus on distribution. Of course, all are familiar with the traditional distribution methods, which include sending them by hand or by mail or publishing the press release on our website/blog as well as sharing the press release with our followers/subscribers via social media. To get the maximum amount of distribution possible, here are some tips you can follow.

1. Reach out to specific journalists: Instead of blasting a press release out to every journalist you can find an email address for, focus on a few journalists who have experience covering your industry and send them personalized messages.

2. Send the release to top journalists the day before: Give journalists some time to craft a story around your press release by sending it to them — under embargo — the day before it officially goes live. “Under embargo” just means they are not allowed to share the information in the press release until the time you specify.

3. To avoid competition, don't publish your release on the hour: If you are publishing your press release in electronic media through a distribution service agency avoid publishing it on the hour e.g., 1 p.m., or 3 p.m., or 5 p.m. The reason is most companies schedule their releases to go out on the hour, which means if your release goes out on the hour too, it is more likely to get lost in the shuffle. Instead, try going with a more distinct time e.g., 1:12 p.m., or 3:18 p.m., or 5:22 p.m.

4. Share your media coverage: If all goes according to plan, and your press release gets picked up by the media, your job still is not finished. To keep the buzz going, you can release a “second wave” of distribution by sharing the specific stories that news outlets write based on your press release.

Benefits of Press Releases

Apart from helping a company generate media coverage, press releases offer several benefits. To name a few -

1.    Brand exposure: Press releases can help create brand awareness by sharing company's news, updates or achievements. This exposure can attract potential customers and increase brand recognition.

2.    SEO benefits: It means search engine optimisation. Press releases distributed online can improve your search engine rankings. Relevant keywords and links in your press release can help boost your website's visibility in search results.

3.    Investor and stakeholder communication: Press releases are an effective way to communicate with investors, shareholders and other stakeholders by keeping them informed about significant company announcements, financial results, or strategic initiatives.

4.    Crisis management: When stuck in a challenging situation, a well-crafted press release can help control the narrative, provide accurate information and manage public perception.

Summary

Press Release, Media Release and News Release are one and the same. Press releases carry some newsworthy information for publication. Press releases are sent to Media houses. Drafting of press releases is the job of PROs or Corporate Communication Managers. The purpose of a press release is to get attention of the target audience and journalists, raise brand awareness, make news and generate publicity. Most importantly, press releases are an effective way to create interest around any corporate news in a factual and efficient way for journalists. A well-written press release can be considered a cost-effective marketing tool to gain the media’s attention for a potential news story and a great way to make an official announcement.

A press release often resembles an article and should contain quotes and facts that can be picked up for use in future news stories. The goal of a press release is to accurately represent and promote significant corporate news. A good press release may announce a new product or a newsworthy event. The information presented within a release should follow the pre-existing format. The bulk of a press release must include the announcement the Organisation is making. A press release should also specify whether the information is for immediate release or for a later date. It needs to include a date, location, contact information and a little more information about the company or organization making the announcement.

The popularity of a press release is not guaranteed for PR professionals, not even its coverage in the media. Just because an organization decides to create a press release does not mean the media outlet will fall into a frenzy. While it is a cost-effective marketing strategy, it is not a guaranteed success story. Before even considering writing a press release one must ask to himself “is this information newsworthy?”

FAQs

1.     What do you understand by Press Release?

2.     What are the functions of Media?

3.     List out some types of press releases.

4.     How to write a press release?

5.     Enumerate the benefits of press releases. 

Model Answers

1. Press release is also called Press note or News release because some news-worthy information is released to various media houses through that communication. A press release is an official statement delivered to members of the news media for the purpose of providing information, creating an official statement, or making an announcement directed for public release. A press release is a written, official statement that’s prepared for and delivered to the members of the press – also called the media – for making a newsworthy announcement or providing information in relation to a specific event.
2. There are 4 broad functions to be performed by any medium of communication. They are Information that is to communicate ideas and information to the readers or listeners or viewers in the form of news, stories, features. Media also dig up stories on its own, concerning public welfare. Education that is guiding the public through various articles or programmes of human interest. Entertaining by providing cartoons, puzzles, movie reviews, movies, games, drama, dance, cultural programmes, musical concerts etc to entertain the public and Influencing the people to change their minds and enabling them form an opinion or change their opinion.
3. Here are a few types of occasions to help you carve out a focus for your press release and determine what content would help you broadcast your news in the best way: To name a few, they are on the occasions like (1) Product Launches (2) Mergers and Acquisitions (3) Product Updates (4) Events (5) Openings (6) Partnerships (7) Rebranding (8) Executive Promotions/Hiring (9) Awards (10) Crisis (11) Corporate Social Responsibility etc 
4. Writing a press release to break important news can help businesses grow better, but doing it right is just as important as the business itself. Here are a few steps on how to write a press release (1) Compelling headline (2) Add more context with a sub headline, (3) Convey the news value to the press (4) Offer a tempting quote, (5) Provide valuable background information on the subject, (6) Summarize the ‘who’ and the ‘what’, (7) Include contact information and (8) Proofread before publishing.
5. Apart from helping a company generate media coverage, press releases offer several benefits. They are – (1) Brand exposure to create brand awareness by sharing your company's news, updates or achievements thereby attract potential customers and increase brand recognition. (2) Press releases distributed online can improve search engine rankings. (3) Press releases are an effective way to communicate with investors, shareholders and other stakeholders, and (4) Press releases can help control the narrative, provide accurate information, and manage public perception during crisis situations.

 Multiple Choice Questions

1.      Press or Media is considered as the ______ Estate in a democracy.

a.       Second

b.      Fourth

c.       First

d.      Third

2.      The first press release was sent to newspapers in the year ______.

a.    1857

b.    1927

c.    1780

d.    1906

3.              3. Lead/first para of a press release should answer _____ Ws.

           a.  Two

b.    Six

c.    Three

d.    Five

4.      News value is related to _________.

a.       Cost of news

b.      Newsworthiness

c.       Amount charged

d.      Fees payable

5.               5. When writing a press release, the ______formula shall be adopted.

a.    Upright Pyramid

b.    Square

c.    Indented

d.    Inverted pyramid

 

Keys to Multiple Choice Questions: 1. (b)  2. (d)  3. (d)  4. (b) 5. (d)

 

Glossary

Print Medium: A type of mass media that shares information through printed publications. It includes newspapers, magazines and books.

Electronic Medium: It is a medium of communicating information electronically, rather than using paper. Radio and Television are called electronic media.

News Release: It is also known as press release or media release. News releases are important for informing the public about events or products related to the organisation.

Headline: It is the title of a news story printed in large letters at the top of the story. It is the main point of the news which is written, read on radio or television.

Lead: It is the first paragraph of a story in journalism. Its purpose is to grab the reader’s attention and draw them in.

Proofreading: It is the final step in the writing process. It involves checking for small errors and inconsistencies in a text before it is published or shared.

 

Key Words:

Print, Electronic, Media, News, Article, Story, Lead, Events, Boilerplate, Embargo, Crisis, CSR

 

Y. BABJI

Academic Counsellor, Public Relations (since 1989)

AP Open University/Dr BR Ambedkar Open University

Editor, Public Relations Voice