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Getting the media’s attention isn’t easy. With recent mergers and office cutbacks, journalists have a lot on their plates and don’t have time to read every news release that floats across their desks. It was recently found that up to 97% of news releases sent to media outlets are never used. So, how do you grab the media’s attention? It’s not easy, but by taking the following advice you’ll have a better chance of seeing your news release turn into a front-page story.

Know your Audience Before writing any news release, it’s important to ask yourself two questions:
- Who cares about this?
- What am I trying to achieve/do with this release?

The answers to these questions will help you determine if your story is newsworthy. For any story to make the news, a journalist must believe it will affect the public’s mind or heart because it possesses at least one of the following:
- Celebrity
- New information/products - Local angle/proximity
- Rare/unique
- Human interest
- Timely
- Conflict/scandal

Format and Wording

Format plays a large part in an effective news release and since your writing is directed at the media, you should write like they do. Be concise and keep paragraphs short. Since journalists have less and less time, the current trend is towards shorter news releases; so keep it to a maximum of one page. If you need more space to explain you’re doing, consider adding a backgrounder page.

The headline should grab the attention of the journalist and make them keep reading. A subhead can also be included if needed. The lead paragraph should always be an action – who’s doing what, where and when? Since most journalists know if they want to cover the story by reading the headline and lead, it’s ideal to tell the entire story in the first sentence.

A quote should appear in the second paragraph to add a human element to the news release. This quote should be from the individual a journalist would call for a follow-up. The following paragraphs fill in the rest of the details in descending order of importance. Additional quotes from other individuals can also be included later in the news release as long as they continue the story.

When writing the news release you should avoid clichés, fancy phrases and technical jargon. A news release isn’t an advertisement and journalists expect objective information that is easy for everyone to understand. The following “ugly” subjective words should never be used: awesome, amazing, astounding, exciting, fabulous, fantastic, great, incredible, thrilling, tragic, terrific.

Finally, ensure the date of release and a contact person are always listed on the news release. If a journalist has any questions, needs further information or clarification they know who to get answers from. It’s important that the contact person is accessible to the journalist and they know the details of the story. A journalist will drop the story if they can’t get a hold of the person or have their questions answered.

Media Distribution

Now that you’ve written the news release, you have to get it to the media. But how do you do this? Well, it depends on what kind of coverage you want.  

If you want local coverage, it’s best to e-mail or fax your news release directly to the local paper or radio station. Call the media and ask how you should send it and who to send it to. You want to go directly to the person responsible for deciding what stories to cover – usually the assignment editor or news director. After you send the news release, make a follow-up phone call to ensure that it was received and is in the hands of the right person.

If you’re looking for broader coverage, you might consider a wire service. A wire service will make your news release available to all media across Canada. This way, assignment editors and news directors can see your story with little effort on your part. The local media will often release to a wire service, but it may be in your interest to do this yourself as well. Many wire services, such as Canadian Press, do not charge a fee. You should beware of the wire services that charge a fee, as they are more apt to send anything out and are thus taken less seriously by journalists. News releases sent out by Canadian Press are always edited and are therefore more credible.

Update your Website

In today’s world, if a journalist is interested in your news release, the first place they will start their research is on the Internet. It is important that your website provides suitable information that the media can use. Have a section solely for media that includes all news releases, fact sheets, backgrounders, high-resolution images and biographies of key people within the organization. This will make a journalist’s life easier and your story will have a higher chance of getting told.

Over the years, the world of marketing has undergone some dramatic changes, but one thing has remained relatively the same: the news release. This reliable tool allows you to communicate your key messages to the media and thus your audience in a cost-effective manner. More importantly, the media’s third-party endorsement gives credibility to your story that other forms of marketing can’t come close to producing. By mastering the news release, you’ll increase the chance of your message being heard.

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