A good media release tells the news of an organisation or individual in a way that’s factual, informative and engaging.
A good media release serves multiple purposes and may appear across different platforms.
It should be written like a journalist would write a news article, with the most important information stated concisely in the introduction.
Not only is this good writing practice, it’s also important for search engine optimisation (SEO) in the digital age.
With the decline of print media and newspaper mastheads, it’s more likely that a good media release will be published online by news sites, e-magazines and bloggers.
For organisations and individuals, it’s also important to maintain a web news archive of published information as a resource and reference point.
Even if a good media release isn’t published by third parties it will have a home on the publisher’s website.
Good media release essentials
- Tell the most important part at the beginning in less than 25 words covering who, what, where and when.
- Keep the length to around 200-300 words (single A4 page).
- Have one main spokesperson and no more than two.
- Answer obvious questions in the text or provide a supplementary fact sheet/FAQ.
- Provide contact details and have a spokesperson on standby to speak with interested media.
When it comes to distribution, most organisations have a list of regular media outlets in their sphere of interest. Depending on the topic and the desirability of extending the reach, it’s worth considering niche publishers, eg specialty bloggers and digital magazines.
A well-written article can also be easily adapted for newsletters (print and digital), podcasts and a video script.
Gorey Media offers a free initial consultation to discuss clients’ needs and will quote on researching, writing and distributing news.
We don’t recommend pitching a media release, except by email.
Here’s a useful external article which looks at different scenarios and examples. Obviously the tone of a press statement will be different for promoting a festival than it is for announcing bad news.
The fundamental principles remain the same however — be factual, concise, informative and engaging.