Guide to Writing a Press Release and Developing a Publicity Kit Iulia Leilua October 2008

Writing a Press Release Structure it with a beginning, middle and end Beginning – introduces the topic Middle – elaborates with facts and quotes End – summarises and ends on strong note Is it news worthy?

Has high human interest Local/regional interest International relevance Novel and immediate Unusual and new MPs, celebs, leaders Push buttons: first, biggest, best, highest Affects people in the head, heart and pocket What is News?

Writing a Press Release First sentence should grab the reader (5W and H – who, what, where, when, why, how) Put the date at the top Use a strong headline Size 12 font with 1 ½ line spacing No longer than one page

Writing a Press Release Stick to the facts Don’t use flowery language Keep it simple Avoid redundant or wasted words Beware of jargon Make sure it passes final authorisation

Writing a Press Release Tailor it to your audience Include important facts and key messages Put your contact details at the bottom Check your spelling, grammar and content Do you have an image to go with it? Follow it up with the media

The newest computer can merely compound, at speed, the oldest problem in the relations between human beings, and in the end the communicator will be confronted with the old problem, of what to say and how to say it. Edward R. Murrow – American journalist 1908 – 1965.

What’s in a Publicity Kit? A written press release episode (500 words or less – one page) Publicity images (on CD if in hard copy) One paragraph biographies of key organisers or talent Full name and contact details of talent available for interviews

What’s in a Publicity Kit? Delivery of all publicity material at least 4 weeks before publication date Information about the organisation including any interesting background or history Any human interest or interesting stories associated with the event/person/topic

What’s in a Publicity Kit? Newspaper clippings Quotes from the talent Statistics Use arial font size 11 with 1.5 line spacing Use company logos and letterhead. Make sure the image is not a huge file.