Editorial Writing - Top Tip No14

“Dog bites man” is not news……… “Man bites dog” is!

Press releases must always be newsworthy, so create material which is:

• New

• Relevant to the audience

• Surprising

• Controversial

• Amusing

Good press releases answer Who?, What?, Why?, Where?, When?, How?
...but the most important question remains: So what?

Journalists expect to see certain elements in your press release:

• Date of issue

• Heading - use 'News ' or 'Media Information' - don't let them think it's a business letter

• Headline - must be clear and unambiguous if a journalist is to read your first paragraph

• Subheadings - unnecessary and unlikely to be used

• Figures - spell out numbers from one to nine, and afterwards written as numbers. However, use numbers for dates, addresses, prices, specifications etc

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