How To Write A Press Release For Your Channel

A press release can often come in many different formats, however today we are going to focus on a more traditional format that is usually made up of nine structural elements, including a letterhead, contact information, headline, sub-headline, dateline, introduction, body, boilerplate, and a close. 

Press releases can be given to members of the news media physically on paper and electronically.

First of all, a press release should be used to bring attention to an upcoming event or change in your channel, bringing attention to your channel it’s-self.

So let’s write your first Press Release.

Start with the Letterhead, this could be your channel logo or your channel name.

Then include your media contact information this is for the media to contact your public relations person.

Now you’re ready to start on the Headline your headline should be clear, concise, and to the point. It should also describe the content of the press release, this will keep you from sounding like “click-bait”

Then you should write a Sub-Headline that explains the headline DO NOT just repeat the headline this is important because it helps build up interest in your body copy.

 It should also be italicized.

You should use a Dateline to indicate when and where the news is taking place

Next is your introduction, this is where you give the reader a reason to read your body copy you want to introduce your reader to the information in the press release. This is a great place to include a prominent quote. Don’t be tempted to add background information about your channel in your introduction, you want to keep this to under 3 paragraphs.

The Body of your press release should explain the who, what, when, where, and why of the events, promos, and news within your press release. Always start your body copy with quotes if you have them, you want to make this as easy as possible for journalists to just copy and paste your paragraphs, quotes, details, etc, this makes it easy for journalists to utilize your material. 

Utilizing the material in a press release can benefit journalists because press releases help decrease costs and improve the quantity of material a journalist can output in a given amount of time. Because the material is already written, press releases save journalists time, not only in writing a story, but also the time and money it would have taken to capture the news firsthand.

 Press releases tend to be biased towards the organization which ordered them. In the digital age, people want to get their information instantly which puts pressure on the news media to output as much material as possible. This type of pressure is bad for our news industry but GREAT for you! Simply because most news sources just copy and paste your release into the news. This means journalists will heavily rely on your press release to create stories. 

So just to recap, a great press release should consist of

• • Letterhead or logo

• • Media contact information

• • Headline

• • Sub-Headline (Explaining the headline)

• • Dateline

• • Introduction

• • Body

• • Boilerplate

• • Close

With all of this information, you are now ready to write your press release. Go ahead and get started.