Press Releases to Reporters: Get It Right

When I started writing press releases here six weeks ago, I found myself having a major internal conflict. During my editorial internship last summer at an automotive newspaper publication, I sifted through what seemed like hundreds of press releases we had received from various public relations firms. I ended up discarding most of them into the trash because the releases were either uninteresting or they weren't newsworthy. So when I sat down to write my first press release for a client, I was really struggling with how to convey the client's key messages to reporters in an appealing way. I wanted to see if other journalists had the same problem with press releases as I had, so I went searching on the Internet to see if there were any press release tips from a reporter's perspective. This one by Esther Schindler of the Internet Press Guild I found to be the most detailed, yet entertaining of all. I say entertaining because she explains her tips in a very blunt fashion, with almost an arrogant tone. But what she has to say is very true, especially when she talks about contacting a reporter for the first time. So take a look and laugh a little, but realize that writing a press release is a lot harder than you think.