The timing of a release should be sensitive to news deadlines.
You need a headline, a date, a release date (usually Immediate) and a dateline (the location from where it originates).
Keep releases short (one page). Add biographical information or a Backgrounder on a second page
if needed. Put the most important information near the top of the release and use a couple of quotes.
Write in the past tense: “Ms. Doe said…” not “Ms. Doe says…”
Put the name and telephone number of a contact at the bottom of the release. Be sure that someone
is available to answer calls from journalists.
If a television journalist responds, she may want you to do a brief on camera interview. Occasionally radio journalists will want to do a face-to-face interview as well. Build these possibilities into your schedule when you issue the release.
If you have no response to your release, follow up with a polite telephone call. Newsrooms receive many News Advisories and Releases every day and some of them are inevitably ignored or
misplaced. A telephone call can make all the difference.
(Sample)
NEWS RELEASE
DATE: day/month/year
RELEASE: Immediate
Jane Doe seeks NDP nomination in Saskatoon-Westside
Saskatoon — Former city councillor Jane Doe will seek the NDP nomination in the federal
constituency of Saskatoon-Westside.
“I am running because I want to help improve the health of people who live in our community,” Doe
said. “So many people are unhealthy because they are poor, unemployed or live in sub-standard housing.”
Doe is an outreach worker with the Community Health Clinic, a two-term city councillor and a member of the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE).
“I want to become part of a group of MPs who will make a difference on health care and other issues,” Doe said. “We want Parliament to work for Canadians and that’s why the NDP has pushed the Liberal government into putting more money into health care, affordable housing and the environment.”
Doe and her partner John live have lived in Saskatoon-Westside for 12 years. They have been active in community organizations and their two daughters attend high school in the constituency.
The Saskatoon-West NDP nominating convention will be held at the Pensioners & Pioneers Hall, 363 Ave C. South on Friday, September 21, starting at 7:30 p.m.
-End-
For more information call:
Jane Doe 306-221-2503
Pulpit and Politics 