When you write a press release, you're putting out information about an organization or program and hoping that the newspaper, radio and TV stations or newsletters to which you send the information will publish it or write a news story based on it. In a sense, you're looking for free advertising.


Put the most important information at the beginning and arrange the paragraphs in descending order of importance so only the least significant information is lost if the release is cut from the bottom.


Press releases usually follow the typical format of a news story, answering the questions who, what, where, when and why. You need to make your press release accurate, clear and succinct so the editor who reads it can use the information as efficiently as possible to produce a story.


Some Suggestions :


• Print the press release on the organization's letterhead stationery or put the organization's name and address at the top of the sheet.


• Give your press release an informative heading that announces the topic clearly. Think of it as a headline.


• At the top of the page, put the name and phone number of the person to contact for more information.


• Focus on facts and avoid adjectives or adverbs that might be viewed as self-promoting.


• Be sure your press release supports the image you want to project of the organization. The formal, neutral tone of the model release, for example, reflects the dignified image a hospital would want to project. A press release for a different occasion-for example, the opening of a children's library-would call for a more informal, friendlier tone.


• Double-space the press release so it can be easily edited if necessary.


• Close with a centered "30" preceded and followed by dashes. If it runs more than one page, write "-more-" at the end of a page so that it is followed by another and put the "-30--" at the end of the last page.