8.4: Art of Clarity - Beyond the Basic News Release

Newswriting vs PR writing  

Effective public relations writing draws from newswriting principles because news media outlets are the preferred channels for promoting products and services; however, newswriting and public relations writing may differ in terms of audience, tone and preferred media channels.   

Newswriting should be objective in tone, with the purpose of presenting information to educate an audience about newsworthy events. Public relations writing advocates for the client. It is informative, but it should also strive to influence key publics’ perceptions of the organization. Some would also argue that public relations writing is often more concise than newswriting.  

Reporters usually write primarily for the audience of the respective media outlet. Public relations professionals may have to write for a variety of audiences, including internal audiences (such as employees, shareholders, and distributors) and external audiences (such as legacy news media professionals, customers, volunteers, influencers and/or bloggers).   

Newswriters tend to focus on one primary communication channel and one writing style such as text-based approaches for newspapers or online news or broadcast scripts for radio or television news, perhaps with limited social media writing responsibilities. Public relations professionals use a variety of platforms to distribute their messages and may need to be versatile, i.e. able to write for print and online publications, audiovisual outlets, social media campaigns, advertisements, blogs, press kits, and more. 

All media professionals bring varied skill sets to the table, but it is important to know PR professionals do more than write news releases that mimic classic newspaper style.

PR Writing  

Public relations professionals at all levels need to have solid fundamental writing skills.   Public relations professionals are responsible for developing communication materials intended to influence the attitudes and/or behaviors of massive numbers of people belonging to a wide variety of different publics. The best approach to writing for widely heterogeneous audiences is to write using clear, effective, professional, and approachable language.  

Use straightforward sentences and story structures. Use the active voice and action verbs. Choose your words carefully, and pay attention to grammar and, when writing with the hopes of news publication, use AP style correctly. 

Many employers require candidates for public relations positions to complete a writing test and provide writing samples to demonstrate writing proficiency. It is critical to understand how to craft effective messages.    

Here are some of the many materials and types of messages that public relations professionals write:  

• Press/News releases  

• Fact sheets  

• Straight news articles

• Feature articles  

• Social media messages  

• Blog posts  

• Speeches  

• PowerPoint presentations  

• Brochures  

• Media pitches  

• Statements  for candidates or business leaders

• Posts for the company website, etc.

Writing the news release  

The news release is one of the most common communication materials written by public relations professionals. “News release” is the preferred term because it encapsulates all types of news including print, online, broadcast, and social media news productions.

News releases are sent to outlets such as newspapers, broadcast stations, magazines, news websites, news podcasts and news influencers to deliver a strategic message from an organization. Ideally, the media outlet will publish or broadcast the information if they deem it newsworthy, and when that happens there is no additional cost to the brand.

The primary audience for news releases is reporters, editors, producers and news influencers, although some organizations publish news releases on their own websites for audiences to view. These posts may turn up in search engine results, so it is essential that they are written clearly and have a professional presentation in terms of design.

Journalists use news releases as a reporting tool, relying on them to provide essential information that may make it easier for them to cover a variety of events in a given day.

With the increase in media platforms and near constant demand for social media content, some view news releases as outdated. Why attempt to go through professional journalists or news influencers when you can simply publish the content online and on social media yourself? This misses the fact that the credibility and access to audiences offered by massive news media outlets is difficult, perhaps impossible, to replicate in open online publishing.  

Audiences are more skeptical of brands than they are of news content. Even if a news release or some other message from a PR professional goes viral on social media, the credibility of the message and the audience reached may not be what was intended or what is ideal for the brand or individual represented by the public relations professional.

The use of news releases continues to be widespread in the profession. PR practitioners should know how to write an effective news release. 

Traditionally, news releases use the inverted pyramid style, which makes it easy for journalists and editors to receive the most essential information first. It may also make the news reporter, editor or producer more likely to use the content. This means the news hook should be indicated in the headline and revealed in a summary news lead in the release. Journalists will not take your press release seriously if the content is not newsworthy and it is not written in an accepted style, i.e. Associated Press (AP) style.

Make sure that the news release clearly indicates how information should be attributed that the referenced sources are appropriate and that the copy is error free.  

Before writing the release, ask yourself the following questions:  

• Is the announcement or event newsworthy?   

• Does it appeal to the media outlet’s audience?  

• Who is the target audience for the release?   

• What is the key message? What should the reader or viewer take away?  

Although you’re writing the release for the media, you need to keep in mind the kind of readers or listeners you hope to attract.  

News release writing tips  

• The release should be written on company letterhead, with the words “News Release” at the top of the page.   

• Below this, indicate when the information is available for publication. The phrase “FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE” means the information is ready to publish and can be used by journalists as soon as they receive it. Occasionally, you would prefer that journalists publish the story based on your announcement at a later date. In this case, use the term “UNDER EMBARGO UNTIL” followed by the embargo end date and time.  

• Write the body of the release using proper newswriting techniques and, usually, AP style.   

• Be sure to include a headline, a subheading, a dateline (which should include the date and location), and write a summary lead.  

• Include a few paragraphs of the most necessary information, a quote if applicable, and nothing more. Journalists appreciate brief news releases that give them a head start on covering a real news story rather than detailed releases about irrelevant topics.  

• Always include contact information for the journalist’s reference, preferably at the top right corner and again at the bottom of the news release.  

• Indicate at the bottom of the first page if there is more content on a second page, e.g. -more- .  

• Put ### to indicate the end of the news release. This is a symbol borrowed from journalistic tradition.  

Beyond the basic news release

In the assignment that follows, you will be required to write a news release and to develop three social media posts that might spur interest in the topic online. Often if there is social media chatter about a topic or an event a journalist is more likely to cover it because it shows that people care. Although you are not expected to include photos with the assignment, indicate your plan for including a photo with each post.

News Release + Social Media Plan Assignment

Choose a brand that markets heavily to college students. Either find an actual event planned for the near future or make one up. The default example is that the brand will visit your campus soon to help launch its new product.

Write a news release using the template in this section. Be sure to include all of the necessary elements.

Then, in a separate document, draft a brief social media plan to accompany this news release. Since this is added to an existing writing assignment, the expectations are limited. This calls for planning only a handful of social media posts. Instructors could increase or decrease the scope of this portion of the assignment depending on what is best for their course.

The social media plan should indicate the social media platform best for reaching the brand's target audience. It should include descriptions of five photos or graphics that would be placed at the center of each social media post. It should include text to encourage students and media to attend the on-campus event. In this way, this mini social media campaign might catch the attention of students as well as local media.