Basic Rules for Writing a Press Release

Make it easy to read and sub-edit

Journalists are always going to prefer to use a press release, or News Release, that they can work with easily, to one which causes them problems. It can all come down to physical presentation and content. This is why it is important to get the simple rules of presentation right:

1. Always write News Releases using double-spacing, on one-side of paper only and with good, wide margins. This makes it easier to read and absorb the contents quickly, thus making it easier to for journalists to sub-edit or re-write
2. Use standard press style for copy – again making it easier for the journalist. There are a number of press conventions which are universally adopted and they include: numbers up to ten should be written; and from 11 upwards shown as numerals
   • dates should be shown without suffixes, thus 10 September not 10th
   • never use unnecessary capital letters, even for job titles
   • the first time you use an acronym, spell it out in full and bracket the initials, thereafter you can shorten it -i.e. the first time you mention Hospitality Assured, it should be written in full as Hospitality Assured (HA) and thereafter each mention can be shortened to just HA
   • don’t underline key words in the text
   • write the word ‘ends’ on a separate line at the very end of the story so the journalist knows exactly where it finishes:
   • avoid the use of superlatives, adjectives and phrases that are tantamount to making ‘value judgements’ and ‘puffery’ – such as “the best hotel”, “an excellent restaurant serving delicious oysters”; “the finest hospital catering in the country” – this is a matter for the reader to decide; you are not writing an advertising brochure! Journalists hate this sort of copy
3. Always ensure that there is a contact address and telephone number on the bottom of the release for further information – don’t continually pester journalists on the telephone about the release as this can alienate them! There is no harm, however, in the occasional telephone call to check that the press release has arrived if an acceptable time has elapsed and there is no sign of coverage in the publication in question. On the whole, if journalists require more information, they will come back to you, having read your contact details at the end of the press release.
4. It can often be worthwhile sending the Press (NEWS) Release not just to the NEWDESK, but also to the FEATURES EDITOR as well as – providing a covering note, perhaps suggesting a long, in-depth article examining the TOPICAL subject of ‘Meeting and Exceeding Increasingly More Sophisticated Customer Demand’ in the Hospitality Industry – for which Hospitality Assured plays a vital role.
5. News Releases should NEVER be more than two pages in length – the more concise, the better. Again it is important to make it easy for journalists to read and absorb
6. Make sure that the News Release is clearly dated – journalists need to know that what they are reading is not last week’s news!
7. If the News Release is accompanied by an imaginative, well-taken photograph – such as chefs saluting an award-winning chef by forming a guard of honour using rolling pins rather than swords – then it has a much greater chance of being used. Journalists are always on the look-out for good photos, where the picture tells the story.

Remember you are Writing a News Story, Not a Brochure!

The News release MUST have news value – it could be anything from an announcement about an event, the appointment of a new manager; or the results of a survey. The secret to news is that it should be something that you have not heard anywhere else before and it needs be as immediate as possible – i.e. if a restaurant manager has rescued a child from drowning, that story is only newsworthy for daily newspapers for the 24 hours following the incident, then it become old news. If the story is sent out to a weekly publication, then you may have more time to prepare it, but ensure that you adhere to that publication’s deadline dates or yet again it will become ‘old news’!

A News Release is, therefore, just what it says it is – a release of information which is newsworthy. If News Release recipients cannot recognise news value quickly and easily then they are not going to take it seriously, so the following basic rules of press reporting need to be adhered to:

• tell the story clearly in the first couple of paragraphs and don’t bury it in the body of the release
• present information factually
• structure the story so that information of decreasing importance is carried in the latter part of the release. This is an extension of the basic rule of telling the main story in the first two paragraphs. This, when done properly, enables the release to be ‘subbed’ from the bottom up, thus making it easy for a journalist to cut the story to length when there is a specific area to fill
• when researching the News Release, make sure you ask the questions: who, what ,why, where and how – if you have answered all these questions then your release is ready to be written
• Give the Press Release an imaginative snappy headline that encompasses the story and catches the eye

If a press release is really going to work, it is NOT enough for it to contain a germ of newsworthy material – it must also contain that material written in a way which will appeal to the recipients. You need to try to catch the attention of the reader in the first line of the first paragraph.

Opening paragraphs – which is more appealing to the reader?

Boring Version:

The Institute of Hospitality’s Cumbria Branch held a meeting yesterday in Windermere where Joe Bloggs, director of Ambleside-based Chef Recruitment, said that there would not be enough skilled chefs to fill the vacancies in the new hospitality businesses springing up around the county.

A more appealing version of the above would be to split this information into two paragraphs and write in a newspaper style that catches the attention:

There could be a serious shortfall in the number of skilled chefs required to meet the needs of Cumbria’s rapidly expanding hospitality industry, according to a leading Ambleside recruitment director at yesterday’s meeting of the Institute of Hospitality’s Cumbria Branch.

Speaking at the meeting in Windermere, Joe Bloggs, director of Ambleside-based Chef Recruitment, warned Institute members ……… (remember here that journalists always like a short quote, provided it is interesting, because it personalises the story)

Last paragraph should be the least interesting but still important to mention:

An ideal last paragraph could be a brief description of what your organisation or business does – for instance, in the case of the Institute of Hospitality, this could be: The Institute of Hospitality is the professional body for managers and aspiring managers in the hospitality industry, promoting the highest standards of management and education worldwide.

It could also include a list of other organisations/businesses within your sector of the hospitality industry that have also successfully gained the Hospitality Assured accreditation.

Notes to Editors:

If you have a lengthy description – i.e. an explanation of what Hospitality Assured is and this proves to be too long and cumbersome to fit into the press release, which should be ONLY a maximum of two pages in length – it is often best to place it under the heading of ‘Notes to Editors’ which comes after the contact details at the very end of the Press Release.