THE BARE BONES
· Use A4 letter-headed paper. Put ‘NEWS RELEASE’ or ‘PRESS RELEASE’, the date and your contact details at the top. Double space the text. Leave 6cm blank at the top for the sub-editor to write printer’s instructions and a 4cm left margin for the editor’s amendments.
· If you do not wish the story to be published at once, or if you want the journalist to know that nobody else will publish it before they do, write ‘EMBARGO : Not for publication or broadcast before XX hours, XX date’ at the top of the page.
· Begin with a headline (this should be attention grabbing, therefore not too clever or mysterious), no more than eight words long and in a bold font.
· The first paragraph should be one or two sentences that sum up the main findings and are backed up with facts and figures (boil your message down to its essence).
· The rest of the text should distil the research into three or four main points, backed up with facts and figures. (Make sure you cover who, why, what, where and when.)
· Add a conclusion and the main policy implications for the way forward.
· At the end of the press release text, type ‘ENDS’ in a bold font.
· Follow the main text with your contact details again (where you will definitely be contactable for at least the next two days, both in and out of office hours).
· End with additional information for editors: the word count; a short description of your institution; relevant basic information and statistics; and your organisation’s website address.
THE VALUE-ADDED
· Make the Press Release timely e.g. by making a connection between your research and what’s currently in the news.
· Follow it up but don’t be too much of a nuisance: there’s a difference between being helpful to a journalist by phoning to make sure they received the Press Release, and making yourself unpopular because you wont take ‘no’ for an answer.
· Offer a spokesperson who could speak on and around your research topic to the media – often at short notice