Organizations that have something to announce, like a new program or event, write press releases to announce the information to the public and generate publicity. Before the internet enabled companies to establish a web presence, they sent these documents to news outlets and relied on newspapers to report the information in the press release. Today, many organizations post press releases to their own social media pages and websites to promote their activities. Organizations rely on press releases to market themselves, and reporters rely on press releases to help them stay informed about programs and events that might interest their readers. Examples will be provided in Module 14.
Audience
In the proposal, you were writing to a company, organization, or group and asking them to approve or fund your project idea. In the press release, you are writing as the company, organization, or group. This means you must make new considerations about audience and purpose to compose the press release. While the audience isn’t everyone within a given community, it is written to a broad audience of potentially interested community members.
For example, if my proposal is asking TCC administration to expand food options on campus, my press release imagines that TCC approved this proposal. TCC would then write the press release that tells people they are expanding food options on campus.
Format and Style
Because press releases are similar to news articles, your press release should follow basic principles of news writing. That means:
• Start with a descriptive headline – “County college to Expand Food Options on Campus”
• Use third person and stay neutral – Instead of “We are expanding food options,” say, “County college is expanding food options.” Describe who, what, where, when, why, and how, but avoid biased or subjective language.
• Get to the point – the first sentence should explicitly state the “what.” Everything after that is supporting information.
• Include data – if you used data in your proposal to persuade your audience to act, that information could be relevant to the press release audience.
• Use quotes – Keep these relevant, but you can make them up. For example: According to county college student Idris Elba, “there were not enough food options on campus, so I am glad we will have more choices without leaving campus.”
