{"id":123972,"date":"2024-04-12t11:55:25","date_gmt":"2024-04-12t15:55:25","guid":{"rendered":"\/\/www.g005e.com\/?p=123972"},"modified":"2024-09-01t14:48:40","modified_gmt":"2024-09-01t18:48:40","slug":"how-to-write-media-releases-that-capture-an-editors-attention","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"\/\/www.g005e.com\/2024\/04\/12\/how-to-write-media-releases-that-capture-an-editors-attention\/","title":{"rendered":"how to write media releases that capture an editor\u2019s attention"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/p>\n

forget the five w\u2019s and other clich\u00e9s.<\/strong><\/p>\n

by bruce marcus<\/i>
\nprofessional services marketing 3.0<\/i><\/a><\/p>\n

editor\u2019s note: 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 was privileged to have a long relationship with bruce w. marcus, who was ahead of his time in his thinking and practice in marketing for accounting. we are publishing some of the late expert\u2019s evergreen work, which retains wisdom for the present.<\/i><\/p>\n

a recent business communication book says that in writing press releases, the lead paragraph should include the five w\u2019s \u2013 who, why, what, when and where.<\/p>\n

a textbook on journalism written in the 1920s says the same thing \u2013 the five w\u2019s.<\/p>\n

more: <\/b>nine ways to choose your pr person<\/a> | when bad news happens to good firms<\/a> | creating the perfect ad<\/a> | how hard do you work to keep your clients?<\/a> | when clients think they know marketing<\/a> | how to put target marketing into context<\/a> | everyone in your firm is marketing<\/a> | accountants vs. lawyers: who wins the marketing battle?<\/a> | professional services marketing requires flexibility<\/a> | how to set marketing objectives<\/a>
\n\"goprocpa.com\"exclusively for pro members. <\/span><\/strong>log in here<\/a> or 2022世界杯足球排名 today<\/a>.<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

nothing has changed in more than 70 years? don\u2019t believe it. just read any good newspaper in the u.s., canada or great britain. and what newspapers do is what press releases must do. why?
\n
\nbecause the simple press release, the staple of public relations, is not simple at all. it\u2019s a complex form of journalism, in which the press-release writer competes directly with the professional journalist, as well with every other press release sent at the same time, for scarce publication space or broadcast time.<\/p>\n

all press releases compete in an arena in which the editor to whom the release is sent may not be particularly receptive.<\/p>\n

the key to seeing your press release in print is to understand the journalistic process. this is very different from merely rewriting the last press release you read or wrote. in good journalistic writing, even if some of the five w\u2019s are appropriately included, they\u2019re not the point. the point is to focus on the news itself.<\/p>\n

there are other myths as well, such as always putting the least important news at the end, because that\u2019s the way editors cut. not since 1910, if ever at all. that practice goes back to the days of the old telegraph, when less was more, because the telegrapher had to work at it. now, newspaper editors are better and more professional than that. and with computers, clip and edit is out. it\u2019s usually all rewritten because with computers it\u2019s easy to do.<\/p>\n

what do we see in a modern news story that can help us write better, more competitive press releases?<\/p>\n

we see that the lead (or lede) paragraph is most often a terse, exciting summary of the heart of the story \u2013 a definition of its most important, intriguing, exciting elements. nor does it always attempt to tell it all in one sentence. the subsequent paragraphs then spell out the details, usually in descending order of probable interest to readers, and more significantly, relevance to the key elements of the lead sentence.<\/p>\n

the first reader \u2013 the audience \u2013 of the press release is obviously not the newspaper\u2019s ultimate reader, but the publication\u2019s editor. if the editor isn\u2019t intrigued by the story \u2013 and by the first sentence \u2013 the release is dead. and don\u2019t rely on the headline you put on the press release. that\u2019s not what\u2019s always read. it\u2019s all in the first sentence, no matter what gems reside in the rest of the story.<\/p>\n

the model, then, is not other press releases, but the news story itself. for example, this from the new york times:<\/p>\n

\u201cin the race to commercialize new superconductors that could revolutionize the electronics, energy and transportation industries, the united states is already in danger of falling behind japan, many experts say.\u201d<\/p>\n

in one exciting sentence, the writer tells the entire story, leaving only the details to be fleshed out. and without the traditional five w\u2019s, the lead sentence defies the reader not to continue reading the rest of the story. compare this with the more typical press release:<\/p>\n

\u201charold adams, managing partner of the law firm xyz, announced today that three new partners have been appointed.\u201d<\/p>\n

does this release cause the editor to stop the presses and tear out the front page?<\/p>\n

who is harold adams? who is the xyz law firm, and why should anyone outside of the xyz firm care? of what interest is the appointment of three new partners to anybody except their families?<\/p>\n

but suppose the lead were \u2026<\/p>\n

\u201cnew capabilities in copyright and patent law, litigation, and real estate law will now be available to local business, as a result of three new law firm partners appointed today by xyz law firm, it was announced today by the firm\u2019s managing partner, harold adams.\u201d<\/p>\n

now the lead tells the editor that something significant has happened, which is more important than who it happened to. it may be well worth his time to read on to find out just how local business will be better served, and who these people are.<\/p>\n

it\u2019s important to discern how each publication defines news because it tells you that you must cast even the most mundane story into one that dramatizes and excites (without hyperbole, of course). this is why reading a publication to determine its concept of news is crucial.<\/p>\n

and even if your story is not likely to make the front page of the new york times, by writing it as if it were, you are more likely to hit any publication you send it to.<\/p>\n

in the final analysis, the release writer proposes, but the publication\u2019s editor disposes. your only help, then, is skill in contemporary journalistic technique, and not in the release writing clich\u00e9s of the past.<\/p>\n