The World Out There

All organizations need to speak to their clients and their employees.  But they also sometimes have to speak to the rest of the world.

When a company announces important new products, services, financial results or personnel changes, it issues a media release.  A media release (press release) is a document sent to the media, who then decide whether to report its contents.

Therefore, professional writers need to know how to maximize the chances that journalists and editors will report the information that an enterprise wants made widely known. A favourable news report is better than advertising; it's both free and (in theory) objective. Not surprisingly, therefore, news outlets are continually asked to say good things about a company -- for example, that its new widget is better than sliced bread and that everyone should buy it. Media releases compete with each other for an editor's attention because there is only so much time and space available. A media release's goal, therefore, is to convince an editor to run its contents or at least phone for more information.

The following links covers the techniques to make those actions more likely.

• Audience for a Media Release -- Editors and Journalists

• Reasons for Writing a Media Release

• Elements of a Media Release

• Sample Media Release