Writing the Press Release

This assignment is intended for you to give public notice about the project you’ve undertaken. Most major organizations, institutions, and businesses produce press releases on a regular basis. Some writers do almost nothing but write press releases. So, learning to write one is an essential professional skill.

The press release in its most traditional form should be conceived as the germ of a news story and should be written in such a way that it can either (a) be published exactly as you’ve written it or (b) be rearranged in whole or part to serve the interests of a particular media outlet. Ultimately, the goal of a press release is to give a greater presence to your project and yourself so that others will know what’s going on and whom to contact about it.

Traditionally a press release should include a distinctive letterhead, including a name and contact information for your group, the description of your project and related events, and, at the end, your “boilerplate” (see description below).

How to Write a Great Boilerplate

. . . a great boilerplate is one part “just the facts” and one part positioning statement (the “so what?” of what you do). Think of this as your “About You” section.

Just the Facts – where is your company based? What do you do? Are you public or private? How many employees do you have? Your boilerplate should include some factual information, and don’t forget to include a phone number and website address.

Positioning Statement – since this paragraph will be used all over the place, use it as an example to communicate something compelling about what you do. For example, were you the 1st company to do something? Are you really the leader in your category? Do 90 percent of the Fortune 500 use your products? Include this information. Be sure to mention who you serve and what your differentiation is. This information might get cut by editors, but you’ve done your part to educate people about what you do.

(From Journalistics by Jeremy Porter March 22, 2010

http://blog.journalistics.com/2010/how-to-make-your-boilerplate-sizzle/

Our Class Version

For this assignment, we are looking at a broader interpretation of a “press release” which could include a variety of written announcements about an upcoming or new project for a target public audience. For this section of your project, you may

1) write a formal press release of 1 to 2 pages or

2) create an innovative public flier that includes graphics/visuals and gives enough pertinent information for someone to make an informed decision about your organization or company and the new “product” you are releasing. (Don’t rely on “call for details,” or similar phrasing, to fill in major holes for you.)

Since this is different from your usual class papers, please create a cover sheet for the required class information, name, etc. plus a short statement about the intended audience and how you envision the distribution of this document and attach it to the front of your press release or flier. Since graphics will be involved for many of these pieces, do not submit the “press release” to turnitin.

Please see the class schedule for the specific submission date. This assignment is due at the beginning of class in a folder which includes the cover sheet, the finished document and any drafts.

You may consult the following links for more information and examples of press releases. Fliers are all around you—some better and more complete than others:

http://www.publicityinsider.com/release.asp

http://www.apple.com/pr/

http://www.un.org/apps/pressreleases/

http://www.cdc.gov/media/