6.Structure your story in descending order GRABBING AN EDITOR’S ATTENTION of importance — to the reader. Media releases are an important way of 7.Keep your sentence length to 25 words or getting your message out to your less. community. However, newspapers receive many more media releases than 8.One sentence per paragraph. they can ever publish so yours must catch the editor’s attention. 9.Always include a short quote, at the fourth paragraph, that supports your story. Make sure your media release subject matter is timely and will resonate with It’s OK to email your media release and the readership. digital images to the newspaper. For example, a media release about polio vaccinations in Africa has little Here’s an example of a story and image chance of publication in your local that were published paper. If your story features a polio survivor in your community with his/her photo, and you submitted it in time to be published on World Polio Day, then it has more chance of publication. Here’s a few tips to give your media release the best possible chance of The more we can put Rotary and the being published. work of our Clubs into the public arena, the more likely we are to attract 1.Clearly mark it MEDIA RELEASE, and members of our communities to join us include your Club name and a contact person. District PR & Communication Team 2.Keep it short – never, ever more than one page. Between 100 and 200 words has a good chance of getting published. 3.Always submit one or two quality digital images to enhance your story 4.Write in the style of the newspaper, rather than a corporate or fiction style. 5.Make your first paragraph light and bright, and a summary of your entire story.
GRABBING AN EDITOR’S ATTENTION Media releases are an important way of getting your message out to your community. However, newspapers receive many more media releases than they can ever publish so yours must catch the editor’s attention. Make sure your media release subject matter is timely and will resonate with the readership. For example, a media release about polio vaccinations in Africa has little chance of publication in your local paper. If your story features a polio survivor in your community with his/her photo, and you submitted it in time to be published on World Polio Day, then it has more chance of publication. Here’s a few tips to give your media release the best possible chance of being published. 1.Clearly mark it MEDIA RELEASE, and include your Club name and a contact person. 2.Keep it short – never, ever more than one page. Between 100 and 200 words has a good chance of getting published. 3.Always submit one or two quality digital images to enhance your story 4.Write in the style of the newspaper, rather than a corporate or fiction style. 5.Make your first paragraph light and bright, and a summary of your entire story. 6.Structure your story in descending order of importance — to the reader. 7.Keep your sentence length to 25 words or less. 8.One sentence per paragraph. 9.Always include a short quote, at the fourth paragraph, that supports your story. It’s OK to email your media release and digital images to the newspaper. Here’s an example of a story and image that were published The more we can put Rotary and the work of our Clubs into the public arena, the more likely we are to attract members of our communities to join us District PR & Communication Team
PR-Pointers-2.docx