Writing better press releases Helping journalists to help you

What is a press release? l A message opportunity. Every press release should have a clear message, and a clear target audience. l An information resource. A press releases is the basis for articles on the day or later - stored on RAPID. All the facts a journalist needs should be there. l Influencing the news agenda. A good press release will encourage journalists to write about your subject. Bad press releases mean they look elsewhere...

Four golden rules: l Have something to say…...and make it sound interesting l Get to the point. Why should anyone care about this? l Think like a journalist : how can they make a story out of this? l Give them all they need. Don’t wait until they call you looking for more

Main problems of our press releases l Too bureaucratic. Nobody cares about procedures. News is about real people. What does your story mean? l Upside down. Put the interesting bits first. Save the details for the end. Put boring bits in a footnote - or leave them out l Missing information. Are all the facts there? Have you got comparative figures? What will the journalists ask you for? l Euro-Jargon. Don’t say “Community Support Programme for employment”. Do say “EU plan to boost jobs”

Making a press release work l Structure : a hierarchy of information l Content : give them what they need l Using it : be proactive. Use it to sell your story.

Structure Every press release needs: l Title l Chapeau l Quote l Details l Background.

What makes a good title? l Short : 2 lines max l Clear : Tell them what it is…straight up l Simple : The details come later l Action : Make something happen…use a verb

BAD: Commission adopts Community Support Framework for Northern Ireland , in agreement with the new Northern Ireland Assembly, for a total amount of 2.6 billion euro GOOD: Commission approves €2.6bn aid for Northern Ireland

What is the chapeau? l A summary of the main story - which stands alone (and is used for Midday Express) l Ideally 10 lines….maximum 15 l Answer the main questions :Who? What? When? Why? How? ….and if possible Where? l Only the main news…the details come later

The main text l Keep following the pyramid of information - main messages still come first. l Provide a quote or two - and make them snappy l Try to guess the journalists’ questions : Who? What? When? Why? How? Where?….and what’s new? l Make it easy to read - use headings, bullet points, 3 key themes, a section of Background at the end… l Provide tables, graphs, facts, figures - for each country and region if possible.

Some points of style l All decisions and announcements are made by the Commission - not by individual Commissioners l Euro-Jargon : never use it in the title, avoid it in the chapeau, try to avoid it in the main text. l If you must use jargon, translate it into plain language : l Say “the European Commission” once, then use “the Commission”. Same for Parliament and Council l € Use the euro sign : €456 million - not 456 MIO EURO

Make it work l The press release is the beginning of your work, not the end. It’s an essential tool, but it’s not a media plan. l The press release is a good advert for your story. But you probably need to do more to sell it : Have journalists got it? Have they read it? Will they use it? Talk to them. l Think about sending your press release to agencies early l Think about giving an advance the day before l Remember : the easiest way to make news is “Sunday for Monday”