Media Release

A media release, also known as a press release, is one of the most frequently used tactics or tools in public relations practice. A media release can be either a news release or feature release. News releases present hard news, and feature releases offer human interest stories. The most commonly distributed release is a news release. Although publicity is a strategy used by many public relations practitioners, those who specialize in working with the media are called publicists and media relations specialists.

Releases are sent to a media gatekeeper, such as a print journalist, a producer of a television program, or even a blogger, who determines the stories that appear in a print publication, on a broadcast, or on an online medium. The most common form of media release is the news release, which conveys information that is considered newsworthy and is written in an inverted pyramid format. The inverted pyramid format begins with a clothesline lead of information, including the elements of who, what, when, where, how, and why. Next, facts and details are developed in the body of the release, supporting the lead sentence. The release generally concludes with related but less significant information on the topic. Some practitioners place a boilerplate at the end of the release, which is a paragraph that describes the organization disseminating the information.

Public relations practitioners write and distribute three types of news releases. An advance story announces something that will happen, such as a change in management or an upcoming event. A cover release reports something that actually happened, such as a sizable donation to a nonprofit organization, the outcome of a community cleanup event, or a major management decision. Follow-up releases report the news after an event, such as the quarterly sales of a new product, the results of a research study, or the effect of policy changes. Releases have many uses. They can announce something (hires, mergers, price changes, layoffs), offer spot news (road closings, strikes, school cancellations), give a reaction to something (charges against an organization, industry trends, new laws), and tell bad news (faulty products, recalls, apologies).

Factors that determine news include timeliness or currency, impact or something of far-reaching consequence, prominence of individuals or events, proximity and local tie-in, conflict, and novelty or uniqueness.

A feature release, on the other hand, presents a more attention-getting lead and develops a clear and logical story with a definite conclusion. A feature release is a human interest story. Unlike a news release, a feature release tells a story and begins with a catchy opening, called a hook, and offers a conclusion or ending to the story.

Feature releases are much more descriptive and colorful than news releases and usually require more in-depth research. Some common types of feature releases used in public relations include news features, profiles, and backgrounders. Unlike news leads, which are short and factual, feature leads are creatively written to attract a reader's interest. A feature release contains a clear beginning, middle, and conclusion of the story. Feature releases most often are included in the contents of a press kit and seldom disseminated solo.

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