Editors Depend on Releases

Some editors say they never look at the piles of "handouts" that cross their desks each day. But usually even the largest news organizations sort out the releases that offer tips, ideas, data, or other starting points for staff reporters, who will assemble and write a story in their own style. Routinely, certain columns in almost every paper are put together by pasting up news releases: business promotions, military personnel ac­tivities, and cultural and entertainment events.

Most weekly and small daily newspapers with limited resources depend heavily on news and features provided by governments, educational institutions, and trade associations to fill their columns. Similarly, radio station news personnel receive taped feature materials from public relations departments, and they have the phone numbers of "daily feed" systems that permit them to tape a minute or more of "live "quote" information from spokespersons for various organizations. The amount of information in the media that has its origins in news releases cannot be underestimated.

Flyers Aren't Releases

The Neptune Swim Club's flyer publicizing its upcoming regional swim meet is a perfectly legitimate example of a flyer intended to arouse interest and gain support from an internal audience. The folksy style is appropriate for members of a club, including the direct appeal to "come out and show your support." The extravagant use of capital­ization, quote marks, and underlining is probably the simplest way to build excitement in a flyer that is prepared on a typewriter. The crude drawings add to the fun for an internal audience. Even the fact that the flyer is printed on shocking pink paper is defensible: that way it will stand out from other announcements on the bulletin board and when it is mailed to club members.

But what happens when a copy of the flyer is sent to the local newspaper? An editor—presuming he or she isn't turned off by the corny art, the loud color, and the cheerleading style of writing—is faced with the task of doing a complete re-write to put the item into news style And once that task is begun, it becomes apparent that some important information is missing: Is there an admission charge? What are the ages of the competitors? Where can interested parties obtain more information about the event?

Not-for-profit groups usually can't afford the services of a professional public relations agency. But even a volunteer with basic experience writing a release can work on the simplest typewriter or personal computer to turn out a competent release that will make it easy for the editor to use the information.

The reincarnation of the Neptune Swim Club flyer as a proper news release (pic) contains most of the elements of the basic release for­mat:

• the "News" banner,

• identification of a contact person with ad­dress and phone number,

• the standard "For Immediate Release" line,

• a sample headline,

• the body of the article,

• and the end sign (#).

If news releases really were "standard," there would simply be forms for public relations people to complete, or perhaps a software program calling for information in a fixed format. In fact, practitioners follow conventions that have been developed over years of relations between the news media and their information providers. The "rules" that follow may be bent if circumstances are unusual, but they are the tried-and-true way of packaging your client's story so that it has the best possible chance of attracting the attention and interest of the target editors.