What is a Press Release - Can Anybody Tell Me? By Wadner Tranchant

‘What is a press release, do you mind explaining it to me’? As a journalist, I get asked this question quite often. It comes out of the blue; be it from a friend who is not in the media industry or even by colleagues who are into another kind of beat.

The press release’s creation is credited to Ivy Lee in 1906. Mr. Lee’s press agency was working with the Pennsylvania Railroad at that time, and he was assigned to cover the infamous 1906 Atlanta City train wreck. Mr. Lee’s company asked him to present his story to the press before other people can give their own version of the story, going as far as inviting his fellow media men into the scene of the accident. Thus, the press release was born.

Now let’s go back to our question and add a little something else to properly define it: ‘What is a press release, its composition and purpose?’. A press release is a written article or oral announcement that is addressed directly to the media which serves to deliver news worthy topics. It is a form of media relations wherein the news goes to the media men first and then distributed to the public after. Press releases are meant to be first-hand sources and anything outside of it is treated as false.

A typical press release has a headline, dateline, introduction, body, boiler plate, close/closing statement and media contact information. The headline serves as the ‘hook’ or abstract of the story. The dateline contains the date when the story was released. The introduction comes immediately after the first two parts and serves to answer the basic questions in the story (who, what, when, where and why).

The Body then provides the details of the story and takes up the bulk of the press release. The boiler plate then provides the background of the media entity that published the story. The close/closing statement and media contact information parts are sometimes treated as one and the same; the close/closing statement simply indicates the end of the statement and is often treated as part of the media contacts. The media contact information part ends the press release by providing information (name, phone

(name, phone number, email address etc.) on who to contact for the press release, be it an individual or a media entity.

So there, if you are asked by anyone ‘What is a press release, can you tell me?’ you now have the answer. For your Press Release service need. I recommend you hire the #1 Press Release Service - Get A Press Release for Your Company - Click Here