Oct 3, 2007
How to write a press release
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Send all press releases to editor@greenwich-post.com. Hand-written releases will be accepted but are not preferred.
The deadline is 5 p.m. Thursday for the next week's edition.
Write your release as if it were a news story
— which it is! If you do a good job, the release will get processed
more quickly and stands a better chance of appearing in the next issue
of the paper than a release on which we must do a lot of work. It will
also be less subject to production errors.
In writing a release,
put the most important news up top.
For example, if you are describing a garden club meeting at which
someone spoke, put something about what the speaker said in the first
sentence. Don’t begin with the fact that the club
had a meeting or who the hostesses were.
Similarly,
if the story is about the election of officers,
tell who got picked president or chairman, and include some
biographical information about the leader.
Avoid dull beginnings. (“On
Tuesday, May 4, at 9:15 a.m., the Darien Portuguese Water Dog Society
met at the home of Mrs. Mabel Aquamutt.”) Your story should try to
catch the interest of readers, not sound like the minutes of the last
meeting (you know how boring those can be!).
Don’t address readers. In other
words, don’t write “you can get more information by calling…” Make
everything third person. “More information may be obtained from Joe
Smith at 661-6544.”
Please be careful about the spelling of names
in a release. Double-check them. If you are mentioning people who live
in town, include their address (“Fred Finklekitty of Laurel Lane”).
If you are doing publicity for a coming event,
such as a church fair, a concert, or a play, remember that several
weeks of short stories in advance are apt to reach a greater audience
than one long story the week before the event. Generally, five weeks
ahead is a good time to start submitting stories publicizing a public
event. However, we ask that each story be submitted at least one week
in advance of each publication date. Because of space limitations, we
cannot guarantee advance stories will always get in the paper each
week. Usually, though, if you submit a story well in advance, it will
be in the coming week’s paper.
Lead off with a different aspect
of the event each week; include photos if you wish. Keep the story short and sweet — they are more apt to get in
the paper and to attract readers than long-winded pieces. We cannot
guarantee that all advance publicity will get in the paper on schedule;
publication depends on availability of space. Remember: The shorter the
story, the better chance it has of appearing!
If you are publicizing a coming event of general community interest, don’t forget to
include a listing for the Postings community calendar.
If you feel the event is of regional interest — a play, antiques show,
fair, exhibit, concert, etc. — send a separate notice to arts@acorn-online.com for a listing in
the calendars of the
Arts & Leisure section.
All listings should include a phone number the public can call for more
information. To discuss coverage in the Arts & Leisure section,
contact Sally Sanders at that e-mail address or at 203-438-6544.
Listings and stories for Arts & Leisure must arrive at the
Ridgefield office at least two weeks ahead of the publication date.
Note: major features are often scheduled months in advance.
Check for completeness! You’d
be surprised how many people forget to put a time, date or place of a
coming event in their release. Remember the five Ws: Who, what, where,
when and why.
If you write on a computer, please submit stories by e-mail to editor@greenwich-post.com; call 861-9191 if you need help. This is
much preferable to submitting printed releases because it allows for faster processing and reduces typographical errors.
© Copyright 2008 by Hersam Acorn Newspapers
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