What a Press Release Is and When to Use One
A press release is a written communication directed at journalists and editors that announces something newsworthy. The word "newsworthy" is doing significant work in that sentence. A press release is appropriate when you have news that a journalist covering your sector would independently want to report: a product launch that changes the competitive landscape, a significant funding round, a leadership change, a study or research finding, a major partnership, or a crisis response that the public needs to hear.
It is not the right tool for marketing copy that has been formatted to look like news. Journalists recognise the difference immediately, and the ones who receive a promotional press release dressed up as news tend not to look forward to hearing from that sender again. The Reuters Institute Digital News Report (reutersinstitute.politics.ox.ac.uk) consistently documents how editorial time is contracting while the volume of inbound pitches is rising. That context means only genuinely newsworthy press releases stand a real chance of generating coverage.
A useful test before drafting is to ask whether the news being announced would be covered if a competitor made the same announcement. If the honest answer is no, the press release is not the right vehicle. Internal milestones, routine updates, and announcements that matter to the organisation but not to its sector are better handled through owned channels rather than media outreach.
The Standard Press Release Format
The format of a press release is not arbitrary. It exists because journalists are trained to process information in a specific way, and a press release that matches their expectations is easier to work with than one that does not. The standard structure begins with FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE or the embargo date and time at the top of the document. Below that is the headline, which should be a single line that contains the most important information about what is being announced.
Below the headline comes the dateline, which includes the city and date of release. The first paragraph, called the lead, contains the five essential elements of any news story: who, what, when, where, and why. Everything that follows the lead provides supporting context, quotations, and background. The press release closes with the boilerplate, which is a standard description of the organisation issuing the release, and the media contact details for the journalist who wants to follow up. The ### symbol at the very end signals that the document is complete.
Many publications and wire services receive press releases in plain text format as well as formatted documents. The substance of the release must hold regardless of how it is displayed. A press release that depends on visual formatting to convey its structure is less reliable than one that is clear in plain text and would read correctly even if all styling were stripped away.
How to Write a Press Release Headline
The headline is the single most important line in a press release. It is the first thing an editor or journalist sees and the factor that determines whether they read further. A press release headline should be factual, specific, and contain the core news. It should not use superlatives, exclamation marks, or promotional language.
"Quorum Media Expands to Singapore" is a press release headline. "Quorum Media Makes Exciting New Move That Will Revolutionise the Industry" is not. The difference is that the first gives a journalist specific information they can immediately evaluate for newsworthiness. The second gives them nothing they can work with and signals that what follows will be marketing copy. The Associated Press Stylebook (apstylebook.com), the standard reference for most English-language journalism, provides guidance on news writing style that applies equally to press release headlines.
A well-written press release headline can also serve as the subject line of the email in which the release is delivered. If the headline works as a subject line, it is probably doing its job: it tells the journalist exactly what the story is about in the fewest possible words, and it does so without overstating the significance of the announcement.
The Lead Paragraph: Getting the Five Ws Right
The lead paragraph of a press release must answer who, what, when, where, and why in a single tight paragraph. Most press releases fail at this stage by burying the actual news inside context and background information. The lead should be the most concentrated version of the story. If a journalist read only the first paragraph and nothing else, they should have everything they need to file a short news item.
A weak lead says: "Following a period of significant growth and in line with our strategic plan for the coming years, [Company Name] is pleased to announce..." A strong lead says: "[Company Name] has raised [amount] in Series B funding to expand its operations into [market], led by [investor]." The second version gives a journalist the story immediately. The first gives them nothing until the fourth sentence.
The instinct to build context before announcing the news is understandable but counterproductive. Journalists are not looking for a narrative arc. They are looking for the facts that determine whether the story is worth covering. Front-loading those facts is the single most reliable way to keep a journalist reading past the first paragraph.
Writing the Body and Including Quotes
The body of a press release expands on the lead with additional context, supporting data, and quotations from relevant individuals. Quotations in press releases have a specific function: they convey perspective and reaction that cannot be written as straight news. A quote that says "We are thrilled about this announcement and look forward to the opportunities ahead" adds nothing to a press release. A quote that says "This investment means we can now serve markets we have been unable to reach, specifically [regions] where [specific demand context]" gives a journalist something they can actually use.
The Society of Professional Journalists (spj.org) maintains ethical guidelines on source attribution that inform how journalists handle quoted material. Quotes in press releases that sound like marketing copy are routinely left out of coverage.
Most press releases include one or two quotes, typically one from a senior executive and one from a partner, investor, or relevant external source. The number of quotes is less important than their quality. A single quote from a chief executive that gives a journalist a useful, specific perspective on the news serves the press release better than three quotes that all say the same thing in different words. When seeking quotes for inclusion, the question to ask the speaker is not "what would you like to say?" but "what does this mean in concrete terms for the people it affects?"
The Boilerplate and Media Contact
The boilerplate is a standardised paragraph that appears at the end of every press release from your organisation. It describes what the company does, when it was founded, where it operates, and any relevant context that a journalist needs to understand who is issuing the release. It should be factual, concise, and identical across all press releases.
The boilerplate is followed by media contact details: the name, title, email address, and phone number of the person at your organisation who handles press inquiries. This contact detail is not optional. A journalist who wants to verify a fact or request an interview needs to know who to call immediately. If the media contact is unavailable on deadline, the coverage often does not run.
The boilerplate should be reviewed and updated periodically to ensure it reflects current information about the organisation. An outdated boilerplate that references old figures, incorrect headcount, or closed offices signals to journalists that the press operation lacks attention to detail. This small element of the press release appears on every release your organisation sends, and it reflects on the credibility of the whole document.
The Most Common Press Release Mistakes
The mistakes that make press releases ineffective follow patterns. Promotional language in the headline and lead is the most common: using words like "revolutionary," "world-class," or "cutting-edge" signals to journalists that what follows is advertising, not news. Burying the news is the second most common mistake, where the actual announcement appears in paragraph three or four after extensive scene-setting. Vague or unusable quotes from executives who have been coached to say nothing specific in writing. Missing or incorrect media contact information that makes follow-up impossible. Poor timing, including sending releases on Friday afternoons when editorial staff are thin, on major news days when your announcement will be buried, or without regard for publication deadlines. Muck Rack's State of Journalism report (muckrack.com/blog/state-of-journalism) documents journalist responses to press releases and consistently identifies these patterns as reasons for ignoring pitches and releases.
A less frequently discussed mistake is over-distribution. Sending a press release to every journalist on a purchased list, regardless of whether their beat matches the story, generates friction with journalists who receive irrelevant material and signals your organisation as a sender worth filtering. A shorter, well-targeted list consistently outperforms a long undifferentiated one because it puts your release in front of journalists who have a genuine reason to care about it.
Once you have a well-written press release, the next challenge is getting it in front of the right journalists. Our press release distribution guide covers how to build a distribution strategy that generates coverage rather than inbox noise. You are also welcome to get in touch to discuss how we approach press release strategy for our clients.