Nowadays, mass media is growing very rapidly. The various bifurcations of mass media such as newspaper, TV, radio, internet, press release, news magazines etc are modifying day by day.

Now people strongly believe that the media sources are very authentic and reliable. Like other media contents, press release is one the trustworthy, reliable and oldest source of transferring information.

Actually a press release is a pseudo news story written by a third person to the news media to inform them about any particular event, person, service or product.

For example if Governor will summon a press conference on Wednesday than a press release will be issued from the PR department of governor house to all the media sources to inform them about the press conference.

If any company is going to launch a new product and they want to invite all the news reporters. So the company’s PR department will send a press release to all the media channels and newspapers to inform them about the launch of the product.

Press release is also known as news release, media release, press statement or video release. Press releases are usually mailed, faxed, e-mailed to the assignment editors of newspapers, magazines, radio stations, TV etc.

Usually the press releases are not very lengthy. They are normally consist of 4-5 paragraphs and are up to 500 words. A good press release must be precised, well framed and succinct.

Press release is one of the fundamental tool of PR and is generally written in the following format

Headline:

Headlines are written in bold letters and are must be very eye-catching and interesting. Headlines must have the potential to garb the attention of the reader.

The first letter of all the words of headline is capitalized with proper noun. Do not use all upper case letters. The remaining letters must be written in lower case. This thing makes your headline nice-looking and striking.

Subheads and Leads of Press Release:

Subheads of the press release should also be very prominent and well- written. Not all the press releases have subheads but it is a part of the press release which has been written after the headline in small letters.

Whereas the lead of the press release plays a very important role. The lead actually gives you the answer of who, what, when, where and how of the story which are known as 5Ws and 1 H.

Dateline and the Body:

After the subhead the dateline is being written. Dateline contains the release date and the originating city of the media release. After the dateline the body of the press release is being written. The body of a news release should be very compact and concise.

Avoid using lengthy sentences and long paragraphs. Focus on the main theme of the press release. The first paragraph of the media release reflects the core message of the release and the other paragraphs elaborate it.

If the starting paragraph is not striking, then usually the reporters or editors don’t pay much attention on such press releases.

Media Contact Information:

In the end of the press release, you should give the contact number and other details of your PR department or manager so the channel or the newspaper may use it to get some more details about the release.

The contact details may include:

• The Company’s Official Name
• Media Department’s official Name and Contact Person
• Office Address
• Telephone and fax Numbers with proper country/city codes and extension numbers
• Mobile Phone Number (optional)
• Timings of availability
• E-mail Addresses
• Web site Address