News Release Format

Formatting the Release

Give your church's full name the first time you refer to it (Emmanuel Church of God). After that, you can use an abbreviated form (Emmanuel) or initials. If you use initials, put them in parentheses the first time you use the church's full name.
Be neat. Don't cross-out words, scribble in notes, etc. It reflects badly on you.
Don't use fancy fonts. Stick to one simple body font, preferably serif (like Times or New Century). Use good-size margins--about one-and-a-half inches. Editors write in the margins.
Don't type everything in capital letters. There's no reason for it. All-caps just makes your story more difficult to read.
Keep it to one page, if you can. Two pages, maximum.
On average, use two sentences per paragraph.
Type the release on one side of the paper.
Double-space.
Prefer plain white paper (though you might want to use church letterhead). Don't use erasable bond or colorful paper. A bright color of paper won't magically grab the person's attention--it'll only make the text harder to read and perhaps unable to be photocopied and marked on.

Submitting by Email

If submitting the news release by email, follow much the same format as above, except:

Don't double-space.
Set everything flush left (no centering or right-aligning)

You could attach the article in a Microsoft Word document (avoid any other format), but also place the text in the body of the email. That way, if the Word document doesn't come through, or is rejected because it contains a macro virus, they'll still have the plain text.

Information to Include, Besides the Story

At the top of the page, type "News Release" or "Press Release." You could also write "Religion News" at the top so they know which person to send it to.
Include the name of the person to contact for more information, along with that person's telephone number and perhaps the best times to reach him/her.
Begin the first paragraph with a dateline--just the city name.

When Can They Print It?

On the right side, opposite the contact information, use one of the following:

For immediate release. This means they should use the story right away.

Release at your convenience. They can run the story whenever they want. This especially applies to stories not tied to specific events.

For Release on (give date). Use this when you're giving advance notice, but don't want the story used too far in advance. Sometimes, transcripts of speeches are released to reporters, but "embargoed" until after the speech is actually given. You could say something like, "For use after 7:00 a.m., Wednesday, March 7."

When to Stop

At the end of each page, center the word

-- END --

This assures the editor that he is not missing a page of the story.

If there is another page, type at the bottom

-- MORE --

That way, the editor knows whether or not he is missing a page and needs to tear the messy newsroom apart looking for it.