Writing Releases
Your Lead Paragraph is Crucial
The first paragraph--the lead--should answer
the famous Five W's
of journalism: who, what, when, where, and why.
- Who is the story about?
- What happened?
- When did it happen?
- Where did it happen?
- Why did it happen?
The rest of the story explains more fully what's
in the opening paragraph.
Another important question to answer is, "So what?" Why
is this information important? Why would anybody be interested in
it? Why should the editor give space to it in the newspaper?
Other Tips for Writing News Releases
- Avoid superlatives. Don't say, "Rev. So and So
is the world's greatest expert on this." No competent
journalist will take your word for it. Quote someone as saying, "According
to American Clergy Quarterly, Rev. So and So is...." Other
words to avoid: super, best, highest quality, leading, premier,
superb, inspiring.
- Proofread thoroughly. A misspelling shows sloppiness,
which may imply that you are sloppy with facts, too. And a misspelling
in print makes the reporter and newspaper look bad. Don't let
your mistakes cause them embarrassment.
- Check dates. If you say Friday, May 2, check
to make sure May 2 was actually a Friday. It's easy to make
mistakes with this.
- Don't say, "The pastor made some fascinating remarks
at the dedication." Tell it in such a way that the reader responds,
"That's fascinating."
- Radio and TV news announcers will need to know
how to pronounce names. So if your release contains any unusual names,
you may want to write them phonetically. "Rev. William Grunig (GREW-nig) announced today
that...." The accented syllable should be in all capital letters.
- Don't use terms or jargon which you in the church might understand,
but which a general audience might not. Examples: benediction, inerrency,
accept Christ, prayer chain, altar call, right hand of fellowship. Write
as if you're talking to someone who knows nothing about church
life, because that may be exactly the case with the media person.
- Always include full names, with ages if possible,
the first time you refer to someone. In subsequent references, use
just the last name. Don't
use nicknames.
- Be specific. Don't say, "People considered it the best
Homecoming ever." Or, "Everyone was inspired by the speaker
and wanted to have him back next year." If someone says that, then
quote them saying it. Otherwise, it's just your opinion.
- Don't use flowery descriptions--how
delicious the food was, how beautiful the decorations were, etc. Nobody
really cares (except you).
At the End of the News Release....
Tack-on a paragraph which gives general information
about your church. "Community
church began in Our Town in 1932 as an offshoot of First Church of Christ.
It's mission statement is, ëTo minister to the physical and
spiritual needs of people in the Our Town community, telling them how to
have a relationship with Jesus Christ and building them up in the faith.' The
church has an attendance of 150 and a total membership of 230. The
pastor is Rev. Joe Jacobs."
This paragraph will often be cut, but not always. Plus, it gives information
an editor may decide to insert elsewhere in the story.
The Inverted Pyramid
The traditional news article structure is called
the Inverted Pyramid. It means you start with the most important information
and end with the least important information. That way, no matter where
you stop reading, you've read the most important information to
that point.
What About a Headline?
Don't bother coming up with a clever headline. The editor won't
use it anyway. Let him take responsibility for that. All you should put
as a headline is a few descriptive words--"First Church Breaks Ground
for New Wing." Your audience is the editor, not the readers. Tell
the editor quickly what the story is about. Use upper and lower-case
letters.
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