How to Draft a News Release

It is well within the capacity of almost anyone [certainly for a well-educated attorney who makes a living writing and persuading] to draft a workable news release.

Remember, the purpose of a news release is to give journalists enough facts so that they can decide if there is a story. You also want to leave them with the desire to ask follow up questions and to get ‘the rest of the story” from you.

While communications professionals can and do endlessly debate the finer points, the basics of a news release are simple.

Heading: Your heading needs to be the most interesting summary of the facts you can craft into a sentence. Write as if you were explaining it to a neighbor, not summarizing it for a law review article. The headline should be in boldface and maybe a font size or two larger than the body of the news release.
--Do this: “Family devastated by drunk driver helps make state roads safer after winning four year legal fight.”
--Not this: “Circuit Court decision clarifies contested issue of exception to state dram shop law.”


Lead, or first, paragraph. A more comprehensive version of the heading. Include all the details [5 ‘W’s: Who, What, Where, Why, When and How] Two or three sentences at most. And write in English about subject/predicate forms that average people recognize, not in Black’s Law terminology.

Write this short paragraph as if it might be the only thing a reader ever knows about the news item. That very well could be the case.
--Do this: “The family of Joan Smith, who was killed in an infamous drunk driving accident on Highway 01 in 2005, prevailed after a four year court battle. The Court of Appeals determined that the bartender who served the drunk driver more than 20 beers in a two hour period was partly responsible for the fiery 100mph crash that killed Joan Smith and the drunk driver, as well as injuring four other motorists, closing Highway 01 for more than six hours and making national news.”
--Not this: “After following a line of cases that narrowly interpreted the part-time-worker exception to the state’s model dram shop liability statute Judge Judy rendered a verdict for the plaintiff in the amount of $1.167 million dollars plus court costs and interest.”

Quote. Include at least one quote from someone involved in the news item. Readers want to hear from those who experienced the news item. Journalists and editors want to provide this for their readers. Try to quote a “real person” [i.e.: not you the attorney] but a quote from you is much better than no quote at all. Again, speak plain English..
--Do this: “No one should have to go through what this family experienced, but they not only kept fighting for their daughter’s memory, they changed the law so that we are all safer due to their efforts,” Mike Witherspoon, legal counsel for the family.
--Not this: “Now that the State Supreme Court has refused cert this $1.2 million verdict establishes that dram shop liability is still a viable civil disincentive to businesses who might enabling those who would drink and drive,” Attorney M. Witherspoon, II, Esq..
--Best: “Nothing can bring Joan back to us but she would be proud to know that because of her, people are safer as they travel with their families,” explained Mom Smith, Joan’s mother. “We miss Joan terribly but now we feel like justice has been done and no other family will have to face losing a daughter like we did.”

Two or three additional paragraphs giving more depth. Include background like biographical details of people involved, interesting facts, and some context.
--Do this: “On June 18, 2005 only one week after she graduated from Local High School Joan Smith was driving northbound on Highway 01 on her way to choir practice at Westside Church. Her car was struck head-on at over 100 mph by a pickup driven by 48-year-old unemployed plumber Joe Malcontent. According to police, Malcontent had been drinking at the Skid Row Tavern since 8 am and had reported consumed ‘at least 20’ beers in the two hours before he killed Smith. The fiery explosion injured four other motorists and required police close all four lanes of Highway 01 for over six hours. The crash, explosion and fire were so devastating that the incident made national news and encouraged Governor Terminator to call for stricter drunk driving laws. Attorney for the family Mike Witherspoon explained that the case represented not only a win for the family, but a saner, safer reading of the laws meant to keep drunk drivers off the road. “Families win,” Witherspoon said.”
--Not this: “The last decade has seen the erosion of dram shop liability in State much to the chagrin of those who saw such liability as a structural disincentive to drinking and driving. The 2003 Court of Appeals decision in Victim v Lucky’s Tavern was interpreted by most judges to create a broad temporary worker exception to State’s dram shop liability, so much so that in many cases those who hold liquor licenses have been accused of creating faux ‘temporary’ positions merely to escape liability. [See: Difficult Issues with the Temporary Worker Exception to Dramshop in State. 311 UX Law, 12; 136-157; (2005)]”

Contact information, form and convention.
At the beginning of the lead paragraph put the city where the news event took place in capital letters, in brackets, to let journalists know the geographic area of the news item. Like this: [CAPITOL CITY]. This is an old journalism convention so just do it that way without giving it too much thought.

Above the headline at the top of the page include your phone number and email address, or the phone and email of the person who will speak to the media. It should look like this: CONTACT: John Jones at 111-123-4567 or jjones@mailco.com.

At the top of the page write: “News Release.”

Date the news release by either including today’s date and the phrase, “For Immediate Release,” or if you want the news item delayed you would write, “embargoed until” the date you have in mind. Don’t embargo your news release just to be cute.

News releases are teasers, not theses. Try to keep it to one page. You want to give journalists the facts, but leave them with the desire to call you and ask more questions.

At the bottom of the last page write three number symbols to indicate the end of the release: # # #

Below is a model press release made of the good examples provided.

NEWS RELEASE

Contact: John Jones at 111-123-4567 or jjones@mailco.com.
May 16, 2009. FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Family devastated by drunk driver helps make state roads safer by winning four year legal fight.

[CAPITOL CITY] May 16, 2009. The family of Joan Smith who was killed in an infamous high-speed drunk driving accident on Highway 01 in 2005, prevailed after a four-year court battle. The Court of Appeals determined that the bartender who served the drunk driver more than 20 beers in a two hour period was partly responsible for the fiery 100mph crash that killed Joan Smith and the drunk driver, as well as injuring four other motorists, closing Highway 01 for more than six hours and making national news.”

“Nothing can bring Joan back to us but she would be proud to know that because of her, people are safer as they travel with their families,” explained Mom Smith, Joan’s mother. “ We miss Joan terribly but now we feel like justice has been done and no other family will have to face losing a daughter like we did.”

On June 18, 2005 only one week after she graduated from Local High School Joan Smith was driving northbound on Highway 01 on her way to choir practice at Westside Church. Her car was struck head-on at over 100 mph by a pickup driven by 48-year-old unemployed plumber Joe Malcontent. According to police Malcontent had been drinking at the Skid Row Tavern since 8 am that day and had reported consumed ‘at least 20’ beers in the two hours before he killed Smith..

The fiery explosion injured four other motorists and required police close all four lanes of Highway 01 for over six hours. The crash, explosion and fire were so devastating that the incident made national news and encouraged Governor Terminator to call for stricter drunk driving laws.

Attorney for the family, Mike Witherspoon, explained that the case represented not only a win for the family, but a saner, safer reading of the laws meant to keep drunk drivers off the road. “Families win,” Witherspoon said.
# # #