Most press releases don’t get published.
This is partly due to the sheer volume of incoming press releases and partly because of the lack of news value contained in the releases.
But the chance of a press release being published is greater today than ever before. All newspapers, magazines and various news web sites, need and want content, especially free handout material. Demand is high and the supply is much higher. So what’s the problem?
After working for almost two decades at Toronto newspapers, here’s what I’ve learned about press releases:
• Media handouts and press releases flood into a paper non-stop, seven days a week. Well-produced releases are easy to spot. Lousy ones are quick to be thrown out.
• Many businesses and PR agencies forget that a press release is supposed to contain interesting and timely information for the public and not thinly disguised advertising.
• A release with a headline of just “Photo Opportunity!!” is usually thrown out. It’s a given that such a release will have no news value and the photo-op will be a lame event.
• A release with a headline of “!!! MEDIA ALERT !!!” is usually thrown out. Lack of information in the title is a giveaway for a business that doesn’t understand what a newspaper does.
• Text-only releases are skimmed for the headline and first paragraph. If the information is strong, then it’s kept for further consideration. A multi-page release is often thrown out just for being too long.
• A release with a photo is treated the same as a text-only release BUT the included picture is always looked at in full:
- If the text is strong and the photo strong, it will get published;
- If the text is weak but the photo strong, it will get published;
- If the text is strong but the photo is weak, it may get published with a staff-produced image;
- If both the text and picture are weak, then it’s discarded.
The inclusion of a photograph with a press release or media handout is always a big influential factor. Even if the picture is weak, it can still “tickle” the imagination of a smart editor.
All things equal, a press release with a photo always beats one without.
If the “chance-of-being-published” scale goes from zero (trash can) to ten (published big), then a text-only press release starts the scale at one. But a press release with a photo starts at five. Enough said?
