Media Release Writing Guide (3).docx

### **Media Release Writing Guide** #### **Essential Components for All Media Releases:** All media releases must include the following components to ensure they are comprehensive and effective: **Headline:** Enclosed in parentheses. Every release must include a clear, concise headline that captu...

### **Media Release Writing Guide** #### **Essential Components for All Media Releases:** All media releases must include the following components to ensure they are comprehensive and effective: **Headline:** Enclosed in parentheses. Every release must include a clear, concise headline that captures the essence of the story. **Dateline:** For example, "CHEYENNE ---" before the first sentence. The dateline should indicate the location and date of the release. **Contextualization:** Explain the relevance of the information to the reader. Why should they care? This section should tie the story directly to the audience\'s interests or needs. **Key Participants:** Mention the most relevant people involved in the story. Identify who the main actors are in the story. **Quote(s):** Include at least one powerful quote from key individuals to add authority and a human element to your release. **Contact Information:** Provide details on where to go or who to contact for more information. **Timeline:** Include any relevant timeline details (e.g., event dates, launch times). This helps the reader understand the timing of the announcement or event. **Call to Action:** Clearly state what the reader should do next (e.g., attend an event, visit a website, make a purchase). #### **Specific Requirements by Type:** **Events:** - - - - - **Product/Service Launch:** - - - - **Organizational Announcement (e.g., New Hire, Partnership):** - - - - **Award or Recognition:** - - - **Crisis Communication:** - - - - ### **Guidelines for Interviews** **Interview Requirement:** You must interview your client in person or over the phone; completing the assignment through research alone is not acceptable. 1. - - 2. - 3. - - 4. - - 5. - - 6. - - 7. - - 8. - - 9. - - 10. - ### **Lead Writing Tips** **Direct Lead:** Write a concise, one-sentence summary of the most important information. This is usually the most critical fact or announcement. **Avoid Date-First Leads:** Do not start with \"On Sept. 11, 2024, the University of Wyoming\...\"; instead, start with the subject. **Key Elements:** Address the 5 W's and H (who, what, when, where, why, and how). You won't always get all of this into a lead, but we can always try. **Clarity:** Keep it clear and concise, avoiding unnecessary details or complex language. **Active Voice:** Use active voice to make the sentence more engaging and dynamic. **Specificity:** Be specific, avoiding vague language. **Focus on Essentials:** Avoid overloading the lead; prioritize the most important information. **Accuracy:** Ensure all facts are correct. **Audience Focus:** Tailor the lead to what your audience cares about most. **Revision:** Rewrite and refine for clarity and impact. **Avoid Clichés:** Avoid overused phrases like "at the end of the day" or "UniWyo Federal Credit Union is excited to announce..." **Sell the Idea:** Identify what's most important to the reader -- whether it's fun, consequences, or opportunities -- and emphasize that in the lead. You can find examples of leads in the Week 1 module examples of media releases. You can also search for other real-world media releases online. ### **Using Active Voice** Construct sentences where the subject performs the action, making the sentence clearer and more direct. Instead of "The meeting was called to order by the chairwoman," write "The chairwoman called the meeting to order." Active voice makes writing stronger, more engaging, and easier to understand. ### **Headline Writing Tips** **Conciseness:** Keep headlines short and to the point. **Active Verbs:** Use strong, active verbs to make headlines more dynamic. **Focus:** Emphasize the key point of the story. **Avoid Jargon:** Use simple, accessible language. **Present Tense:** Write in the present tense to convey immediacy. To make headlines more concise, consider dropping the following types of words: **Articles:** Omit "the," "a," and "an" when possible. For example: \"City Council Approves Budget\" instead of \"The City Council Approves the Budget.\" **Forms of \"To Be\":** Remove or replace with stronger verbs. For example: \"New Policy Announced\" instead of \"A New Policy Is Announced.\" **Redundant Words:** Eliminate words that don't add extra meaning. For example: \"Future Plans Revealed\" instead of \"Plans for the Future Revealed.\" **Prepositions:** Drop unnecessary prepositions without losing clarity. For example: \"Mayor's New Initiative\" instead of \"Mayor's New Initiative in City Development.\" **Helping Verbs:** Omit "will," "may," "might," or "could" when they can be implied. For example: \"Company Expands Operations\" instead of \"Company Will Expand Operations.\" **Unnecessary Adjectives/Adverbs:** Keep only those that are essential to the meaning. For example: \"Experts Discuss Solutions\" instead of \"Experts Discuss Important Solutions.\" **Pronouns:** Omit implied pronouns like "his," "her," or "their." For example: \"CEO Resigns After Scandal\" instead of \"CEO Resigns After His Scandal.\" ### **Inverted Pyramid Structure** The inverted pyramid is a writing structure commonly used in journalism, particularly for news articles. It organizes information in order of importance, starting with the most critical details and moving toward less essential information. **Key Elements of the Inverted Pyramid:** **Lead (Top of the Pyramid):** The most crucial information appears at the beginning, typically addressing the 5 W's and H: who, what, when, where, why, and how. This section should provide a concise summary of the story, giving readers the essential facts upfront. **Important Details (Middle of the Pyramid):** After the lead, the article includes supporting information, such as key details, context, and explanations. This section elaborates on the points made in the lead, adding depth and answering questions the reader might have. **Background Information (Bottom of the Pyramid):** The least important details, such as background information, additional context, or related but non-essential facts, are placed at the end. If a reader stops reading before the end, they still have the most critical information. ### **Quote Usage in Media Releases** A quote adds authority and humanizes the information. It conveys that a real person is behind the information the organization is sharing, which can add credibility and accountability. Ensure quotes are accurate and ethically presented, avoiding excessive editing. While it's acceptable to clean up minor verbal tics (like \"um\" or \"uh\"), the essence and meaning of the quote must remain true to what was said. Keep quotes to 2-3 short sentences. This ensures they are concise, impactful, and easy to include within the flow of the release. Introduce the quote with a paraphrase that gives context. This helps frame the quote for the reader, making it clear why this particular statement is important. Use "said" for consistency and professionalism. While some might choose to vary the verb with "stated" or "mentioned," "said" is straightforward and less distracting. For the quote itself, it's often best to have the first sentence, then break it up with "\[Subject\] said," followed by any remaining sentences, ideally no more than two. Avoid doing too much editing of quotes---especially piecing segments together that weren't originally connected. Never use ellipses unless it's necessary for clarity. When someone says "um" or "uh" or stumbles over their words, you don't need to document that in a quote. Instead, focus on what they intended to communicate. **Examples of Effective Quote Usage:** **Example 1** The Golden Eagles playing Rainbow 6: Siege showed balance the entire game, with regular-season kill leaders Kiara Kershaw and Justin Cherubin leading the way. Efforts from sophomore Leondro Ebell on the outside swung the momentum. "I knew if I died or did something wrong that I'd have my team behind me and they'd be more than willing to pick up my slack," Ebell said after the game. Sophomore Tyler Soffe said it was a gratifying win because the team overcame significant adversity in its path to the end of the season. "We've had to switch players in and out, and we'd just been trying to figure out each other's playing styles," he said. "Just having the team play together and communicate is really what brought us together in the big moments." Saturday's Call of Duty: Warzone gamers, Isaiah Ahrens and Dimitrios Chronopoulos, racked up their second national title with the win. For Ahrens, the skill he put into the match was typical of what he and his teammate had done all season. "It was just another day at the office," Ahrens said. **Example 2** Jerimiah Miller, a 41-year-old Laramie native, stands as one of the pioneering graduates to complete the CDL Program at the Laramie campus. Seeking a career change, Miller researched several regional CDL programs and found that LCCC's surpassed others. Graduated and feeling ready for a career, Miller said that the program on LCCC's Laramie campus went above and beyond his expectations. "(Adjunct instructor) James Drudge was an awesome instructor with years and years of knowledge," he said. "I'd say LCCC exceeded everything I expected." **Example 3** Representatives from all eight of LCCC's Pathways will provide engaging and entertaining programming for attendees, making it a fun way to learn about the college, said Kaycie Kilmurray, LCCC Student Success Coach. Students will have an opportunity to tour facilities, meet faculty, try out equipment and more. "This is a great chance for high school students to come to campus and interactively explore some of the opportunities we have available to them," Kilmurray said. "The Pathways track a student chooses to participate in will be fully customized to that specific Pathway and the programs that fall under it." **Example 4** In its third year, the show includes all kinds of art media, from 2D to 3D to digital. It's a remarkable opportunity for the students to share their work with audiences outside school district shows, said Sara Wilson, a Triumph High School art teacher. The process of preparing for and participating in the show is beneficial on multiple levels, she said. "Getting to meet the other students who were selected and see their artworks hanging together is inspiring to the students," Wilson said. "Helping hang the art show and attending the evening reception also bring the experience of the show closer to how it would be participating in a professional art show." The exhibition is the LCCC's Art Department's biggest recruiting event of the year. Wilson said she has students preparing for the show who are hoping to attend LCCC next year to pursue art degrees. Connecting with faculty at the college while also showcasing the campus art environment is a powerful way to connect students with productive postsecondary paths. "There have been a lot of conversations about the process of applying for college and what the future holds that I don\'t think would have happened had they not been getting their work ready for the show," Wilson said. **Example 5** "The Wife of Fabian Vitalik" is a play written by two University of Idaho students, based upon a short story also written by U of I student. LCCC students and theatre instructor Jason Pasqua saw the play while attending the Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival last year in Spokane, Washington. Pasqua said he and his students were profoundly moved by the performance. "It was a really emotional experience because it was a great show," he said. "There were a handful of my students sitting in front of me and they turned back to me at exactly the same time and said, 'Do you think we could do this play?'" The play tells the story of Fabian Vitalik, a fisherman, who meets a young woman possessing special powers and abilities. The two fall in love and marry, but the relationship changes through time. This leads to questions of growing older and questions of loss. In the magical world where it takes place, Pasqua said the play explores dilemmas people face every day. "When you love someone, you lose a bit of yourself, but you gain a bit of someone else," Pasqua said. "And is the deal always fair or equal?" **Example 6** Presented by LCCC, the Shawn Dubie Memorial Rodeo honors the legacy of Shawn Dubie, an LCCC alumnus who qualified for the College National Finals Rodeo in 1987 and 1988. Dubie passed away tragically at 21 after an injury at the Greeley Independence Stampede. The rodeo was established to remember Shawn and his contributions to the College and college rodeo, with proceeds supporting an LCCC scholarship in his memory. This event is a season highlight for LCCC's rodeo team, offering a chance to showcase their talents on home ground in what promises to be a competitive season. Head Coach Dean Finnerty said it's a strong team built on experience and upcoming talent in college rodeo. "I think we\'ll do really well this season," Finnerty said. "We have a strong group of returners and some excellent freshmen joining us. Last season, we had a lot of kids finish in the top 10 in the region, and our incoming athletes have been competing in high school finals and found success all summer." Competing on the Golden Eagle's home turf and celebrating the rodeo's namesake is a powerful motivator to make it an exciting weekend, Finnerty said. "I think it means a lot to them, especially since they\'re here at LCCC and part of the team," he said. "It makes a big difference for them." -