Think like a Journalist, write like a PR Professional
This is what I kept telling myself as I attempted to craft a compelling news release worthy of journalistic intrigue.
It was harder than I expected.
I mean, you already know why your client is special, and why they deserve a story, but how do you convince a journalist who doesn’t really give a rats you- know -what about your client why they deserve to take up prime real estate in the newspaper?
That’s where thinking like a journalist comes in. What would make a journalist pick up your story? What would arouse their interest enough to make them give you a call to get more information? News value. It’s all about the news value of the press release. Without it, your press release is going in the trash.
Well, easier said than done. Knowing my press release needed news value was one thing, but finding out what that news value was, well, much harder. Even when I zeroed in on a news value, I just felt like I wasn’t doing it justice. I would read over my press release and cringe; it just wasn’t interesting enough! A reporter isn’t going to care, make it more news worthy, I would tell myself.
My conclusion: writing a press release is an art, and I have a new found respect for PR Professionals who can write a press release that makes it into the newspaper (or media).
