What is a media/news release?

Peter Turkington
www.stratcommsolutions.ca

Media/news release – a written communication directed at members of the news media.

The purpose of a media/news release is to announce something that’s deemed newsworthy (i.e. new, different, interesting, involves friction or will generally cause an audience to sit up and pay attention).

Media/news releases differ significantly from news articles. News articles are a compilation of facts developed by journalists and published in the news media, while media/news releases are designed to be sent to journalists in order to encourage them to develop articles on a particular subject or on the organization sending the release.

Typically, media/news releases are faxed or e-mailed to assignment editors or reporters at newspapers, magazines, radio stations, television stations, and (increasingly) online publications.

In a nutshell, media/news releases are one of the tools organizations can use get their key messages out to the media.

Public Relations companies such as Strategic Communications Solutions maintain media contact databases in order to distribute and follow up on news releases on behalf of their clients.