News Release Guidelines
Contact Info:
Name
Phone Number(s)
E-mail Address
Embargo Date/Time (If any)
Headline Goes Here
CITY, State, Date — Remember to leave ample margins, especially
at the top, for use of the newspaper’s copy editor and headline writer. Indent
paragraphs deeply and double-space your release.
Do not use copy-editing marks except for “-MORE-” and “-30-.”
There should be no errors, even corrected ones, in your release. The newspaper
deserves a clean copy.
Be sure to include your name and daytime phone number (perhaps
using both office and cell) at the top of the release. E-mail addresses are also
expected. Make it as easy as possible for the editor to contact you with any
questions.
The first paragraph or so should be the lead of your story, which is
a summary of the most important facts in the story. Write in inverted pyramid
style, just as you would a newspaper article.
-MORE-

[Click here and type slug]--- page 2
Be neat, and do not crowd copy. Use additional pages if necessary,
although the one-page release has a better chance of surviving without being
changed or shortened. Put “-30-” (or “-END-”) at the bottom of the last (or only)
page of the release.
When more than one page is used, put the word “-MORE-” at the
bottom of each page except for the last. For second and succeeding pages, put a
slug (one- or two-word description of the article) followed by several dashes and
the page number at the top of each page.
Never divide paragraphs between pages.
Include boilerplate information (such as “About Our Company”) as
the last paragraph(s) in the news release.
Even if your release seems perfect stylistically, it will probably not
get into print if the information contained in it does not fit the criteria for
newsworthiness. Style is important, but content is crucial.
-30-