2. Media releases are…
• Communications intended to interest news media (print, web and
broadcast) in providing editorial coverage to a particular story or
event
• Focus on a topic of interest to the medium’s readers, listeners or
viewers
• May be potential news story (time-related) or feature (not tied to
time/could run anytime)
3. Good media releases are…
• Characterized by plain, clear language, and usually are written in a
journalistic style like a news story
• Grab your attention and make you want to know more
• Contain the basic facts of the story, plus contact information
4. The 5Ws of journalism…
1. Who?
2. What?
3. Where?
4. When?
5. Why?
6. and (sometimes) How?
5. Things to consider
• 52% of Canadians 16 years and over had literacy scores in the Level 3
category or above. Level 3 is the minimum level of literacy required
to function well at work and in daily living. This means that nearly
half of Canadians have low literacy levels
• Readers/listeners/viewers decide in a few seconds whether they will
finish a story so it’s important to grab their attention in the lead
• Many newsrooms have had major staff cuts and reporters now do
multimedia reports -- fewer journalists available to cover stories
• Your release competes with hundreds of other releases and requests
for media coverage, as multiple groups vie for attention
6. Differences in media
• Newspapers need words; picture possibilities are an asset but not
essential to publication if the story is deemed of interest
• Radio needs sound, e.g., human voices, background sounds where
available
• TV needs pictures; not essential if story is important, but chances for
coverage go up when there are interesting visuals
• Websites need words; pictures, charts or videos are assets, but not
essential if the story is compelling enough
7. The best media releases
• Use plain, clear language
• Are written like news stories and follow an inverted pyramid structure
• Focus on topics of interest to the medium’s readers/listeners/viewers
• Contain basic facts of the story
• Contain contact information so reporter can follow-up (always provide
phone number as most media is daily and will phone for further info
rather than email
8. Structure is designed to…
• Get the most important facts up front in order to grab
reader/viewer/listener attention
• The lead is the most important part of the story; can summarize the
story or focus in on an individual aspect of it
10. Assignment
• Interview and profile a Fanshawe College researcher
• Find out about that person’s research, what they have done/learned
to date and the next steps for the project
• Try to find out something about the researcher as a person – why is
he/she doing research, how did person get interested in this subject,
what value does it provide to researcher and students, and so on?
• Deadline – Hand in story to Ms. Hannam at Thursday, April 5 class
• Will choose 3-5 stories for publication on Research Fanshawe website
to be run with your byline, will provide feedback on all submissions
