Not Your Mother’s
News Release
by Maj. Jonathan W. Lartigue
(50 minutes)
2015 National Conference
26 August, 2015
Topics Covered
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Introduction
Good and Bad News Releases
Structure of a News Release
Format of a News Release & CAP Regulations
Introduction to AP Style
Writing Style – The Inverted Pyramid
Making Boring Interesting – “Jazzing Up” a release
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Good (and Bad) News Releases
• Introduction and Discussion of News Releases.
o Examples brought by PAO Academy Attendees.
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Structure of a News Release
• Most news releases
follow a general
structure and include
at least the following
components:
o
o
o
o
o
o
Release date and release time
Headline and Subhead
Dateline
Content
Boilerplate
Contact Details
PAO Academy - 2015 National Conference
CAP Official Boilerplate
• The content of the boilerplate is updated annually.
• Can be found at http://www.capmembers.com/
cap_national_hq/public_affairs/boilerplate/
o Often easier to get to it using a Google search for “CAP Boilerplate”
Civil Air Patrol, the official auxiliary of the U.S. Air Force, is a nonprofit organization with
58,000 members nationwide, operating a fleet of 550 aircraft. CAP, in its Air Force auxiliary
role, performs about 85 percent of continental U.S. inland search and rescue missions as
tasked by the Air Force Rescue Coordination Center and is credited by the AFRCC with
saving an average of 70 lives annually. Its unpaid professionals also perform homeland
security, disaster relief and drug interdiction missions at the request of federal, state and local
agencies. The members play a leading role in aerospace education and serve as mentors to
more than 24,000 young people currently participating in the CAP cadet programs.
Performing missions for America for the past 73 years, CAP received the Congressional Gold
Medal in 2014 in honor of the heroic efforts of its World War II veterans. CAP also
participates in Wreaths Across America, an initiative to remember, honor and teach about the
sacrifices of U.S. military veterans. Visit www.capvolunteernow.com for more information.
Format of a Press Release
Format of written correspondence is governed by:
• CAPR 10-1 Preparing Official Correspondence
o Email, Letterhead, Memoranda, Business Letters are all defined.
o Structure, margins, fonts, and layout of letterhead is defined.
o Applies to internal memoranda as well as external letters and releases.
• CAPR 900-2 Civil Air Patrol Name, Seal, Logo,
Command Emblem and Flag Etiquette.
o Supersedes some of CAPR 10-1 for external communication and branding.
o Permitted and required uses of the CAP Seal, new triangle logo, and
Command Emblem (a.k.a. patch).
o Specifies that Seal must be used on official documents, regulations,
orders, memoranda, letterhead, etc.
o The CAP triangle logo is used for marketing and advertising, including
news releases. It is optional but preferred on web pages, email, etc.
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Format of a Press Release
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•
Use of official CAP seal and emblem is defined in CAPR 900-2.
Structure, margins, font, and layout defined in CAPR 10-1.
o
o
Applies to internal memoranda as well as external letters and releases.
Seal/Logo is 1 inch in size, aligned ½ inch from the top and left edge of the paper.
Format of a Press Release
• Subordinate unit emblem may be added in top right corner.
o
o
Avoid color logos if release is to be faxed or printed in black and white.
It’s a good idea to have black and white version of logos/patches handy.
Internal Releases & Memo
• Internal News Releases and Memoranda can
comply with CAPR 10-1 Preparing Official
Correspondence.
o Structure, margins, fonts, and layout of letterhead is defined.
• Applies to internal memoranda as well as external letters and releases.
o You do not necessarily need or want to follow AP Style for internal
releases, and certainly not for internal memoranda. Follow CAPR 10-1
and USAF “Tongue and Quill”.
Writing Style
• In general, press releases
should be be written
according to the guidelines
found in the Associated
Press Stylebook.
o “AP Style” is the format that almost all
news organizations follow for writing
news content.
o Has many differences from standard
business writing or USAF/CAP writing
styles.
o AP Stylebook contains many guidelines
on how to properly refer to various
topics, places, people, ethnicities,
military organizations and terms, etc.
o Many common grammar mistakes are
also addressed, with examples.
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AP Style – Differences
• States are abbreviated differently than postal style:
o Fla. Ga. Tenn. Ala. Miss.
o Always write out: Alaska, Hawaii, Idaho, Iowa, Maine, Ohio, Texas, Utah.
o Puerto Rico and U.S. Virgin Islands are never abbreviated, in datelines or
anywhere else.
• Many major cities do NOT list state in the dateline:
o Atlanta and Miami are two such cities in the Southeast Region.
• Dates and Times:
o Avoid Military-style dates and times.
• Do NOT write dates in DD MMMM YYYY format (e.g. 26 August 2015).
• Do NOT use military or “zulu” time. (e.g. 1745 hours or 0800 zulu)
• Correct Example: Wednesday, Aug. 26, 2015 at 2:45 p.m.
o Days of the week are always capitalized and are never abbreviated.
o “a.m.” and “p.m.” are always written with leading space and two periods.
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AP Style – Differences
• Military Ranks are written completely differently:
o Only capitalize the rank if it is in front of a name, otherwise lower case.
• John Smith was promoted to colonel.
• Lt. Col. Jones assumed command.
• Plurals: Majs. John Jones and Robert Smith flew the aircraft.
• Don’t append “, Ret.” after the rank of a retired officer. Instead, write
“retired Air Force Col. John Doe”
Officer:
Gen.
Lt. Gen.
Maj. Gen.
Brig. Gen.
Col.
Lt. Col.
Maj.
Capt.
1st Lt.
2nd Lt.
Enlisted:
Chief Master Sgt. of the Air
Force
Chief Master Sgt.
Senior Master Sgt.
Master Sgt.
Tech. Sgt.
Staff Sgt.
Senior Airman
Airman 1st Class
Airman
Note: Airman Basic is also
called simply “Airman”
Cadets:
As a general rule,
use the prefix “cadet”:
Cadet Capt.
Cadet Staff Sgt.
Cadet Airman
etc.
The Inverted Pyramid
• Metaphor to illustrate the
priority of information in a
news story or news
release.
Source: Wikimedia Commons, used with permission.
o Most important information is
presented first.
• The Five W’s and the H.
o Important details that explain the
story follow.
o Less important, general or
background information follows.
o Content is “cut from the bottom.”
• Don’t “bury the lead.”
o But “feature writing” can often
differ in style.
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The Inverted Pyramid
TEENS SENTENCED AFTER
PLOTTING ATTACK ON SCHOOL
SISTER AND BROTHER KILLED
WHEN BUS, SNOWPLOW CRASH
CLEVELAND, OHIO — Two teenagers have
been sentenced to a minimum of a year in
custody for plotting an attack at their high
school.
ALBIN, WYOMING — A snowplow slammed
into a school bus on an icy road
Wednesday, killing two siblings and injuring
their older brother and two other people.
The two boys, 15 and 16, had pleaded guilty
to conspiracy to commit murder at South
High School. They still could be held until age
21, the maximum penalty under juvenile law,
but under the sentence pronounced
Tuesday, the state Department of Youth
Services has the discretion to release them
after a year.
The crash occurred just before 8 a.m. about
eight miles north of the ranching community
of Albin, according to Wyoming State Patrol
trooper Perry Jones. The bus had made only
one stop before the crash.
The plot was discovered when a student told
school officials a group of teenagers
planned to open fire on Oct. 29,
homecoming day.
Two other students have pleaded guilty to
inducing panic. One received a minimum
six-month sentence. Sentencing for the other
was delayed pending completion of a
background report.
An 11-year-old girl died at the scene and
her 8-year-old brother died later at a
hospital, authorities said. Their 18-year-old
brother suffered minor injuries.
The bus driver was in serious condition with
chest and abdominal injuries, and the plow
driver was treated for minor injuries and
released.
The K-12 school the children and the
teenager attend canceled classes at
midday.
Source: JPROF, Blog of Prof. James Glen Stovall, University of Tennessee. www.jprof.com
Other Good Writing Tips
• It’s About People
o News stories, and news releases, are all about how people are affected.
o In your release, spend some time focusing on one or more individuals, or on
how the unit morale is doing, or how the community or agencies we benefit
are feeling.
o You don’t need to limit your news releases to include only CAP personnel!
• Have an Angle
o Most stories can be presented with a particular angle or “slant.”
o This can help to make the store clear and give focus.
o Avoid releases with too much information; this drowns out your main point.
• Keep it Objective
o But remember that you’re not a reporter… you’re a PAO, and you’re here to
sell CAP.
• Quote People
• Don’t get ‘Flowery’
o Keep your sentences and paragraphs short. Don't use lots of heavily
descriptive language. When you've finished, go through the entire story and try
to remove any words which aren't completely necessary.
Source: MediaCollege.com, “How to Write a News Story”
Turning Boring into Interesting
Active Hyperlinks
Included Photos
Including Photos with Releases
• Append photo captions
to bottom of press
release.
o Indicate number of file/photo
attachments.
o Append the captions as
separate paragraphs that
include:
• File name
• Caption
o Write caption as if the
photo is standalone.
• Photo credit.
o “Civil Air Patrol photo by
Maj. John Doe”
PAO Academy - 2015 National Conference
Turning Boring into Interesting
Liftout Quotes
Infographics
Infographics
Information graphics or Infographics:
graphic visual representations of
information, data or knowledge
intended to present information
quickly and clearly.
• You don’t have to be a graphical
design wizard to create a nice
infographic.
• The infographic above was
created in Microsoft Word in 20
minutes and then simply cut and
paste into the news release.
Other Infographic Examples
CAP Units
(1500 +)
$4,000
$3,500
$3,000
$2,500
$2,000
$1,500
$1,000
$500
$0
$120
$1,600
Auxiliary - Cessna
Helicopter - HH60G
$2,600
$4,400
UAV - Predator
Airlift - HC-130
Overseas Units
3 - Japan
2 - Germany
• What other ideas for Infographics can you think of?
Including Video Links
• When including video
and other multimedia
links, such as YouTube,
use the “shortened” link
provided by YouTube
and most other services.
o Alternately, consider using a URL
shortening service such as
bitly.com.
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Paper or Electronic?
• Do you plan to distribute your News Release on
paper or electronically as an email or PDF?
o The choice of delivery method will affect your layout and formatting.
• There are several tricks to reduce your workload –
write once, distribute multiple ways!
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Activity
• Let’s make the boring interesting…
o Using the News Release template provided to you, increase the “visual
appeal” of the release by accomplishing the following:
• Correct the writing style and “inverted pyramid” if necessary.
• Add the CAP boilerplate.
• Make hyperlinks (websites, email, etc.)“active”.
• Add links to the unit’s website.
• Add links to the unit’s social media (Facebook, Twitter, etc.)
o Feel free to use your own unit’s addresses, or simulate one.
• Add an embedded photo, liftout quote, or infographic.
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Evaluation
Please complete the 2015
survey online for a chance to have your conference
registration fee refunded
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/15NatCon
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