HANDLING PRESS RELEASES
By
Dr. Mike Downing
COMMON NEWSROOM TASK: PRESS
RELEASE RE-WRITE

A press release is a written statement prepared
by a business or organization for direct
distribution to the media. The purpose of a press
release is to give journalists background
information on a particular topic. For example,
the business might be opening a new office, or
moving to another location, or laying off ½ its
workforce.
BEWARE

The danger for journalists lies with the fact that
press releases are not objective; they don’t even
pretend to be. They will typically depict the
companies they represent as being “the best, the
brightest, and the boldest.” Therefore, a press
release should NEVER appear in your newspaper
verbatim. Therefore, be sure to understand the
policy of your newspaper before you begin rewriting a press release.
ADD VALUE
In practice, newspapers often have no problem
with a simple re-write; however, some
publications demand that value be added to the
release in a variety of ways:
 1) by making one or more phone calls to gather
additional facts and/or opinion,
 2) by conducting background research that offers
effective comparisons and/or illustrates trends,
and/or
 3) by conducting a full-scale interview with
several key players.

HOW TO ADD VALUE
Use the Web: Yahoo, Google, Microsoft, Reuters,
Hoovers, NYTimes
 Talk to people: Editors, family, friends, experts,
people in the industry, college professors
 By the way, you can view tons of press releases at
www.PRNewswire.com.

SHEETZ, INC. CONTINUES WEST VIRGINIA BLITZ,
OPENING THIRD STORE IN THREE MONTHS
HUNTINGTON, WV WELCOMES AWESOME NEW
CONVENIENCE LOCATION

ALTOONA, Pa., Aug. 20 /PRNewswire/ -- Sheetz, one of America's
fastest growing family-owned and operated convenience store
chains, is carrying out a plan to rapidly develop a new market of
its convenience stores in Southern West Virginia with the opening
of another excellent location today at 432 Eighteenth Street West
in Huntington. This is the third opening in that area since June
2009 for Sheetz, the first two being brand-new stores in nearby
Barboursville and Milton.
BASKIN-ROBBINS OPENS PANAMA CITY FOR FRANCHISE SALES;
PLANS MORE THAN 20 NEW STORES IN THE REGION
AMERICA'S FAVORITE NEIGHBORHOOD ICE CREAM SHOP HOSTS
LOCAL FRANCHISING SEMINAR ON AUGUST 27, 2009
CANTON, Mass., Aug. 24 /PRNewswire/ -- Baskin-Robbins,
America's favorite ice cream shop, is rapidly expanding its
national footprint with today's announcement that Panama City
and the surrounding region are now open for franchise sales.
More than 20 new stores are projected throughout the area.
Baskin-Robbins currently operates more than 6,000 stores in 35
countries and opened more than 600 stores globally in 2008. With
a domestic footprint of nearly 2,700 locations, Baskin-Robbins is
now seeking exceptional franchisee candidates in Panama City to
be part of an unprecedented growth campaign designed to
increase its U.S. presence over time. Built over the last 64 years,
Baskin-Robbins currently enjoys 98 percent brand awareness
across the country and was named for the second consecutive year
the number one ice cream and frozen dessert franchise in
Entrepreneur magazine's annual "Franchise 500" ranking.
THE END