In this week’s issue of The Business Journal in Milwaukee, publisher Mark Sabljak says in his weekly column that “Press releases, frankly, are old news.”
In most cases, he said, the media are looking for exclusive news, not the same old stuff that’s offered to all the other media. That’s particularly true with The Business Journal. I was the editor of that paper and know that local business journals want everything first–or they don’t want it.
So what does that mean for your press release? Sabljak suggests you still write it, but keep it simple. State who, what, where, when and why. And, in particular, emphasize the “why” of the story and explain why the news is important. Then send a quick synopsis of the release to a single reporter or editor, and offer the story exclusively. If they say no, move on to your next choice. If they say yes, then distribute the press release to other media outlets only after your first choice has printed it.
His advice makes sense. It forces Publicity Hounds to start forming relationships with media people, rather than treating them like a herd of cattle–feeding them at the same trough.
Read the article I wrote titled “The 7 Deadly sins of News Releases.”
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