This is the first lesson in Module 4 about how to write press releases readers love.\u00a0Today’s tip is devoted to story-telling.<\/p>\n
Some of the most talented press release writers have learned how to use their releases to tell a story. In fact, their press releases sound exactly like stories that you’d read in a newspaper. Good stories have a beginning, a middle and an end. They have drama. And characters.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The release below was written by Valerie Wigton, director of public relations for Badertscher Communications in Marion, Ohio. It’s about Amy Pencil, a student at TRECA Digital Academy, a small non-profit public online school for Ohio students in grades K-12.<\/p>\n
Online education is a viable alternative for students who, for whatever reason, don’t “fit” the traditional brick-and-mortar school model.<\/p>\n
“Each year, the school holds a graduation ceremony, with students meeting their teachers face-to-face for the very first time,” Valerie says. “Rather than the traditional ‘Students graduate from TDA’ news release, I worked with my client to identify students with unique situations who were able to earn their high school diploma in an online environment.”<\/p>\n
Why write 2 releases?<\/strong><\/p>\n Valerie sent two different press releases, each featuring a different student from the 2006 graduating class, to editors of two major metro newspapers, the Springfield News Sun and the Dayton Daily News. That was a smart move.<\/p>\n Both newspapers did their own interviews, printed stories at the top of the front page, and ran the entire story in their online versions. If Valerie had written only one version of the press release, both newspapers probably would have ended up with the same story and wouldn’t have been pleased.<\/p>\n At the end of the release, Valerie also included a list of people, complete with contact information, who the reporter could call to expand the story.<\/p>\n This press release sounds like a newspaper story because it has a beginning, a middle and an end. It shows the conflict between Amy and her disease and explains how she reached her ultimate goal–to graduate on time.<\/p>\n No medial terminology<\/strong><\/p>\n Valerie skipped all the cumbersome medical terminology that would have bogged down the story. Instead, she used interesting details about Amy’s life, punchy quotes from Amy and a school administrator, and a happy ending–Amy’s hopes of becoming a child psychologist and working with kids who have had childhood diseases.<\/p>\n Isn’t this a lot better than a boring press release that could have said “Treca Digital Academy today announces the graduation of…”?<\/p>\n By the way, Valerie is a former newspaper reporter. I’m not surprised.<\/p>\n Here’s the release:<\/p>\n (Contact information follows at end of article)<\/p>\n Springfield TDA Student Has<\/strong> MARION, OH (05-11-06) — Amy Pencil has determination in her blood. Despite all odds, the high school senior from Springfield is determined to graduate in June.<\/p>\n It won\u2019t be with her classmates at Shawnee High School, but with her “virtual” classmates at TRECA Digital Academy.<\/p>\n An avid volleyball and basketball player, Amy was diagnosed in 2002 with a blood disorder–phorasic outlet syndrome complicated by antibody phospholipid syndrome–after collapsing on the gym floor. Doctors found a blood clot in her shoulder. More were discovered. Complications followed.<\/p>\n Last year, Amy spent 180 days in Columbus Children\u2019s Hospital.<\/p>\n Yet not once has her determination to graduate “on time” faltered. That\u2019s because she discovered TDA, Ohio\u2019s only non-profit online public school, serving K-12 students with unique education situations like Amy\u2019s.<\/p>\n “I just couldn\u2019t keep up with my work at Shawnee,” explained Amy after recently (May 11) returning home from a weeklong stay at Children\u2019s Intensive Care Unit. “And I didn\u2019t want to be home-schooled or taught by my parents. TDA has been the perfect fit for me and my family.”<\/p>\n TDA allows students to learn at their own pace via computer at home. “So if I feel really good I can get a lot done and move ahead,” Amy explained. “Or if I\u2019m having a crummy day or I\u2019m in the hospital, I can take a break.”<\/p>\n Amy is finalizing online school work in chemistry, advanced math, English 4, U.S. Government, and geography in anticipation of TDA\u2019s June 4 commencement ceremonies. “My family has really been helpful in keeping me motivated,” says Amy. “I\u2019m going to do everything I can to graduate on time.”<\/p>\n TDA\u2019s Damon Osborne, dean of academic education, has been working Amy plans to use TDA\u2019s online Elluminate\u00a9 curriculum support rooms to finish her senior year. With Elluminate\u00a9, she can literally raise her hand, turn up her microphone, and talk “live” to her teachers, verbally communicating homework assignments. Two more blood clots prevent her from using a keyboard, the Well spoken and “very in touch” with her medical disorder, Amy was recently selected to represent Children\u2019s Hospital at the statewide “Blood Clots Seminar” (May 13). She\u2019ll join speakers from the National Alliance for Thrombosis and Thrombophilia, and physicians from Ohio State University\u2019s Thrombosis Program and the Hemostasis\/Thrombosis Center at Columbus Children\u2019s Hospital to discuss how her life has changed.<\/p>\n “I went from being a normal, healthy teenager–a 90% free-throw shooter, in fact, to having a blood clot in my jugular vein, the scariest thing yet,” notes Amy, who receives daily injections of clot-busting medicine in her stomach. “But thanks to TDA, I\u2019ve been able to stay in school. That\u2019s very important to me because I want to start college this Fall.”<\/p>\n Amy must first undergo yet another surgery to remove two more clots discovered in her arm and shoulder. “After that, I\u2019ll start college at Clark State, then I hope to transfer to Ohio State,” says a determined Amy. “That\u2019s my dream.”<\/p>\n Her career aspiration? “I want to be a child psychologist and work with kids who have had childhood diseases. That would be amazing.”<\/p>\n ###<\/p>\n The following individuals have given consent to be contacted to pursue this story:<\/p>\n Amy Pencil, age 18, senior, TRECA Digital Academy Damon Osborne, Dean of Academic Education Linda Casto, Social Worker Elizabeth Varga, Certified Genetic Counselor Information submitted by: ###<\/p>\n Raising funds for a worthy cause? Write a press release. Explain the benefits of contributing. And include a call to action telling people what to do if they can’t donate but want to volunteer their time.<\/p>\n Fund-raising projects can get a real boost if you can convince a newspaper to support the project by writing an editorial about it. “Special Report #33: How to Win the Support & Respect of Newspaper Editorial Boards”<\/a> explains how to approach an editorial board about your cause or issue, present a convincing case, ask for their support, and how to follow up once you get it.<\/p>\n Or grab my entire Value Pack of 52 special reports for only $97, a savings of $267 if purchased individually. See the entire list of titles and order here.<\/a><\/p>\n Next:<\/strong> Create a Top 10 list.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Press Release Tip 22 Use Your Press Release To Tell a story This is the first lesson in Module 4 about how to write press releases readers love.\u00a0Today’s tip is devoted to story-telling. Some of the most talented press release writers have learned how to use their releases to tell a story. In fact, their\u2026 Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","iawp_total_views":1,"wds_primary_category":581,"footnotes":""},"categories":[581],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-126","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-89-press-release-tips","7":"entry"},"featured_image_src":null,"featured_image_src_square":null,"author_info":{"display_name":"Joan Stewart","author_link":"https:\/\/purelysupp.com\/publicity\/author\/jstewart\/"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/purelysupp.com\/publicity\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/126","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/purelysupp.com\/publicity\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/purelysupp.com\/publicity\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/purelysupp.com\/publicity\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/purelysupp.com\/publicity\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=126"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/purelysupp.com\/publicity\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/126\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/purelysupp.com\/publicity\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=126"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/purelysupp.com\/publicity\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=126"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/purelysupp.com\/publicity\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=126"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\n\u2018Determination\u2019 in Her Blood<\/strong><\/p>\n
\nclosely to help Amy reach her goal. “We\u2019re here to provide that flexibility for families with students like Amy,” he explained. “That\u2019s why we exist.”<\/p>\n
\ntraditional mode of completing online lessons at TDA.<\/p>\n
\nDaughter of Rhonda and Ricky Pencil
\n1341 Buck Creek Lane, Springfield OH
\n(937)324-3054 (home)
\n(937)408-4200 (cell – Rhonda Pencil)<\/p>\n
\nTRECA Digital Academy
\n1-888-828-4798, ext. 252
\nwww.tdaonline.org<\/p>\n
\nKay Monda, Thrombophilia Nurse Coordinator
\nChildren\u2019s Hospital
\nHematology Department
\n(614)722-3250, ext. 4<\/p>\n
\nOSU Department of Internal Medicine
\nBoard Member, National Alliance for Thrombosis and Thrombophilia
\n(614)293-2456<\/p>\n
\nValerie Wigton,<\/a> Public Relations Director
\nBadertscher Communications\/in partnership with TDA
\n137 S. Prospect St., Marion, OH
\n(740)383-2633
\nvwigton@badcomm.com<\/a><\/p>\nOpportunity #22 to write a press release: Fundraising kick-off<\/h3>\n