Getting Down & Dirty With The PRW Guru
The PRW Guru has received so many great questions over the last few weeks that we couldn’t pick just one. Keep the questions coming in and look for the PRW Guru’s answer in upcoming newsletters.
My Question Is: We already sent out a press release and then some of the event details changed, how do I resend a press release, is there a certain way I should highlight the changes?
It depends on how much time has elapsed and how pertinent the details are. Generally, if it’s been over a week since the original press release was issued, you just need to send out a new press release. Only send out a correction if it’s been less than a week. Don’t waste everyone’s time and confuse the issue over a minor discrepancy. Simply make the correction on your end – Web site notice, message on voice mail, etc. However, if something as important as the date or time of your event is incorrect, you need to send out a correction. Issue a corrective press release to all the media that you distributed the initial press release to. Example press release correction:
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact Information:
Joe Shmoe
Widgets Inc.
555-555-3654
joeshmoe@widgets.com
www.widgetsonline.com
Widgets Press Release Correction
Anytown, OH—February 17, 2005—In the news release “Widgets Wins Widget Wars Again” issued on February 9, 2005, the number of widgets produced per year at our Anytown plant was quoted as being 2,560,000. The number is actually 2,560,000,000 rather than the smaller number originally issued. The complete corrected text follows.
[Insert original press release with corrected information here]
# # #
My Question Is: I know there is a subtle difference between a Press Release and a Statement to the Press, but can’t articulate it. Can you please help me make the distinction?
In a nutshell, a press or news release is a written document disseminated to the media via email, fax, or snail-mail, while a statement to the press is a live spoken announcement to the media at a press conference or some other event where the media is present. For instance, when a lawyer walks out of the courtroom during a highly-publicized trial, she will most likely make a statement to the press on the stairs of the courthouse. Activists will make statements to the press during marches, rallies, sit-ins, and other events that garner media attention.
My Question Is: Is it OK to insert a photo of a product into a one page PR?
First, PR’s should almost always be one page long. Photos are okay to include; however, please make sure that your press release can stand on its own without the pictures. There are no guarantees that the pictures will be used even if the press release is. If you are not using a professional press release distribution service and you are trying to send out the release on your own, only include a picture if you are mailing the release. Emailing a picture as an attachment or in the body of the release will not win you any friends on the receiving end. Remember that if journalists are interested, they can always go to your Web site—which will most certainly have pertinent pictures and information in the easy-to-find press room—for more information.
My Question Is: As a novice, writing a 100 word release for a medical journal about a rare condition, what format do I use for greatest impact? Bold title? Describe symptoms? Doctors know little about this condition.
100 words? Short and sweet! Well, a bolded headline is good unless the press release will be sent out over newswires. ALL non-text formatting is lost when a press release goes out over the wire. If you want to draw attention to the headline put it in all caps. If the release is geared towards doctors and other medical professionals, focus on what will entice them most about the rare condition. Was there a recent discovery about the condition? A new treatment option? Or perhaps you can focus on the need for research dollars to be given to this condition because nothing is currently being done. On the other hand, if you are gearing the press release towards the general population, a more human interest approach would probably work best.
My Question Is: I need some advice on something with regards to a press release. We recently hired a product engineer who used to work for our largest competitor. Do you have suggestions/an opinion on how to include this information in the press release announcing his appointment? I think it is important to include such information as it strengthens his credibility, but I really don’t like to cite my competition in a press release.
Cringing at the thought of giving your competitor some free press is certainly a natural reaction! But, don’t sweat it. Including the information will only add credibility to your new employee and your press release.
My Question Is: Our company has been mentioned in a press release that our marketing department would like to post on our website. However, they’d like to add more information about our company. Is it legal to modify a press release without notifying the company from which it was released?
Well, PR Guru I am, but a lawyer I am not. However, when anyone sends out a press release, they are sending it out knowing that the release will be used, not used, modified, torn apart, and otherwise altered by the media. Feel free to use any press release any way you want to with one major caveat: don’t put words in the other company’s mouth. Quote their material, add to their material, but don’t word it in a way that infers that they said something that they didn’t.
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