Are your Press Releases Sacrificing Trees? – Interview with Ken Fawcett of the “Gettysburg Times”

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In an online interview with Ken Fawcett, Sports Editor of the “Gettysburg Times” in Pennsylvania, we asked him what percentage of press releases received does he use for publication, in some form or other.  His answer was, “Less than 50 percent.  Most of them are too commercial and self-serving.  If there is solid news information valuable to our readership, we rewrite the info and use it in a brief form.  Personally, I think too many trees are sacrificed for worthless ‘press’ releases.“

Keep this editor’s somewhat acerbic but honest answer in mind when you feel the urge to gush in your next press release.  Simply state the facts and make it newsworthy.  If you can create a newsworthy press release by tying it into some current event, you stand a good chance of having it published.  Some people mistakenly believe that press releases will be printed verbatim in newspapers.  Not so.  Most often, if the news is worthy of mention in the media, the writer will simply capsulize the information and write it up in his own words.  If he sees big news in the release, he may build an entire article or column around it.  Or he may contact you to either get more information or to clarify the information you sent him.

Heed the inherent message in Ken Fawcett’s reply and don’t mistake a sales pitch for a newsworthy idea.  Even if you are selling a product or idea, pitch it to a news angle.  For example, products used at the recent Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City were tied in with the newsworthiness of the event itself.  Bobsleds were sold on the strength of the Olympics’ widespread appeal.  Many companies have plugged into Enron’s big lesson and are now selling their stocks with an emphasis on honesty in reporting to shareholders.

The next time you write a press release, ask yourself if it’s ‘tree-worthy.’  Better yet, transmit your press releases via the Internet.