Sample Press Release Analysis

By George McKenzie
Former TV News Anchor and Radio Talk Show Host

Is there a standard press release format?

'Does a press release always have to be double-spaced, size 12 font, and a single page?'

That's the question I hear most often from people who are writing their first press release

My answer is...

It does not.

Thousands of press releases have passed by my eyes in the 33 years I was involved in broadcasting. I never threw a press release in the trash because it didn't fit the cookie-cutter format they teach in some journalism schools.

But how DO you write a good press release?

Rather than try to tell you, how about if I show you?

I've chosen two sample press releases, along with a line-by-line analysis of each. The first is an example of a press release that announces the rollout of a new product by a major shoe company.

You can see another example of a press release by clicking on press release example. It's about an author who is promoting a book AND announcing a product rollout.

Before reading the rest of this article, I suggest you read 5 Tests Every Press Release Must Pass.

This section of this website, Press Release Samples and Critiques, gives you actual examples of press releases. Some are pretty good. Some are pretty awful. But after you read through them, and the critiques I’ve appended, you’ll have a much better idea of what Media Decision Makers (MDMs, as they’ll be known from here forward) need when they considering whether to give coverage to you or not.

Very often, that decision will hinge on the way you present your case: the slant, spin, or angle of your story.

Does that mean you have to sensationalize your story or event?

Absolutely not. In fact, that’s a great way to make sure you DON’T get coverage.

When my wife and I owned five Subway Sandwich Shops, we used to tell our new employees this story.

Suppose you are invited to a friend’s home for a dinner party. After the meal, your hosts ask you to share a piece of cake with them. They bring it in from the kitchen. It looks beautiful, with several layers, decorated with multicolored icing.

Your host puts it down in front of you and your mouth is watering. It looks delicious.

Then your host digs into the cake with a cupped hand. He slaps a blob of mush directly on the tablecloth, wipes off the icing on his shirt, and then reaches more.

Lost your appetite?

Now, a cake is a cake. The ingredients are all the same, and it would probably still taste pretty good even though it had been “mushed up.” But it’s a lot more appealing when it’s been neatly sliced and presented on a plate with a fork.

It’s true of cakes and Subway sandwiches, and it’s also true when you request coverage from a news organization.

I was once told by a high-powered TV consultant:

“There are no dull stories. Just dull approaches to interesting stories.”

Let those two sentences be your guide as you seek free publicity for yourself, your company, a product, a project, an event or a cause.

It’s all about presentation. Spin. Angles. Slants. Hooks. Tie-ins.

Learn how to work them with MDMs. Learn how to look at a news release the way they do, and evaluate possibilities as they would.

Success will follow.

Critique Format

All the news releases I critique in this ebook are real. I didn’t make them up for discussion purposes. They came from several sources: KLUP Radio in San AntonioTexas, where I used to host a weekly radio talk show, and several San Antonio area TV stations where I have still have professional relationships.

In most cases, the releases look exactly like they did when they arrived. In several of them however, I’ve omitted graphics and logos (although I’ve tried to show how much space those graphics and logos took up on the page by using generic titles like “Company Name” or Company Logo”).

In most cases, I’ve deleted company names, product details, contact information, etc.

For the sake of consistency, the font for all releases is Verdana plain, even if they were originally printed in some other style. I’ve tried to keep the same font size as the original release.

My critiques are in 10-point Verdana italic.

I’ll use the “tests” outlined in "5 Tests Every Press Release Must Pass." in evaluating them. By the way, I’ve made up these names and definitions for this ebook. They’re not commonly used terms and none should be considered industry jargon.

I just thought they would help make some important concepts more understandable and meaningful.

Whether MDMs have a name for these standards or not, everybody uses them in one variation or another every time they look at a release.