A media release is a text that an artist or producer sends to journalists or news desks of media outlets such as newspapers and radio and TV channels.
The aim is to attract the interest of the traditional media and get them to report on the event.
The media release can serve as background material for a news story.
Sometimes the media publish the texts word for word or in an abridged form.
How to Write a Media Release?
Start with the facts: date, time, sender, when is the content ready for publication (immediately / on a specific date).
Craft the headline carefully. The headline is a window into the text. It entices the reader to read the whole text and provides succinct and sufficient information about the content. The headline should be the last thing you write.
Start the text with the hook: what’s the most interesting, new or special aspect of the event?
After the hook, provide background information and introduce the event in more detail: its objectives, context, continuation, etc.
End the text with a fact box with a list of the names and roles of key people involved with the event, timing and location details, and ticket prices.
Remember to mention the person who will provide further information and respond to interview requests.
Attach a picture, if possible.
How to Find the Hook and Write a Catchy Headline?
There is no strict formula for writing a media release, but these tips and recommendations might help you to write a text that fits your purposes.
Consider which aspects of your event might be of interest to others: is there something special about the artists, event, or venue? What can the audience or visitors expect to experience? What’s newsworthy about the event?
Define the target audience of the text and the event. How can you engage with them through the press release?
When writing the headline:
Identify the most interesting part of the text. What needs to be mentioned already in the headline, and what can wait until the body text?
Include a verb in the title, preferably one that’s fresh and vivid. Avoid the passive voice (is/was/will be made), negative verb forms (isn’t, wasn’t, hasn’t, won’t) and the verb ‘to be’. Then of course, there are some cases where negative verb forms and the verb ’to be’ are exactly what the headline needs.
Tip: there is no obligation to give away the whole story in the headline. You can entice the reader to discover the rest of the story with concrete examples, fascinating details, or striking facts.
For example:
“Four Sound Art Installations in an Urban Environment” (Does not send out an original message.)
“Sound Art Installations Made the the Railway Station Underpass a Safer Place.” (This is more accurate.)
Style and Form
Write meticulously in formal but lively language. Use terms that are accessible for most readers. Describe things in such a way that any media user can understand what you’re talking about.
When choosing words and style, consider the media you write for: readers of specialist magazines may be expected to know more about the topic than, say, readers of newspapers.
You can cite your own statements or the words of another member of the team. You can use quotes to say things in a more colourful way than you would in the rest of the text.
A media release shouldn’t use the language of advertising or address the reader directly.
So, instead of “Come and enjoy the festival!” you could write, for example, “The festival team welcomes visitors of all ages.”
Tips for Sending out a Media Release
Find the email addresses of arts journalists and newsdesks on the websites of media houses or newspapers.
Compile a mailing list for yourself and update it from time to time.
Don’t send the media release to the address where they welcome story tips. A media release is a different from a story tip, because the text could be published as such in a media outlet.
Once you have sent out your media release, make a follow-up call to the newsdesk. Tell them you’ve sent them a media release and ask if a journalist has time to pick up the story or if they can run the story soon.
Right Timing Helps the Message Get Through
If you’re giving advance notice of an event, send the media release early enough. If you’re reporting on an event that has already taken place, for example, someone’s won an award or done well in a competition, send the media release as soon as possible after the event.
Mornings are an excellent time for media communication. However, it’s advisable not to send out the release on the hour, because that’s when the news desks receive an overload of timed messages. You should time your release to be sent out at ten or fifteen minutes before the full hour.
Mondays are great days for sending out media releases with a flexible release date.
Saturday and Sunday are usually quiet days for journalists, but even then they are at work and may have time to review releases (although arts journalists do not necessarily work on weekends).
Media Release in Brief
1) Content and news values: The text has a distinct and powerful angle or hook
2) Structure: The reader gets the gist of the story in a few seconds: Who? What? Where? When? Why? How?
3) Language: The text is clear, formal and engaging
