Traditional press release formats are more and more often rejected by news media. We prefer news worthy releases, structured as a news article. We call it news releases.
Writing news stories isn’t particularly difficult.
Any good news story provides answers to each of these questions:
Who? What? Where? When? Why? How?
Any good news story provides answers to each of these questions.
For example, if you are going to submit a news release about a restaurant promotion, you will still need to answer these questions. The reader expects it.
- Who is the chef? His/her background. Why is he working at this restaurant. What set him/her apart from other chefs.
- What kind of promotion is it? New dishes? Is this introduced to the restaurant for the first time? Any new ingredients? What kind of guests are visiting?
- Where is the restaurant? Describe the location, atmosphere and setting Is it part of a hotel? Its history.
- When is the promotion starting? How long does it last? Why is the promotion running at these days? Special occasion? Holiday? If this is Halloween or the National Day of Sweden – please include some background about Halloween or Sweden.
- Why is this promotion relevant for the reader? Why bother to make a visit? Special prices? Something unique?
- How much does it cost? How does this promotion compare?
The Inverted Pyramid
This refers to the style of journalism which places the most important facts at the beginning and works "down" from there. Ideally, the first paragraph should contain enough information to give the reader a good overview of the entire story. The rest of the article explains and expands on the beginning.
A good approach is to assume that the story might be cut off at any point due to space limitations. Does the story work if the editor only decides to include the first two paragraphs? If not, re-arrange it so that it does.
Information that must be conveyed
Supporting information for the story’s main point
Additional information which may be unnecessary, but relevant
Don’t forget
- It’s About People. News stories are all about how people are affected. If you write a news story about a restaurant promotion or the launch of a new real estate project – your target group is people.
- Have an Angle. Most stories can be presented using a particular angle or "slant". This is a standard technique and isn’t necessarily bad – it can help make the purpose of the story clear and give it focus.
- Keep it Objective. Yes, we know you want to promote your establishment, but you can still show there is more than one side to the story. Do not use ‘us’, ‘I’ and ‘we’ unless you are quoting someone.
- Quotes are effective. “We are really excited about this event. This is the first time we are bringing modern Swedish cuisine to Phuket. The fishing season for wild trout in Northern Sweden will be over next Friday and this is the only time of the year we can get this unique mountain delicatessen is now”, says chef Magnus Eriksson.
- Keep it Simple. Keep your sentences and paragraphs short. Don’t use lots of heavily descriptive language. When you’ve finished, go through the entire story and try to remove any words which aren’t completely necessary.
