›› ake yourself accessible to journalists; make it easy to find press contacts on your website.
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›› ake sure you are ready when a journalist calls by preparing story ideas that you can pitch.
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›› ave your ready-made Q&A and key messages in front of you so you are consistent with what
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other members of staff might be saying.
›› end your news to individual journalists who cover the subject, not to generic email addresses
S
like ‘[email protected]’ which get flooded with such press releases.
PRESS RELEASES
A press release should contain just the right information to help journalists understand
your news and your organisation quickly. As a minimum, any press release must contain
an acknowledgement of the EEA Grants and/or Norway Grants support and the value of
the support.
Do not forget you can use the ‘press release template’ provided in part 2 ofthis manual.
There are a number of dos and do nots that should be observed in writing press releases.
COMMUNICATION AND DESIGN MANUAL
TIPS TO DEAL WITH JOURNALISTS
DO…
›› Write in an upside-down pyramid style with the most important information first and the least last;
›› Time your release well (can it be linked to bigger news?);
›› Carefully indicate and check facts and sources;
›› nclude a quote or two from the appropriate person in your organisation (use spoken language and get
I
the person to approve the quote);
›› Write simply and objectively (many journalists will reuse your formulations);
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›› Apply the ‘keep it short and simple’ (KISS) approach (explain technical terms);
›› f possible and/or appropriate, provide audiovisual material such as photos or video to accompany your
I
release, and include copyright information.
Remember to consult the ‘Tips on photos’ in this manual.
DO NOT…
›› orget to issue release instructions: embargoes must be respected by journalists, so be clear that the
F
information should not be publicised before a certain date;
›› orry about a lack of response: sometimes this information is stored for later use (i.e. they now know
W
you exist);
›› Use marketing jargon/hype in press releases;
›› ive up; a journalist or media that does not pick up on a story might just be too occupied with other
G
things but might be interested next time.
Y
ou should keep a record of the press releases you send out and to whom with a basic running sheet,
and include a column for when a journalist responds to the release (e.g. column titles: journalist name,
publication name, media type, e-mail, telephone, specialty/subject, last contacted, comment).
EEA GRANTS • NORWAY GRANTS
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