Writing the News ReleaseIn this unit, we were asked to understand how to write and format a news release. Contrary to popular belief, the news release is not irrelevant; in fact, news releases are more important than ever. In the Writing for Mass Media course, we were given a project similar to this one. It was, for this assignment and those of the other course, our job to decipher what information needed to be addressed first in a news release and what subsequent information needed to follow. I was made aware of the inverted pyramid style in the precious course, but got to practice it much more in this unit. In News Release #1, we were given tons of information. Normally, it's clear what needs to be stated first. However, for this assignment, it truly took time to analyze and think about what people receiving this news would need and want to know, and what details follow that. Getting to practice this inverted pyramid style when there was more information than I am used to made me pick up a strategy in crafting a news release. Additionally, I would love to know more tips on where to insert quotes in a news release. I feel that I inserted them in a decent place, but I know that quotes can really add to a story and appeal to its readers.
PR professionals are expected to be able to write well. Whether it's in 140-character format or in a four page news release, PR professionals should be able to convey information in a way that informs its audience. This world is undoubtedly heading into the digital era, but I know that whether for print or for web, effectively conveying the news will always be important to the public. I'm glad that instead of expecting the ways to change digitally, we are practicing the "old fashioned way" of writing a news release. I see this skill set helping me in not only writing news releases, but also telling the important content while writing short excerpts, captions, etc. Print is not dead, it's surely alive!
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