SAB News & Events

02-04-2013	New IEEE Standard for Distributed Interactive Simulation-Application Protocols get Approved
01-22-2013	A Survey of IEEE Standards in Patent Litigation
03-12-2012	Santa Clara Valley Chapter Leader Wins Service Award
03-01-2012	Reviewers Sought for Additional SWEBOK Guide   Knowledge Areas
09-21-2011	Nomination Deadline Approaching for Hans Karlsson Award.   Click on Hans Karlsoon submission site.
09-01-2011	Mobile Visual Search: Architectures, Technologies, and the Emerging MPEG Standard   (From IEEE MultiMedia - July-Sept 11 issue).
04-04-2011	IEEE Launches Pioneering Cloud Computing Initiative
03-30-2011	Federal Award for Standards Activities Board Member
02-15-2011	Draft Standard Approved for Streaming Media
07-08-2010	IEEE P802.23 Emergency Services Working Group Debuts
07-01-2010	James Moore Receives Top Standards Award
02-03-2010	New Standard Enables IP Creation in Automated Environments

 

PRESS OFFICE
Contact our Media Office

 

Subscribe to Press Feed

A Guide to writing IEEE CS Press Releases that get you published!

Writing THAT Press Release....

Ever send out a press release and wonder why nothing happens? Or if t does get published, what you envisioned appearing....and what actually appeared in print.....were quite different? And you thought, "I worked so hard on that. WHY didn't they give us the ink we deserved?" Perhaps a number of reasons. But the number ONE reason that nothing (or little) happened was that the recipient of the press release did not see the NEWS value of that which was submitted.

The good news -- it really is easy to write a press release that commands attention of the media. The trick is remembering that the media is interested in news.....and not in publicity. What's that you say? Well, what you see as important about your topic may not be seen as important by the media. Magazines and newspapers want to provide their readers with information that adds value. The first word in newspaper is just that -- news. Your task,in writing a press release, is to write it so that your information is viewed by the media as news. If the news value to the media is not apparent, they likely will not take action on your press release.

That which follows are some things you would want to consider when preparing a news release. Trust me, the media considers them. And if they do...and YOU don't....you might as well save the postage. What you send them will be given short shrift at best.

A good press release does not tell the whole story. It entices. It creates a mindset in the media of "Hey, what's THIS??" Assume a major, well-respected pharmaceutical company sent this news release out to major medical publications worldwide.

________ Pharmaceutical Company, Incorporated New York City, New York 12345
 The _____ Pharmacuetical Company today announced it will immediately market a new pharmaceutical product, Clixothen, that is FDA approved to cure cancer. The product will be available by physician prescription at local pharmacies on May 1, 1997. For further information, contact Joseph Smith, Corporate Relations, 212-555-1212.

Do you think the media will call? You betcha! This press release entices!

Recipe for a Good Press Release
Some simple guidelines.... First of all, ask yourself "What do I want to have happen?"

Organize the various information components in the release by their news value. Ask:
Who?
What?
Where?
Why?
When?
How?

Organize these elements according to what seems most newsworthy, as well as what seems like the most important elements of the announcement. In journalism, this is called the inverted pyramid, as journalism style calls for beginning with the most important information and ending with the least important.

Begin with a "hard" lead sentence. This means that it should be a hook, something that grabs the reader's attention and makes them want to read on. An example might be, "IEEE's 1394 Standard simplifies connecting intellegent appliances in the kitchen." It should be direct, to the point, and should summarize the newsworthiness of the entire story. The rest of the release should provide only the relevant supplemental information, and the very end of the release should provide a standard paragraph of background (i.e., The IEEE Computer Society is an organization that.....).

Keep press releases and paragraphs in releases short and to the point. There is no shortage of press releases out there, and the longer the release, the less of a chance it will be read. Don't use a bucketful of thought when only a spoonful is required. Emphasize the impact and benefit to the users. If we aren't saving the buyer money or solving the buyer's problems, the press release will receive minimal or no coverage. Remember, you are competing with every other company/organization that thinks their story is wonderful, too.

Review the flow of the information and how it all ties together. Avoid getting overly technical about the announcement, because you don't want a reporter having to search through details for the gist of the story.

Your announcement and its most important supplemental information should be presented in the first 3 paragraphs. Often, a reporter only reviews the first three paragraphs to judge the news value of a release. If he/she is not impressed with what's there, the release gets discarded.

After the first bit of important information has been presented, it is customary to use a quote. There should always be a quote from a high-level person in your organization or company. If possible, an objective 3rd-party (or customer) quote that supports the importance or value of the announcement should be included as well.