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235Chapter 15: Public Relations and Publicity

Circulating your news

There are three main ways to circulate your news:

ߜ Distribute it yourself. You can deliver news releases by hand, mail, fax,
or e-mail. Mail delivery is still a widely used distribution approach, but,
especially for time-sensitive news, the more immediate options win
hands-down. Before faxing or e-mailing (see the following section for
advice), call the assignment or story editor to obtain instructions. The
extra effort will increase the chances that your release will reach and be
read by your editorial contact.

ߜ Hire a public relations firm. You can hire professionals to distribute
your news to a select media list or, if your story has broad-reaching
market impact, to appropriate wire services and the Associated Press.

ߜ Use a news distribution service. Business Wire (www.businesswire.
com) uses electronic services for simultaneous release of time-sensitive
material to newspapers, magazines, news bureaus, television and radio
stations, online networks, and investment and research departments in
the business and financial world. PR Newswire (www.prnewswire.com)
provides the same service but isn’t limited to business press.

In addition to media distribution, leverage your news release by using it in
the following ways:

ߜ Post your release on your Web site.

ߜ Distribute your release to those of influence to your business, including
clients and those in a position to refer business your way.

ߜ Post it within your company. Employees should never have to learn their
own company’s news through the media.

Writing news releases

News releases summarize stories appropriate for coverage in the editorial por-
tion of news media. They are the main tool used in the effort to generate pub-
licity. News releases are also called press releases, but with the ever-growing
impact of broadcast and Internet news, the term news release provides a more
appropriate and all-encompassing label.

News releases for delivery by mail or fax

News releases that are mailed, faxed, or hand-delivered to media follow a stan-
dard format as described in the following list and illustrated in Figure 15-1.