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● Introduction & Index ● What is PR ● Job Expectations ● Types of Media ● Building Relationships ● Media, Hams & FCC Rules ● The Basic News Release ● Interviews and Live ● Making your own show ● Easy P.R. ● Public Service Events ● Piggy-back to Events ● Pictures NOW! ● P.R. Research Aids ● Making Friends ● ARES® PIO ● Final Exam Information Next Page

## Section 7- the basic news release Goals of this Section: a) Learn one basic form of news release b) Learn the steps needed to craft a good news release In the old days of newspapers, even a small paper had four or five general assignment reporters, most of them belonging to various service clubs doing what we now call “networking”. They found a tremendous number of story leads and ideas just from talking with the folks at those meetings. However, today’s news organizations are a much leaner operation. With smaller staffs, they truly depend on other means for stories. That’s where well written and well timed news releases favor the Public Information Officer (PIO). There are as many types of ways to write a news release as there are events to publicize and the people to write them. This article will not be able to cover every situation, but will give you some guidance on how to craft a release that will be read and considered. One consequence of leaner news operations is the tendency to run with the national feeds that papers, radio and television newsrooms get from their major suppliers: networks, press agencies and professional public relations firms. This does not mean they will overlook your news in favor of something else when you follow a few simple guidelines.