Examples
Press Release That Works

This press release goes right for the heart. It focuses on young children trying to cope with violence. The focus here is not on the school but the children:

Today's date
To: Editor/Reporter

For the fifth-grade girl whose brother and cousin were killed within days of each other -- and whose home was robbed before the funerals while she, her mother and three siblings slept upstairs -- the loss was traumatic. Whatever sense of security she may have known quickly dissolved.

How could such a young child cope? How could she concentrate on English or math when her world was falling apart?

Unfortunately, her experience is no different from hundreds of others in Philadelphia. Many inner-city children face these situations daily. But little by little this fragile little girl and others like her are putting their lives back together with the help of a unique peer support group offered at South Philadelphia's Trotter School. This is a story worth telling, and we invite you to come by to talk to this little girl and others like her.

Please contact me, M. Bowen, at Trotter school at 215-000-000.

Press Release That Needs Work

This sounds like an interesting story about a community reviving itself. Only problem: The event is a ceremony on a Friday night. Coverage is not likely. A better idea would be to focus the press release on some of the changes that have taken place in this community, or a person or persons who have helped bring about those changes. The release should have been sent a month or so in advance to give the media time to report the story.

Contact: J. Green, 215-000-000
To: Editor/Reporter

Thirty years ago, one Philadelphia neighborhood was on the verge of collapse. Abandoned houses, businesses closing and moving out of the city, and people in need of jobs and support were commonplace in Allegheny South.

Today, that neighborhood is revitalized. On Friday, Nov. 13, from 6 to 9 p.m. at the Jolson Street Church, the mayor will join the Allegheny South Foundation for a 30th anniversary fundraiser and ceremony commemorating our accomplishments. The ceremony will start at about 7:30 p.m. with a video tribute and remarks by the mayor.

Other coverage tips:
Getting your story told
How one N.J. group got its message out
Writing Effective Press Releases