Using News Releases to Generate Media Coverage
Laura Sharp

Is your veterinary hospital participating in Fundraise for Farley Month? Do you want to promote a special fundraising event? If so, use the media to spread the word.

If you want the media to promote your event, you must speak to them in the language in which they work. In other words, you must write a news release.

Before writing a news release, you must determine the news value of your story. Most of the news releases sent to journalists are discarded because they are not newsworthy. Ask yourself if your story has a real news value. If you regularly submit releases that are not newsworthy, journalists will start to view you as the "veterinarian who cries wolf."

News releases should be used for "hard news" stories that have a short shelf life. Soft news, or human-interest stories, can be pitched over the telephone. For example, submit a news release if you are opening a new veterinary hospital or holding a special fundraising event, but call a journalist about profiling a day in the life of a veterinarian or a veterinary co-op student.

A PROFESSIONAL NEWS RELEASE CONTAINS:

1. The name of your veterinary hospital or organization. The release should be printed on official letterhead.

2. A contact name and numbers. Who should the journalist call if more information is needed? Include correct contact information for the spokesperson. The person identified as the media contact must be available for media calls. Someone who will be in surgery for most of the day or who is leaving for a two-week vacation is not a good media contact.

3. A release time. In most cases, news releases are "For Immediate Release." Some news releases-particularly business releases that pertain to shareholder information-contain an embargo specifying when the story can be made public, but these should be used judiciously. There is no guarantee your story will be held until the requested date or time.

4. A headline that summarizes the story. You will have less than 10 seconds to make an impression on the journalist. Most journalists will simply scan the headline and the first couple of paragraphs before deciding whether to use the release or toss it in the garbage. Consequently, your story should be summed up in your headline and the first two paragraphs of the news release.

5. A dateline. This information appears at the beginning of the first paragraph in the release and advises the journalist of the date and origin of the news story. For example, an OVMA news release for distribution on Boxing Day would appear as:

(MILTON, Ontario)-December 26, 2002

6. "The End." Always signal the end of your news release by typing "-30-" or "###" at the bottom of the release. This is particularly important if your release ends at the bottom of the page, as the journalist may think the release is part of a larger story.

Other tips for writing an effective news release:

Keep it short. Your release should never exceed two pages.

Leave lots of room. Double-space the body of the news release.

Use the "inverted pyramid.Present the most important information or the conclusion first. Less important information comes in the middle of the news release. The release ends with the least important details.

Avoid medical jargon. Always write in plain English.

Punch up your release with quotable quotes. Insert two or three quotations in the body of the release. It gives your story a human element that increases the appeal to readers.

Avoid excessive adjectives. News items don't resemble paid advertising because they stick to reporting the facts without using superlative adjectives. Words like "unique," "amazing," or "wonderful" are commonly found in ads, but rarely appear in legitimate news stories. Save the adjectives for direct quotations. However, it is important to remember that quotations are subject to CVO's global advertising guidelines and non-verifiable or comparative wording should be avoided.

Proofread carefully. Sloppy news releases that contain typos and factual inaccuracies reduce your credibility with journalists.

Learn from others. To see how other organizations draft their news releases, visit the Canada NewsWire website at www.newswire.ca.

Most important, ensure that you are in compliance with CVO guidelines. If you aren't sure if the content of your release violates the rules, check with Karen Gamble, Registration and Advertising Coordinator at 1-800-424-2856 or kgamble@cvo.org.