Preparing and disseminating press releases, fact sheets, and media advisories or backgrounders make up the nuts and bolts of most government press operations. In different countries, these tools of the trade go by different names, but their purpose is the same: to tell a story, announce an event, and give facts and figures.

"Press releases are good disciplinary tools because they encourage you to try to create the story you would like to see," says David Beckwith, former press secretary to Vice President Dan Quayle. "If done clearly and simply, press releases improve accuracy. It is hard to misquote a press release."

What follows are the universally recognized standards and conventions for these basic press relations materials.

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Press Releases Before you do a press release, answer these questions: • Why is this important and how does this make news? • What are the main points? • What research is there to back up the information? Can it be checked easily if reporters ask to do so? • Who can be quoted as an authority on the topic? • Is a fact sheet needed for additional information?

Press Releases

Press releases are a summary of facts about a program or issue on which you want media attention. They are presented in a standardized format. The main criterion for a press release is that it must contain news.

Similar to a straight news article, a press release is written in an inverted pyramid style. The first paragraph is the "lead," and it contains the most important information; subsequent paragraphs expand on that information and give more detail in decreasing order of importance. The least important information is at the end.

Like a good news story, the good press release answers who, what, when, where, why, and how. Who is the subject of the story? What is the story about? When is or was the event? Where is or was it happening? Why is the information important? How is this of significance? All of these should appear in the first paragraph.

The sentences and paragraphs in a press release should be short so they can be quickly reviewed by an assignment editor or a reporter, and they should contain no jargon, abbreviations, unexplained details, or cliches. Quotations may be used, but it is more usual to find these in the second or third paragraph; they are always attributed.

Press releases that read like a news story, without a lot of inflammatory adjectives, are more likely to be picked up by the press.

Typically, press releases in the United States follow a formula that includes:

• Double spacing;
  
• Plain stationery, preferably with the organization's name and address printed at the top.
  
• Wide margins — at least one inch (2.54 centimeters) around — providing for ease in reading and allowing editors and reporters to make notes in them.
  
• Typed on only one side of the paper.

The standard press release contains the following information at the top of the release:

• The date the release is being put out.
  
• A contact name, phone number, fax number, and e-mail address. Sometimes, cell phone numbers of after-hours contact persons are listed, particularly if the press office deals with reporters in several time zones.
  
• A release time. Often, news releases are sent in advance of an event but cannot be used until a specific time so that reporters have time to read the material and process the information, particularly if it is a complicated story. If this is done, write "EMBARGOED UNTIL" and the date and specific time the news can be released. If the information can be used immediately, write "FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE."
  
• A headline, summarizing the news of the release, that is attention getting and capitalized.
  
• A dateline, capitalized, beginning the first paragraph that states where the news originated.

In the United States, press releases typically run one to two pages. If there is more than one page, type "more" at the end of the first page. At the end of the release, type --30-- or #### to indicate the end. Be sure to check for spelling errors, typos, incorrect punctuation, and poor writing.

Press releases can be sent to the attention of an editor, an assignment editor, or a reporter. Follow up on the press release with a phone call. Ask if the intended recipient got your release and would like additional information.

Press materials, such as press releases and fact sheets, should always be written and distributed before a news event such as a press conference, and not afterwards. One new government found that out the hard way. Ministers stayed behind closed doors all night to develop a new economic plan. They concluded at 7 a.m. and alerted the media to an important press conference at 10 a.m. The ministers announced the new economic policies, and then the press staff began writing the press materials. Because the staff was so occupied with writing the press announcement, they did not have time to properly explain the new policies. For hours, the press had no written materials to work from in preparing what was a major and complicated story, and many got some of the details wrong. The government press office had to work for weeks attempting to correct the misinformation.

Media Advisories

Typically, media advisories are used to announce an upcoming event on which you would like press coverage. They are similar to press releases in answering who, what, when, where, why, and how, but they are shorter, intended to entice reporters to come to the event. Some press offices even list this information in bold type, followed by the details, in order to attract attention for the upcoming event.

Media advisories are in the same style as a news release with the date, contact names, phone numbers, and "FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE" or "EMBARGOED UNTIL" at the top, and with #### or --30-- to indicate the end of the release.

Fact Sheets

The fact sheet, or backgrounder, gives more detail than the press release by using facts and figures, but not quotations, to embellish on a press release. The fact sheet is presented in as readable a form as possible. It often has subtitles in bold type and is highlighted with bullets.

Like media advisories, fact sheets follow the format of a news release with "EMBARGOED UNTIL" or "FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE," contact names and numbers, and -30- or #### indicating an ending.

Officials in one government media office observed that the members of the press would come to a press conference, take materials, and leave before the press conference began. The press spokesman decided to distribute the materials after the press briefing in order to keep journalists there. This didn't work. A number of journalists stayed for only part of the briefing, left early, and wrote stories from their notes. Sometimes, the press officers felt the reporters got it wrong. If the reporters had had the written material with the basic facts to pick up before the press conference, they likely would not have misinterpreted issues.