Preparing Press Releases

This Community Tool Box guide walks through when a press release is useful, what makes an announcement newsworthy, how to write it, and how to approach media distribution. It recommends leading with the five Ws and H: what happened, who is involved, why it matters, where and when it happened, and how. The guide also covers headlines, leads, professional presentation, supporting materials, technical formatting, and media follow-up. It is most useful when your organization has a timely announcement with a clear community consequence, not when it is trying to turn routine activity into news.