Write like a journalist

With a busier, still growing media – and the ability to reach audiences directly – yesterday’s press release just doesn’t cut it. You should write like a journalist.?

Traditionally, press releases were, essentially, a list of facts, held together with a minimal framework of supportive prose. Well, it didn’t need to be more than that. It was a pitch to the media. The media were gatekeepers to the public, so you had to court them; they wouldn’t use a story ‘as written’, they’d rewrite it – so no point in you putting in that effort.

Well, the publicity landscape is significantly different now.?

The traditional media (newspapers, journals, radio, television etc) still exists. It may be reducing in size, but its influence is still strong. Alongside this, lots of new news outlets have arrived, which don’t have a traditional analogue component. Influencers in many sectors have built profiles and (of course) influence which can rival traditional media. And social media allows you to reach the public directly – according to Ofcom it’s where half of people get their news (although this is slightly deceptive, because, like a river delta, you can generally still track a story back to a single media source – or a small number of them – social media posts don’t magically manifest themselves).?

With greater competition for revenue, we’ve seen an explosion of news content, in one form or another. Journalists, editors, influencers and news outlets have never been busier. The old idea that the story has to be rewritten is out of the window for many of them – if a story is written well, it will be published and syndicated as it is, a process sometimes referred to as churnalism. (Of course, major news outlets don’t do this.)?

What does all of this mean for the publicity writer?

The bottom line is that the press release of yesterday is an old relative out of her or his era. Today, you need to write like a journalist.

• You won’t be judged by the traditional media as some upstart who has overstepped the mark. Anyone who wants to rewrite your story still can. Your story is still a pitch to those news outlets. (You will – of course – still be judged on the quality of the story, and of your writing.)
• Facts are still the cornerstone of your news story, just as they should be with any piece written by a journalist.
• Of course a press release is promotional, but don’t get carried away. A journalist approaches a story from all angles, looking for counter-arguments and alternative news. If you do the same, it can only increase the credibility of your story.
• You don’t have a free rein to create an advertisement or article. This is still a press release; a news story. By definition, it’s announcing something that’s new.
• Write simple, direct sentences. The average reading age is just 9 years old in the UK and 12–14 years old in the USA; professional journalists are mindful of this. The Guardian has a reading age of 14 and The Sun has a reading age of 8. Writer Jyoti Sanyal says: “Based on several studies, press associations in the USA have laid down a readability table. Their survey shows readers find sentences of 8 words or fewer, very easy to read; 11 words, easy; 14 words, fairly easy; 17 words, standard; 21 words, fairly difficult; 25 words, difficult and 29 words or more, very difficult.” Try to write in sentences of 15–20 words or fewer.
• Think about the intended audience. A business audience will have a different vocabulary and rhythm of language to, say, a technical audience, or a sales audience, or an audience with specialist professional skills. Write for the core audience and consider the merits of writing more than one version of the story.?
• Learn the language styles of intended outlets. If in doubt, talk to key outlets about their preferred writing style and if they have a style guide. Research news outlets to see how they approach writing stories: for example, The Register writes with considerable bite; CNET is more even-handed. To land the same story in each, you’d benefit from shifting the way it’s written.
• Make life easier for those news outlets which want to publish your story directly. Go further, by sending them the rest of the story, the parts that aren’t words – such as images and videos.

There’s little doubt that writing a news story like a journalist takes quite a bit more skill than preparing a dry old press release. It helps enormously if the writer has gained this experience commercially, writing for media outlets, but it’s not a prerequisite. Most good writers can adapt their style to suit a different medium.

You’re not writing for publications of yesteryear. Your news stories shouldn’t be dry lists of facts. They should be exciting; engaging and even entertaining. If you want to attract real readers, write like a journalist.

Is It News?

How to write really great press releases

My book,?Is It News??– co-written with Rob Clarke, publishing editor of newswire Learning News – covers the subject of writing press releases in depth.?Download an entire, unabridged, chapter from?Is It News??‘Writing compelling headlines’ explains why a headline can make or break a press release – and shows you how to write headlines which sell the whole story, at a glance.?Download free chapter?or?buy from Amazon.

Training and coaching

Myself and Rob – authors of?Is it News??– are available for in-depth coaching sessions for marketing teams and business managers. We cover not only all aspects of writing news stories, but also help you put in place strategies to reinvent your approach to publicity – increasing the success you get from it.

Peter Labrow

Peter is a marketing consultant and the owner of content marketing agency Content Productions. For help with your press releases, publicity or marketing,?contact Peter Labrow.

Robert Clarke

Rob is managing editor of specialist newswire Learning News. To publish L&D news stories, contact?Robert Clarke.