What is a press release?

Press release – a press message; an information message containing news about the organization (possibly an individual) that issued the press release, a statement of its position on any issue and transmitted for publication in the media (media).

The type of press release is note. Communiques usually contain the official position of the organization in the form of a reaction to a particular information occasion. Official government agencies sometimes issue press releases in the form of "question answers." A press release is the main PR document in any organization. The press release allows the organization to inform the media about important events that have occurred in the organization and are interesting or necessary to cover their general public and / or specific target audience. Press releases are distributed to journalists at briefings and press conferences or sent through the means of communication.

History
The first press release in history was issued on October 30, 1906 by the “father” of modern PR, Ivy Lee, and related to the tragic incident on the Pennsylvania Railroad. The Pennsylvania Railroad was a client of Ivy Lee. After the disaster, he not only convinced her leadership of the need to distribute a public statement, but also persuaded her to allocate a special train to transport journalists to the scene. This innovative approach to corporate communications so impressed the New York Times that the press release was reprinted verbatim in the newspaper. Soon press releases and official press statements (statement) are widely distributed, they are issued not only by companies and government agencies, but also by individuals.

All this time, the main way to send press releases was through regular mail. A major change in delivery was made by PR Newswire. Equipping the editorial staff with free teletypes, the company expected to receive income from customers interested in sending press releases to the media. The service was in demand, and by 2013, the three leading press release distribution companies were sending an average of 1,759 news items daily.

A press release should be written if there is really interesting news, otherwise, most likely, an uninformative and unnecessary press release will be ignored by journalists, and work on such a press release will be meaningless. In order for the material of the press release to be printed in the targeted media, it is desirable that it meets the following rules:

• the information of the press release should be interesting, professionally oriented and needed by the audience of the publication where the press release is sent;
• information should be relevant, topical, contain new facts, results, reference statistics;
• information should be easy and easy for readers to perceive, socially significant. Good, if the information can be associated with any socially important problem;
• Information should be “fresh” – about an event that occurred today, at least yesterday, or is expected in the near future.
• successfully, if the press release contains the words of the head of the company (organization), the most authoritative experts in the subject, one or more opinion leaders (newsmakers) on this topic.

The better and more accurate a press release meets the above rules, the more likely it is to be published in the press or used in preparing material for printing, rather than thrown into the basket. If the organization repeatedly sends non-informative press releases, then journalists will have a negative opinion about other materials coming from the same organization.

The most common method of writing a press release is to link the news to a specific landmark event, the results for a certain period, or to a date, including a non-existent one. It can be the birthday of the company, Day of the 100th buyer, Day of the 100-day existence of the company, etc.

Very effective when the distribution of a press release is accompanied by direct or telephone contact with journalists responsible for the use of this press release in the media.

Structure of the press release
The title and lead of the press release are the most important in this entire document. It is on the first lines of the journalist determines whether this news is interesting to his publication or it can be thrown out. Therefore, the title should be bright to interest anyone who starts reading it as much as possible. Lead is the first paragraph. It should consist of one sentence, which summarizes the essence of the news (events, etc.). Here it is important to specify information in the following order: who is the participant of the event, news, etc., what event, news, when and where it happened or will happen, why it happened and how it happened.

Press releases come in several varieties: Press release announcement – information in such a press release informs about an event that just needs to happen. A timely press release will ensure the presence of the press at the event. In addition to presenting the essence of the upcoming event, this press release can provide an appropriate background to this event, which will help to interest the press.
Press release news (news release) - carries information about an already accomplished event. Here you can add brief comments from current or interested parties.
Informational press release – informs about the current, not yet completed event. This press release only gives an account of current developments or a new turn of events, assuming that the essence of the event is already known.
The press release should not contain evaluative data or advertising information, it should be small in volume (no more than two pages) and preferably contain information about only one news. The information in the press release must meet the requirements of the publication where the press release was sent.

Communiqué
Communiqué is a formal notification of the outcome of international negotiations, agreement, key events in the life of the country, for example, on the course of military operations, meetings, gatherings, summits. In the context of international relations, a communiqué can be either a message from one party or a joint act of the parties to the negotiations, setting out both positive points and differences and dissenting opinions. A joint communiqué does not have the status of an international treaty, but may contain provisions that the parties may consider as such. If the communiqué contains information about an agreement that is not expressed in any other official form, it shall be considered as an international treaty.

Joint communiqués with treaty obligations were characteristic of socialist states.

The shortest press release was written by Michael Jordan on March 18, 1995, and consisted of two words: "I'm back." So the athlete announced his intention to return to basketball.

Source