Media Releases

​Press or media releases are important ways of getting information widely distributed by the media. They follow a quite specific format, and this blog posts highlights a few of the most important features connected with starting a media release.

1. State the date and ensure the first sentence refers to it

Media releases are typically dated, and the information you include in the first sentence of a release should be tied closely to this date. Typically you will find time expressions such as ‘today’, and ‘this morning’ in the first sentence of a media release, and sometimes expressions referring to the near past (e.g. ‘yesterday’) or near future (e.g. ‘tomorrow’):

• May 03, 2016. Chief Secretary Carrie Lam today opened the Claude Monet: The Spirit of Place exhibition at the Heritage Museum.
• Correctional officers stopped fighting among eight persons in custody at Hei Ling Chau Correctional Institution this morning (May 3).
• Special traffic arrangements will be implemented in Happy Valley tomorrow (May 4).

By comparison, consider this media release:

Water polluters to be charged
(April 27, 2016)  The Environmental Protection Department will prosecute the suspected parties involved in two cases of illegal wastewater discharge into Shing Mun River.

Here, there is no obvious connection between the date of the media release and the information contained in it. The time period referred to by ‘will prosecute’ is unspecified. In such a case, the media release should tie the release date to an announcement date:

(April 27, 2016)  The EPD announced today that it will prosecute ….

2. Highlight the key event, outcome, or statement in the first sentence

All media releases describe a key issue: that is, an event, an outcome, or an announcement about an event or outcome. This key issue should be included in the first sentence of the release. Do not include in the first sentence background information and context, comments by third parties, or general statements that are not directly linked with the topic and date.

The following press release does not follow this rule, and as a result readers have great difficulty knowing what it is about (and how it relates to the date given):

Public housing residents convicted by court for false statement
A spokesman for the Housing Department today (May 10) reminded tenants of public housing estates to declare truthfully their income and assets.

Here, the title leads readers to expect a press release about specific court convictions. But although the first sentence correctly uses the word ‘today’ to link its contents with the date of the release, the topic of this first sentence has nothing to do with the title. Instead, it is a general reminder about truthful declarations, a reminder that could be made at any time of the year and has no link to any specific event.

The press release should instead have started with the details of the convictions, and afterwards gone on to add the reminder by an HD spokesperson, like this:

Public housing residents convicted by court for false statement
Two sets of public rental housing residents were yesterday (May 4) convicted in court of failing to provide accurate information about their assets to the Housing Department, and ordered to pay fines of $14,000 and $15,000 respectively.

In this version, the key events are stated up front, capturing readers’ attention and giving them all the basic information they need to understand the purpose of the release. Further details of the convictions should then follow – and only then should general reminders about honesty be introduced.

3. Handling headlines of press releases

When readers look at the headline, they want to understand the core event described as briefly and economically as possible. Generally then, there should be some overlap between the headline and the first sentence of the release, as in this example:

 Tighter qualifying standards for environment-friendly commercial vehicles to take effect from April
The Environmental Protection Department today (March 16) announced that qualifying standards for environment-friendly commercial vehicles will be tightened with effect from April 1.

Here the headline is effectively a compressed version of the first line – the same information is contained in both. The key difference is that in the title it is shorter, and there is no mention of the announcement – only the subject of the announcement.

When the press release describes an activity that has been undertaken recently, headlines most often use present tense verbs:

• New Tseung Kwan O general air quality monitoring station starts operation today
• Ensemble intercontemporain calls for scores from local composers

When the press release describes an action that has been done to something recently, titles usually use simple past participles:

• Applications invited for community involvement projects on waste charging
• Vietnamese illegal worker jailed

And when the release refers to something about to happen in the near future, it’s most common to use ‘to + verb’:

• Monet's masterpieces to go on display tomorrow
• Hire charges to hold wedding ceremonies in leisure venues to be adjusted from September.