What is it: A press release is a document designed to be e-mailed for members of the media. The intent is to draw attention to a newsworthy occurrence or idea.

Purpose: A press release provides the necessary information for a reporter to generate a news story from the release. The goal is to attract attention to a company, organization, or individual in a positive way and attract favorable news coverage that generates goodwill, business, and increased presence in the market community.

Topic: In the previous module, your group was presented with a scenario involving Profit, Inc. After an investigation into the allegations made by employees of Profit, Inc. you, the CEO, have been presented with evidence that a high-level manager (Mr. Smith) was enforcing policy that had not been approved by the executive board to make himself look better. The press release announces Mr. Smiths firing, showcases how this will change the situation of workers at Profit, Inc., emphasizes the creation of a group od mid-level managers to provide oversight of how workers are treated, and helps to elevate Profit, Inc. in the public eye.

Goals: Press releases have two goals:

To generate coverage of a specific topic in the media. The press release must convince the editor who receives it that the topic is important enough to be covered.

To generate coverage that is positive. If the release generates a negative response from the media outlet, it has failed to create goodwill.

Tasks: You will have multiple tasks to accomplish to generate the press release for your company.

Determine your audience Where will you send this release? Generally, such announcements might find their way to the desk of the local newspaper or national business publications (Business Week, Forbes, Miami Herald, et al.).

Provide compelling context Why should the media outlet focus on your announcement? What new thing is your company doing that solves a problem in the market? How is your company or its board unique?

Sell your idea Now that you have told them how your venture is original and compelling, get them onboard by crafting your rhetoric to persuade them that your company has something to offer that benefits the community or customers.