How-To: ABCs of
Press Releases For County Officials
ByRandy Kemp County Lines Editor
Y
ou’re a county elected official; when would you ever want to send out a news release? Even in the small- est county, there are lots of situations when a news release would be valuable to you and your staff. In this article, we will give some examples of when to issue a news release,
and give some simple tips on writing one. When and why?
Te simplest answer is, write a news release when you want to an- nounce something. Some reasons you might want to write a short press release: • You were elected to an officer position in your association; one
of your staff got a certificate or other recognition for completing some specialized training, or attended a workshop, etc. • You were awarded a grant; you finished remodeling your
office; you adopted new software, or changed your system; you want to announce your schedule for early voting, or outline the cycle/schedule for reappraisal; you want to direct your local voters to the Secretary of State’s ballot- preview website, etc. • National Association of Counties President Glenn Whitley has called upon the county officials and employ- ees in all 50 states to make a concerted effort to “tell the good news of what county government does for you”, and this is one good way to do it. (See related sidebar, facing page) • Last but not least, you might want to announce your re-election
plans. In fact, if you have been pro-active in using news releases to an- nounce successes and accomplishments within your office, this will likely have a positive side-effect come election time as well. • Another side benefit is, the press release gives you the opportunity to say it the way you want to. Has the newspaper ever written a story where you thought to yourself: “Well, if they’d asked me about it, I could have given them a lot more – or more accurate – information!”?
Even if your community newspaper does a great job of covering the
news, there are lots of things that fall through the cracks – especially if your event is not big and flashy. And with newsrooms increasingly over- worked and understaffed, most editors appreciate a simple, well-written local news release. Keep in mind, though, the newspaper has the right to
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edit, trim, or re- write your press re- lease if deemed necessary.
The Basics:
• Keep it timely – don’t wait three or four months to send it in. • Consider a headline, though this is optional. Remember, news-folk like short, punchy headlines that sum up the essence of the story. • Five W’s and H: Tell the “Who, What, When, Where, Why, and How”. Don’t get nervous about “saying it just right”.
COUNTY LINES, FALL 2010 It doesn’t need to be formal, or overly long. Keep it basic and simple; if you find yourself
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