Press Association

Course Overview 

How to write press releases that really work and how to maximise their impact. This hands-on course gives delegates a better understanding of how the press works and tips on how to get stories published.

Who the course is for

This course is not only for full-time press officers and PR executives, but also for anyone who has to deal with the press. It’s also for anyone who may be asked to take on responsibility for press relations in addition to their main business activity.

Learning Objectives

  • Overview of the changing media landscape
  • What is a press release? What is PR? Some definitions
  • Structure – the intro and the inverted pyramid principle of news writing
  • What is news? How to get journalists interested in your story – what they are looking for in a press release.
  • Preparation – what you need to do before you start
  • Selling in – some tips on dealing with journalists
  • Tips on style, length and vocabulary
  • Distribution – how to get your release to the right person
  • Common mistakes made by press release writers
  • New layouts and strategies for delivering information to the media

Course Outline

What is a press release? What is PR? Some definitions
  • Principles and theory of PR
  • Why press releases are so popular
  • Why writing a release should be the end and not the beginning of the PR process 

The truth about press releases from journalists who read them
  • What the journalist wants in a press release
  • The problem of writing for multiple audiences
  • Avoiding over-branding and excessive marketing-speak

Structure – the intro and the inverted pyramid principle of news writing
  • What the press release is really trying to do
  • Storytelling – the principles of good news writing
  • Getting into the mind of the audience
  • Delivering clear, readable copy in the right format

What is news? How to get journalists interested in your story – what they are looking for in a press release
  • The difficulty of defining news
  • The four ‘W’s checklist for press releases
  • How topicality and drama can inject life into news
  • How to make your news their news
  • The difference between fact and comment

Preparation – what you need to do before you start
  • Preparation and information gathering tips
  • Making sure you get your facts right and why it’s important
  • What’s your story – and is the press release the best way to deal with it

Selling in – some tips on dealing with journalists
  • Journalists’ likes and dislikes when dealing with PR
  • To sell in or not to sell in?
  • Keeping to the point and targeting the right journalist
  • Letting the journalist decide on newsworthiness 

Tips on style, length and vocabulary
  • What is an intro and why it’s important
  • Keeping it simple and avoiding jargon
  • Layout and structure tips
  • Headline writing styles that work
  • How long should a press release be?

Distribution – how to get your release to the right person
  • How to deliver your release
  • Using the subject line effectively
  • The pros and cons of distribution lists
  • Why the personal touch matters

Common mistakes made by press release writers
  • Common writing mistakes
  • Message v messenger, avoiding advertising language, the trouble with numbers
  • Overloading sentences
  • Bombarding the reader with too many facts

New techniques and strategies for connecting with the media
  • How social is changing our relationship with the press
  • New techniques from tweeting links to bullet-point emails
  • Why storytelling is still important 

Our partners, Press Association Training will be delivering this course on behalf on Journalism.co.uk.


Getting there

This course will be held at Press Association 292 Vauxhall Bridge Road London SW1V



About Press Association

The Press Association (PA) is the national news agency for the UK and Ireland and a leading multimedia content provider across web, mobile, broadcast and print. For the last 147 years PA has been providing fast, accurate feeds of text, data, photos and video. Today the business is increasingly focused on the delivery of complete products for both digital and print clients. 

The Press Association Training courses are specifically tailored to ensure they include the very latest developments in the rapidly changing world of the media.

All of PA's trainers are working journalists or PR professionals with the most up-to-date knowledge who always shape courses to the individual needs of those attending.