Press Releases

As a former reporter, I’ve been on the receiving end of press releases and pitches.  So I have an understanding of what a reporter is looking for under the constant pressure of deadlines.
There are basically three kinds of communiqués that a company distributes to the news media in order to generate coverage of an individual, a company, its products and services:
•    Twitpich (yes, on Twitter)
•    Pitch letter
•    Press release

Twitpitch
The “Twitpitch” is beginning to replace the pitch letter.  More reporters are opening Twitter accounts to monitor companies, individuals and breaking news.  We all remember that Twitter was basically the only source for real-time news from Iran during the recent uprising. The Twitpitch takes skill because you have only 140 characters to command the attention of a reporter.

As with other people you are following on Twitter, you can learn about a reporter’s hot buttons and begin to establish a relationship.   You can find reporters on Twitter by searching http://mediaontwitter.com/.  Another site http://muckrack.com/ compiles reporter’s tweets and lets you search for reporters by media outlet.

Pitch Letter
Increasingly, the pitch letter is replacing the press release. The pitch letter is a short email to a reporter with a super compelling headline and a pithy paragraph describing a story you’d like the reporter to write.  Often it pitches a corporate executive who can comment on a corporate development or industry trend that turns into a feature story.

Press Release

The press release announces news about a company and can be several pages, depending on the topic, allowing for much more detail than a Twitpitch or pitch letter.  The press release needs an exciting headline – or grabber – to draw a reporter into the body of the release.  It is the“wow” factor.  The release can also include a sub-head just below the grabber that briefly summarizes the news.
No matter the communiqué you are using, it is essential to research what a reporter is writing about in order to tailor pitches to their current interests.