What do you do when you eagerly sent out a press release to a list of journalists, hoping to see your story on TV, online or in a newspaper and nothing happens? Not even a single inquiry about the story. It happens a lot and in the past we’ve discussed this topic in this LinkedIn post. We shared some of the reasons the media could be ignoring your pitch or press release. In this article, however, we will focus on why your press release might not be as newsworthy as you might imagine. We want to save you time and resources spent sharing a press release with zero chances of getting published.

What is a press release?

A press release is an official statement about a relevant event that the public would be interested in learning about. Press releases are normally sent out to reporters and editors, mainly through email. These types of communication are not to be confused with media invites or pitches -which we will discuss further down.

There is a lot of advice online on how to write a press release, the right format, tone and language, how to share it and many other tips. But what really makes a press release newsworthy, especially in 2024, when journalists have countless news sources.

A tweet or a Facebook post might turn out to be a better lead for journalists than a carefully written press release. Besides, the internet has broken down the barriers that restricted how information flows. Media practitioners are networking with potential news sources and information can be exchanged in simple online conversations. WhatsApp groups are also instrumental in disseminating information on what is happening globally by the minute. Now, with this in mind, imagine how much information the reporters you are targeting with your release receive on a daily basis.

Before you send out that press release….

Before you hit send or even before writing it, you need to evaluate your press release for newsworthiness. A simple news story contains five key elements: Who, What, When, Where and How. Your press release should answer these questions without too much jargon or embellished messaging that attempts to make your brand look good.

This reporting format is known as the inverted pyramid in journalistic reporting. For a story to be truly newsworthy, any journalist worth their salt will scrutinize these elements thoroughly, yet very fast to decide whether to trash or follow-up. Let us look at examples of news stories that brands often send and decide whether they are newsworthy.

Example one: The CEO of a company (could be a big brand or a medium sized enterprise), sends out a press release with a statement on the upcoming International Women’s Day. Alongside the statement, there are tips on how businesses can observe the important day.

Verdict: No, not likely to be picked by a serious reporter.

Example two: A major retail business sends out a release announcing their International Women’s Day deals in celebration of women.

Verdict: Not news.

Example three: An non-profit organization sends out a release about their petition that seeks the government’s attention on specific gender issues.

Verdict: News depending on when the release is shared

Example 4: The ministry of Gender and Youth affairs sends out a release announcing that the International Women’s Day will be observed as a public holiday.

Verdict: Definitely hot news

How do reporters decide what’s news

We’ve talked about the formula above, but what if all these examples provide all the relevant details in the inverted pyramid. How do reporters decide what to publish and what to trash. For starters, a press release has to be “of interest to the public”. In the four examples above, the last two affect the public directly. Imagine going to work on a day that was supposed to be a public holiday- the public would be enraged.

The weight of a news item depends on what percentage of the population cares about it and how much it affects everyone. If your “news” does not affect the public as such, it may not make “business sense” for media houses.

The art of timing

However, there are still exceptions to this rule. For instance, “When” is an important element in newsworthiness. If the announcement is about an event that already took place days before – or was published days before by other media, then it is considered stale news. News is highly perishable and it has to be delivered on time. Plus, no journalist wants to cover news that has done enough rounds on other stations, blogs, Vlogs and on Twitter.

“Where” is also very important. A press release could make it into breaking news in one country and simply end up as a “barely visible” running statement at the bottom of a screen in another. In this case, it’s about proximity. People want to learn about things that are close to them.

Needless to mention, “Who” – the entity mentioned in the release matters a lot. Government agencies and public figures attract a lot of attention. But smaller brands struggle to prove relevance. Is your brand in the public domain? You could have a newsworthy item in your hands but you have not done enough branding for your voice to matter.

When should you write a press release?

Deciding whether a story is newsworthy or not takes a certain level of expertise. Seasoned journalists and editors can simply look at an email at a glance and make that decision almost spontaneously. But it is not an easy task and even inexperienced reporters make the wrong judgements on this, leading to “killed stories”. So don’t beat yourself up, if all this does not make sense.

Maybe we should look at examples of common issues that are likely to make news. These are things that journalists find valuable and have higher chances of getting published. The first one is interesting survey findings. Data is an important asset, but analyzed data is even more important. If your organization has been running a credible survey on a topic that affects the society or an important demographic, share the results with the public. You will however need an extra eye to determine whether the numbers are big enough to make news.

Knowing where to send your release

Legal issues, such as petitions or proposals for amendments are quite sensitive as they affect the public. The larger the demographic affected, the more relevant. If the law is to be touched, the public deserves to know. If your organization is involved in such legal activities, you may write a press release about it.

Big, listed corporations also make news in ways that small businesses do not. For instance, mergers, major losses or profits, layoffs, new regional offices or new CEOs tend to make it to business news. Such events may however be irrelevant to the “National News” desk – meaning you have to send your release to the right reporters.

Innovation will always be hot news. Has your organization come up with a big new idea? Is the idea already in motion. Journalists loves new ideas that could potentially change how things are done.

When to not write a press release

There are many instances when you should not write a press release. For instance, you have an interesting event, where important industry issues will be discussed. You want journalists to cover that event or at least grace it with their presence. In such an instance, you don’t need a press release, you need a media invite. As mentioned above, Press Releases are more relevant when sharing news. Though an event could turn out to be news, it is always safer to send an media invite to relevant journalists, rather than a press release.

It is also common for brands to seek the media’s attention through press releases, when all they want is to be featured somewhere or anywhere in the media. Perhaps you want your CEO to be profiled or you want to give commentary on an issue. Have you considered pitching directly to a specific journalist?

A pitch is more personalized than a media invite or a press release. Pitches are often shared to fewer journalists while the other are sent out to many reporters and editors. Sometimes brands opt for meet and greet events with media practitioners before pitching. A meet and greet event is crucial in building relationships with the write reporters and understand their needs before pitching.

Writing press releases to announce new products may also be a waste of time, unless a product is extremely innovative. Media houses have a commercial arm which relies heavily on advertising to keep things running. Commercial or sponsored stories are normally paid for, while the editorial arm of the media focuses on non-commercial content. Unless your product is extremely innovative or it solves a serious crisis, sharing news about your products may not attract any attention.