When you write your article, bear in mind that some of the major components such as bullets, paragraphs, and comments. These will be used to help organize the content and create a flow between them.
You can use these functions to emphasize an important point or provide more information.
The play-by-play style writing technique is another way to structure your press release. This type of writing includes and highlights different parts of the story with direct quotations.
Beside to those, there are three other main components of a press release that most writers omit.
These are very important to include but may not always be included in every publication’s format. They are the title, byline, and body.
By having this knowledge, you will know how to cite a press release!
Title
Most publications have a specific section called “Headlines” or something similar where they list the releases for the week.
Find that place, take note of the release, and using the proper citation method, add the date after it.
Press release: Important Note About Citations
This is usually found under Publication Settings under My Writer’s Block – Media. It is listed below the Article field.
Citation: Type out the first word (in this case was) then space than the last word (press release). Make sure to hit enter twice after each step to make it look nice.
Provide a reference for the press release
Make sure to include a clear citation of the press release in your article. This includes changing the font, color, and style of the text as well as adding a link to the press release’s website or social media profile.
It is very common to see writers use only part of the press release as their source. While it is good to give some context, you should also be able to identify the author of the press release, where and when it was published, and how much content it contains. So readers can determine whether the information is reliable.
Provide website references
When writing your article based on this press release, make sure you include appropriate links to the source material and to the press release itself.
It is very important to give credit to the author of the original news story and to the company that published it.
If the article was written by someone else, make sure their name is included in the link.
Include the title of the article, the reporter’s last name and his or her online profile if one exists, and the editor’s last name and theirs as well. Add in the headline of the press release.
Link to the original news article, not to the press release.
Use APA citation
When writing your paragraph based on this article, use the appropriate APA style for citations.
The advanced placement course I mentioned above will help you do that! If you are looking to improve your citation skills, these courses are must-haves as they go into great detail.
The basics of citing a press release are using the author’s name, and date. Then underlining or incorporating the source in parentheses followed by the pinyin (romanized Chinese word) and the page number.
For example: “Kim Kardashian announces pregnancy via Instagram.” would be cited as follows: “Kardashian announced her pregnancy through social media.” No quotation marks were used, and no back-quoting (adding square brackets).
This is because there is only one speaker in this case. Kim herself and she does not need quotation marks nor do we add quotations when referring to someone else’s words.
You can learn more about how to cite sources here: How to Quote A Source And Why It Matters.
Use MLA citation
When writing an article based on another person’s press release, use their template with credit given for the material.
Ensure that you do not rewrite the press release, only adding your commentary or ideas.
Once again, using our example from before here is the original press release as well as the article written based on it.
Original Press Release
Press Release: Best Indoor Plants For a New Plant Owner
Make sure to add those new plants to a pot filled with compost so they can soak in all the needed nutrients.
Also, make sure to keep them at a temperature of around 60-65 degrees Fahrenheit. They will need this amount of exposure to thrive!
Regularly check under the plant to see if there are any signs of water loss by looking for droplets coming through.
If this happens then try washing the leaves with some warm, not hot, water. This will help promote more moisture retention.
Lastly, be careful to not overwater your indoor plants. Let them dry out to ensure they are getting enough air and water.
Use Harvard citation
The most common way to cite a press release is using an adapted version of the HARVARD CAPITAL GRADE EDITING PROMPT.
This includes changing the word “Author” to read “Publisher,” adding a date, and replacing the first line with “Source.”
The source in this case is the publisher or person who released the information so there is no author.
You can add extra comments to create more context for the article if needed.
Example:
Source: Important Medical News. Melatonin May Help People With Insomnia Avoid Sleep Drugs
Medical research has found that melatonin may be able to help people with insomnia avoid sleep drugs such as benzodiazepines (BZDs) and Z-drugs.
These are sometimes prescribed instead of medication to treat insomnia. It can have long-term effects including the risk of dementia, heart disease, and obesity.
Dr. Natasha Trecevski, Senior Lecturer at La Trobe University says:
‘Melatonin may work better than BZD and non-benzodiazepine hypnotics. Because it does not cause hangover symptoms like some other treatments.’
Trecevski conducted a review of nine studies looking into the effectiveness of melatonin as a treatment for insomnia.
Make the press release consistent
Now that you have written your announcement, it is time to edit or revise it. Starting with the title, make sure it is clear and descriptive.
The body of the release should state the main points of the article.
The supporting paragraphs and bullets can be eliminated unless they are essential to the article’s message.
Check for spelling and grammar
Even though you are free to edit your press release after it is published, this is not the best way to do things.
If someone were to read your press release, they would want to know if what you said was true and accurate!
Press releases are usually three or four paragraphs long,. So there’s plenty of space to add pictures, more points, and/or conclusions. Thus, make sure that everything in your press release is formatted and fact-checked.
Also, be careful with using too many pronouns (I, me, my) and nouns (the the item, items).
Distribute the press release
After you write your press release, it’s time to distribute it! Most online publishing tools offer automatic distribution. But you can also use more traditional methods.
You can send the press release to local media via phone or fax. If you have their contact information, you can email them as well. Some people prefer sending a cold call instead of an emailed message because they feel it is more professional.
Don’t forget about other types of social media that may only need your account. You can usually find this information in the accounts section of each site.
