PR professionals send reporters press releases to propose possible story ideas.
PR professionals send reporters press releases to propose possible story ideas.
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A press release is a short, compelling news story written by a public relations professional and sent to targeted members of the media. The goal of a press release is to pique the interest of a journalist or publication. The press release should contain all the essential information (who? what? where? when? how? and most importantly why?) for the journalist to easily produce his own story.
The Small Business Encyclopedia defines press releases -- also known as news releases -- as "brief, printed statements that outline the major facts of a news story in journalistic style" [source: Answers.com]. A press release should read like a news story, written in third-person, citing quotes and sources and containing standard press release information.