Writing an Effective Press Release

As you prepare for your Red Ribbon Week Celebration, one of the most valuable tools you can use to get the word out about your event is a press release you write and distribute to local media. The goal of a press release is to encourage local media to run stories about your Red Ribbon Week activities, whether or not they are able to attend any of your events.

   A press release needs to be distinguished from a media advisory. An advisory is shorter and announces an event. A press release provides more detail and quotes principal speakers at your event.

   You can distribute your press release to local media by fax or e-mail the morning of your event, and ensure that it is prominently placed within the press kits you distribute at the event. In any case, a timely, well-written press release is the key vehicle for generating media interest. Taking the time to make it powerful is worth the effort. Whether you use the template press release provided at the end of this document or write your own, the
following information will help in writing an effective press release …

   The goal of a press release is to encourage local media to run stories about your Red Ribbon Week activities, whether or not they are able to attend any of your events. A timely, well-written press release is the key vehicle for generating media interest.

   Most media outlets will use your press release as background information from which to craft their own articles. For that reason, your press release should be detailed enough to provide media with what they need to create their stories.

   To attract the broadest media attention, your press release should contain information about your organization’s most important and/or newsworthy activity during Red Ribbon Week. For example, a Red Ribbon Week Observance release may be considered newsworthy if your organization:

• honors a local individual or organization as part of the Red Ribbon Week celebration.
  
• plans an event at which a local lawmaker or other official issues a Red Ribbon Week proclamation.
  
• conducts seminars or workshops featuring a local or national celebrity speaker.

   If you have more than one newsworthy activity planned, you can distribute separate press releases for each of your activities, if they are significant enough to stand on their own. Alternatively, you may wish to issue a single press release with a fact sheet attached that describes all of the Red Ribbon Week events being hosted in your community. Your press release should contain sufficient background information, such as quotes from local officials and lists of other activities your organization is planning along with your key event.

Tips for Writing a Press Release

• Stick to a traditional format.

  Releases should be issued on your organization’s letterhead. Always provide a “Contact” at the top of all media materials. A designated spokesperson not only allows the kind of coordination necessary so that the organization speaks with a “single voice,” but it also provides media representatives with a consistent point of contact. The contact person should be readily accessible and be able to respond to any media questions.      - Contact Person’s name, Title/Organization      - email address      - “Day of Event” cell phone number The release should begin with the name of your city and the date. Signify the end of a release by typing “# # #” centered under the last sentence.

  
  
• Keep it short.
  Ideally, a press release should be no more than one page, double-spaced. It should contain short sentences and paragraphs.
  
• Give the most important details first.
  Begin with a headline that summarizes the release and captures
  media attention right away.
  
     The first paragraph should answer the five basic questions —
  who?, what?, why?, when?, where?
  
• Mention your local activities early in the release.
  The local audience will be most interested in what is happening
  in your community during Red Ribbon Week.
  
• Be careful with language.
  

  write in the first person avoid using substance abuse slang or technical terms if necessary, explain terms spell out acronyms the first time they are used

  
  
• Double-Check for accuracy.
  Verify all spelling, statistics, names, and titles.
  
• Write factually.
  

  Opinions should be expressed in direct quotes only. When quoting an individual, get consent before publishing.

  
  
• Seek placement.
  

  Distribute your Red Ribbon Week release at your event and via e-mail or fax to local print, broadcast, and Internet reporters in your community on the day of the release’s date. Follow up by phone to encourage media to write or air a story. Try to schedule an interview with an official of your organization to provide additional information. Collect samples of any resulting media coverage to document your outreach efforts.

  
  
  

You may use the template below as the basis of your press release, being certain to edit it, as necessary, for your event (particularly updating all placeholders that have been [highlighted and listed in brackets].

Download this Press Release in a Microsoft Word .doc

Date: [Release date]
Contact: [Your organization’s contact / contact info for ]

[Your organization] Celebrates Red Ribbon Week

[Your organization] is joining with the Department of State Health Services to promote healthy, drug-free lifestyles during Red Ribbon 2006.

  “Red Ribbon Week is about encouraging kids to be drug-free and marking the progress we’ve made,” said DSHS Deputy Commissioner Dr. Dave Wanser. “The campaign provides communities a way to bring together parents, schools, and businesses as we look for innovative ways to keep kids drug free.”

   The statewide celebration is October 22–28. Students from across the state began the celebration early during a kickoff rally on the steps of the state capitol in Austin on October 14.

[Information about your local Red Ribbon activities]

   Over 200,000 Texas students participated in the 2004 Texas School Survey of Substance Use, the largest of its kind in the nation. Among the findings:

• The percentage of 7-12 graders reporting they had used tobacco in the past month fell again, to 17% in 2004. Seventh graders reported a 21% decline, and ninth graders an 18% drop.
  
  
• Alcohol continues to be the most widely used substance among Texas students with 68% of students reporting they had used alcohol at some point in their lives.
  
  
• Students at all grade levels have been showing a sharp decrease in Ecstasy use in the past two years.
  
  
• Marijuana remains the most commonly used illicit drug among students. 30% of all 7–12 graders in 2004 reported having smoked marijuana at some point in their lives. Past-month use of marijuana was 12.6% in 2004, compared to 14.4% in 2002.
  
  
• Inhalant abuse declined for lifetime use but remained stable for past-month use. The overall rate for lifetime use in 2004 was 17% and the past month use was 7%. Like elementary students, both seventh and eighth graders showed an increase in inhalant use during the past two years.
  

   The first Red Ribbon Celebration was organized in 1986 by a grassroots organization of parents concerned about the destruction caused by alcohol and drug abuse. The red ribbon was adopted in honor of DEA agent Enrique “Kiki” Camarena, kidnapped and killed while investigating drug traffickers. The campaign has reached millions of children and has been recognized by the U.S. Congress.

  “Red Ribbon Week is a chance to be visible and vocal in our desire for a drug-free community,” said [representative of your organization]. “Research shows that children are less likely to use alcohol and other drugs when parents and other role models are clear and consistent in their opposition to substance use and abuse.”

   For more information about Red Ribbon Week, visit www.drugfreetexas.com/redribbon or contact the Dept.’s Prevention Resource Centers at (888) PRC-TEXX. [You can substitute or add the name and phone number of your organization here.]

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