---
title: "Press Release Writing"
description: "A press release is a short, journalist-facing news document with a single goal: make it so easy to publish your news that a busy reporter (or a wire-service automated feed) can run it nearly verbatim."
---

# Press Release Writing

## Overview

A press release is a short, journalist-facing news document with a single goal: make it so easy to publish your news that a busy reporter (or a wire-service automated feed) can run it nearly verbatim.

The defining traits of a press release:
- Third person, past or present tense, never "we"
- Inverted-pyramid structure
- AP Style dateline at the top of the body
- Stable boilerplate at the bottom (the "About" paragraph)
- Quote attribution that is publication-ready
- End mark: `###` centered on its own line
- 400–600 words is the sweet spot

## Core Concepts

### 1. The headline (and the subhead)

**Rules:**
- Under ~100 characters.
- Active verbs.
- No marketing puffery: avoid "industry-leading," "revolutionary," "best-in-class."
- State the news, not the spin.

```text
Acme Corp Acquires Beta Analytics for $400 Million
Deal Doubles Acme's Enterprise Data Footprint and Adds 1,200 Engineers
```

### 2. Release-type tag

- `FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE` — the default
- `EMBARGOED UNTIL: [Day, Month Day, Year, HH:MM TIME ZONE]`
- `MEDIA ADVISORY` — for an upcoming event/availability

**Always include the time zone** for embargoes.

### 3. The dateline (AP Style)

```text
CITY, State Abbreviation, Month Day, Year — <lede starts here>
```

- City name in ALL CAPS
- AP state abbreviation (not USPS!)
- Date written out: `Nov. 12, 2026` (AP uses abbreviated months for Jan., Feb., Aug., Sept., Oct., Nov., Dec.)
- Em dash (`—`) before the lede

### 4. The lede (and the five Ws)

The first sentence must contain Who, What, When, Where, Why.

**Bad lede:**
> Acme Corp, a leading provider of analytics solutions, is excited to announce today an important new milestone in its ongoing growth journey.

**Good lede:**
> Acme Corp today announced it has acquired Beta Analytics, a Boston-based real-time data platform, for $400 million in cash and stock.

### 5. The body (inverted pyramid)

1. **Paragraph 2**: amplification — the size, the scope, the differentiator.
2. **Paragraph 3**: the executive quote.
3. **Paragraph 4–5**: supporting detail.
4. **Paragraph 6**: optional second quote.
5. **Paragraph 7**: practical info — availability, pricing, link.
6. **Boilerplate**: stable "About" paragraph(s).
7. **Media contact** block.
8. **End mark**: `###`.

### 6. Quote attribution

**Standard pattern:**
> "We chose Beta because their real-time architecture is the strongest in the market," said Jane Doe, CEO of Acme Corp.

**Rules:**
- Attribution after the first sentence of the quote.
- `said` is the AP-standard verb. Avoid `stated`, `commented`, `noted`, `exclaimed`.
- Full name + title + company on first reference.

### 7. The boilerplate

```text
About Acme Corp
Acme Corp is a [category] company that helps [audience] [job-to-be-done]. Founded in [year] and headquartered in [city], Acme serves [customer count]. For more information, visit www.acme.com.
```

60–120 words. Updated when a hard fact changes.

### 8. Media contact block

```text
Media Contact:
Jordan Smith
Director of Communications, Acme Corp
+1 (415) 555-0142
press@acme.com
```

### 9. The end mark

The release ends with `###` centered on its own line (or the older `-30-`).

## Full press release skeleton

```text
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

[Headline in Title Case]
[Subhead]

CITY, State, Month Day, Year — [Lede with five Ws]

[Paragraph 2: amplification]

"[Quote]," said [Name, Title, Company].

[Paragraph 4–5: supporting detail]

"[Customer or partner quote]," said [Name, Title, Company].

[Practical info: availability, pricing]

About [Company]
[Stable boilerplate paragraph]

About [Partner Company if applicable]

Media Contact:
[Name]
[Title, Company]
[Phone]
[Email]

###
```

## Anti-Patterns

| Anti-pattern | Why it fails | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| Marketing-style headline | Journalists reject it as spin | State the news plainly |
| First person ("we are pleased to announce") | Press releases are third-person | "Acme Corp today announced..." |
| Vague dateline | AP requires CITY, STATE, full date | "SAN FRANCISCO, Nov. 12, 2026 —" |
| "We're excited to announce" | Classic PR cliché | Lead with the news |
| Missing `###` end mark | Wire editors don't know if content was truncated | Always close with `###` |
| Embargo with no time zone | Embargo will break early in some time zone | "EMBARGOED UNTIL: Nov. 12, 2026, 9:00 a.m. ET" |

## References

- [How to Write an AP Style Press Release — PR Newswire](https://www.prnewswire.com/resources/articles/ap-style-press-release/)
- [AP Stylebook](https://www.apstylebook.com)