Press Release Writing

Parent: Writing and Documentation · researched 2026-05-29T19:03:08.443Z· 6 sources · 10 concepts · skill press-release-writing

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.

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

1. The headline (and the subhead)

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

2. Release-type tag

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - the default [source]
EMBARGOED UNTIL: [Day, Month Day, Year, HH:MM TIME ZONE] [source]
MEDIA ADVISORY - for an upcoming event/availability [source]
Always include the time zone for embargoes. [source]

3. The dateline (AP Style)

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

4. The lede (and the five Ws)

The first sentence must contain Who, What, When, Where, Why. [source]
> Acme Corp, a leading provider of analytics solutions, is excited to announce today an important new milestone in its ongoing growth journey. [source]
> Acme Corp today announced it has acquired Beta Analytics, a Boston-based real-time data platform, for $400 million in cash and stock. [source]

5. The body (inverted pyramid)

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

6. Quote attribution

Standard pattern: [source]
> "We chose Beta because their real-time architecture is the strongest in the market," said Jane Doe, CEO of Acme Corp. [source]
Attribution after the first sentence of the quote. [source]
said is the AP-standard verb. Avoid stated, commented, noted, exclaimed. [source]
Full name + title + company on first reference. [source]

7. The boilerplate

60–120 words. Updated when a hard fact changes. [source]

9. The end mark

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

References

How to Write an AP Style Press Release - PR Newswire [source]
AP Stylebook [source]

Children

No children recorded.

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