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The Nine Components of a Press Release

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This news item is the sixth in a 10-part series on public health communication. This installment focuses on how to create effective press releases.

July 5, 2013

A press release is an announcement or summary of news to the press. A press release is similar to a news article, but it is not written by journalists. Instead, organizations or agencies representing organizations write and send press releases to news outlets. Journalists or editors may publish the press release as is, or they may use parts of it within a larger news story.

Press releases should be straightforward, written in the active voice, and follow any guidelines recommended by your target media outlet. Most publications use AP Style, and if you are new to journalistic writing, it might be helpful to peruse the fundamental concepts. Press releases should also include the following key components:

1. Letterhead/Logo

It’s a good idea to place your organization’s logo or letterhead at the top of your press release. This makes it easy for press staff to identify where the press release is coming from and it lends credibility to your news. Press release format is something you should consider when developing your brand standards. You will need to decide where and how big your logo should be placed, what size and type of font to use, margin widths, and line spacing to avoid variation in the way your press releases look.

2. Contact Information

Once the press staff read your release, they may want to reach out to you or your organization for further information. Include contact information of the person on your team who can most effectively field media calls and emails.

3. “For Immediate Release”

Most of the time, you’ll want your news to go public as soon as possible. In this case, you should include “For immediate release” toward the top of your document. This indicates to the press that there is no holding period for publication. If you decide to embargo, or request a stay of publication until a specific date, you must also indicate that as well.

4. Headline and sub-headline

A headline is the opportunity to grab the reader’s attention. It should summarize what your news is about and encourage the reader keep reading. The sub-headline should describe the headline in more detail. Both are typically written in the subject-verb-object format and should be around 70 characters at most. For example:

Headline: County Health Department Launches Childhood Obesity Program

Subhead: Community grant keeps kids on playgrounds, off couches

5. Dateline

The dateline includes the date as well as the city and state (see AP Style guide) where the press release is being issued, and it precedes the first paragraph of the release.

6. Body

The body is where the news story is written. The first paragraph should succinctly summarize the entire story, clearly articulating who, what, when, where, why, and how the story happened (or will happen). Subsequent paragraphs describe those same elements in further detail. Though there are ways to frame these details to provide a certain angle to the story, it is important to write facts only. The body is not a place for inserting opinions on an issue—this portion should be easy for media to publish directly.

7. Quote

Press releases should be fact-driven, but you will often want to include some formal opinion about the issues from your organization. A quote from an organizational representative (usually a director or lead on a project) is a good way to achieve this editorial edge. You may also consider including a quote from a third party who can add credibility to your story. This may be a content expert, a community leader, or a constituent affected by your story. Make sure your titles are formatted properly, and don’t let quotes overshadow the facts—instead use them to highlight and support the narrative you’ve written.

8. Boilerplate

The boilerplate is a few sentences at the end of your press release that describes your organization. This should be used consistently on press materials and written strategically, to properly reflect your organization.

9. ###

This indicates the end of the press release so that the journalist or editor doesn’t miss any information. If your release is longer than one page, insert “--more--” at the bottom of each page preceding the last.

To better understand what the pieces of a press release look like all together, check out these examples from the CDC, Public Health - Seattle & King County, and Whatcom County Health Department.

It’s a good idea to have an approval process in place for media relations and press release distribution. All quotes need to be approved by the person being quoted, and all facts should be checked. You may also consider preparing your release for ethnic media, which may require translation. This involves extra work on the front-end, but can be essential to spreading a message within specific communities. For more detail, check out these great toolkits. refference

SECTION 1: BACKGROUND CHARACTERISTICS OF RESPONDENTS

Introduction

Throughout this chapter, the researcher presents results from the field. These results are presented in a comparative percentages and frequencies followed by their analysis and interpretation. These analyses permitted the researcher to verify results from both RAMA and MEDIPLAN health insurance companies respondents and reach the researcher preset objectives highlighted in the first chapter of this research paper under study. 4.1.1. Respondents’ health insurance adhesion During this research data collection the researcher collected information from 131 informants and respondents from both RAMA and MEDIPLAN health insurance industries through the use of questionnaire instruments and 7 informants from senior managers from both institutions. Quantitative and qualitative data were presented, analysed and interpreted in order to answer the research questions and respond to the research objectives expressed in the first chapter of the study. Table 4. 1. Respondent Health insurance RESPONDENT HEALTH INSURANCE Responses RAMA MEDIPLAN Frequency Percent Valid Percent Frequency Percent Valid Percent 98 100.0 100.0 41 100.0 100.0 Source: Primary data (2014) Demonstrated in the table above the research has carried out a research out of 131 respondents from two institutions 98 respondents and informants from the RAMA (La Rwandaise d’Assurance Maladie in French acronym) as a public health insurance company and the 41 MEDIPLAN ???????????? as a private health company. The research done with the respondents and informants helped the researcher compare results from both institutions in order to assess the competitive markets in the health insurance industry, in a comparative study of the public and private health insurance towards the National Health Insurance Policy which is based on the principles of Universal Health Insurance and on national Rwandan values which have underpinned the achievements of the current CBHIs systems targeted to all segments of the Rwandan population that need to be addressed in order to sustain universal coverage.

4.1.2. Gender status of respondents The table below demonstrates the gender status of respondents who were contacted in both the RAMA and MEDIPLAN health insurance companies located in Huye District of Southern Province. Table 4. 2. Gender of the respondent RESPONDENT HEALTH INSURANCE Responses RAMA MEDIPLAN Frequency Percent Valid Percent Frequency Percent Valid Percent Female 41 41.8 41.8 19 46.3 46.3 Male 57 58.2 58.2 22 53.7 53.7 Total 98 100.0 100.0 41 100.0 100.0 Source: Primary data (2014) Demonstrated in the table above the researcher contacted respondents from both male and female sex. Thus varying from number according to the health insurance industry, 41.8% of respondents were female in RAMA health insurance company comparing to 46.3% female of respondents in MEDIPLAN while the researcher contacted 58.2% of male respondents in RAMA health insurance company comparing to 53.7% of men in MEDIPLAN health insurance company. Yet results show well the disparity between women and men in both institutions. Even though Rwandan national policy of gender emancipation, equality and gender mainstreaming among others encourage women to participate in top management of various institutions yet the number of male and female in various institutions is not the same still a number of men is higher than of women. Therefore fortunately this inequality in gender did not obstruct the relevancy and accuracy of respondents from both the RAMA and the MEDIPLAN health insurance companies.

4.1.3. Marital status of respondents The table below presents the marital status of respondents from both RAMA and MEDIPLAN health insurance companies. Various status in terms of marital case provided important information on the competitively markets in the health insurance industry in Rwanda because yet single people experience less than marries people with children and large families because most of the time they face much health care challenges in their everyday lives. Table 4. 3. Marital status RESPONDENT HEALTH INSURANCE Responses RAMA MEDIPLAN Frequency Percent Valid Percent Frequency Percent Valid Percent Single 19 19.4 19.4 5 12.2 12.2 Married 75 76.5 76.5 35 85.4 85.4 Divorced 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 Separated 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 Widow/er 4 4.1 4.1 1 2.4 2.4 Total 98 100.0 100.0 41 100.0 100.0 Source: Primary data (2014) Demonstrated in the table above research respondents from both health insurance companies had various marital status. Therefore a number of 19.4% of respondents were single benefiting health care services from RAMA institution whereas a number of 12.2% of respondents from MEDIPLAN Health Insurance Company are single. In the same line a important number of respondents from both institutions are married with allusion to the table above 76.5% respondents from RAMA are married while 85.4% of respondents from MEDIPLAN health insurance company are married. And finally a small number of 4.1% of respondents from RAMA institution and 2.4% of respondents from MEDIPLAN Health Insurance Company are widows and widowers. Yet the marital status of respondents has played an important role in the study because respondents from families face various health care circumstances expressed by respondents.