Checking the medium and the message:

Don’t be pressed to release the press release as a quick relief

Gaston de Rosayro

The majority of journalists will be unwilling to admit it but some of their major sources of information are derived from media or press releases. It could be either a news story or feature, written by a press or information officer and sent to each newspaper and broadcasting station.

It is an ‘easy- come’ resource for harried newshounds for the reason that they don’t have to ferret out news for a reasonably good story. So it goes without saying that many such releases provide welcome time-saving information.

It is easy to identify then why media releases can be so important, particularly in the case of newsrooms with smaller staff resources. At the same time, there may be a great many press officers, information officers and even marketing staff employed by government departments, statutory bodies, universities, large commercial firms and by many other organisations.

It is their job to provide information and at the same time often gain some mileage out of it. There are so many of them out there who are prepared to tell the media what is going on in their organisations. It is true they are mostly banking on positive publicity but at the same time are also helping in facilitating the flow of information.

Some lethargic journalists, however, believe that they are an easy spoon-feeding provider. They treat reasonably composed media releases as if they were finished stories, ready to be published in the paper or read out over the air. That is a totally wrong concept. Never use a media release in the form you receive it, without a great deal of thought and work. Let us consider why not.

Press officers, who write media releases, are employed by organisations to project and enhance their good image. Their job essentially is to ensure that the positive features of their organisation receive the maximum possible publicity and the negative aspects are kept to a minimum. There is nothing wrong with that, and it does mean that a lot of good news, which might otherwise never get published at all, finds its way to the readers and listeners.

A press release

All the same, it does mean that the reason why they wrote the media release was to promote a good impression of their employer. Do not imagine that it was written because they were anxious about you having enough stories to fill tonight’s bulletin or tomorrow’s paper. While the media release should still be truthful, it may not contain the whole truth. It will in all probability contain a careful selection of facts to show the organisation in the best possible light.

The essential difference between the press officer and the reporter is that, while the press officer represents the interests of his or her employer, the reporter represents the interests of the readers or listeners. Remember that and make sure that the story which you put through to your chief of staff contains answers to the questions which your readers or listeners want answered, not just the things the press officer wants to tell them.

Bear in mind, too, that the resourceful press officer will send a media release when there is usually not much other news around. Say, on a Sunday, for example, to make it more likely that you will use it in the Sunday evening bulletin or the Monday morning newspaper. Take special care at these times to do a proper assessment of the news value of the release.

It is not enough to read the first sentence of a media release before deciding whether to use it. You need to read it all and visualise the story.

This is the most important skill in journalism, to visualise what happened, when, where, why and how and who was involved. You must do it when you read a media release as much as you do while you are interviewing somebody.

Just because a press officer has sent out a media release, it does not mean that there is a real news story contained in it. They may be trying to impress their employers with how much work they do. They may be trying to get free publicity. They have to earn their keep. They may be so close to their organisation that things seem important to them which are of little or no interest to the rest of society.

Treat the media release in the same way as any other source of news. Ask yourself whether the information it contains is new, unusual, interesting, significant, and whether it is about people. Also surmise whether it has the right news angle.

There may be a better news story buried deeper in the media release than the one in the introduction.

The press officer’s job is to promote his employer, not to pick what is objectively most newsworthy. That is your job. So do it.

Check what information is missing. If there are gaps in the story as you try to visualise it, it means that information is missing. If you decide to use the story, you will need to fill in these gaps. Good media releases should contain a name and phone number of who to contact for more information - usually including the details of the press officer who wrote it. If there are gaps in the story, phone them and clarify.

Write the story with all available information you require. All this takes more time than simply publishing a media release as you receive it. But it will be time well spent.

Never be rushed into publishing a media release before you have assessed it. If it arrives just before your deadline, it may be better to hold it for a later edition or the next issue of the newspaper or the bulletin than to use it at once. All the same, you should assess it as quickly as possible, so that it does not lie around the newsroom growing old.

A media release is not sacred. It is just one source of news - and often an imperfect one - so do not be in awe of it. The man or woman who wrote it is probably not a better journalist than you are. So have the self-confidence to question their news judgment and to reject it if you disagree. However, do not reject the facts contained in a media release just because you do not like them. If you are in doubt, check and recheck.

You will find, though, that some media releases will need no rewriting. There are some very good, experienced journalists working as press officers. After you have read, visualised and assessed a media release, you may decide that you cannot improve upon it - in that case, do not waste your time.

Leave it as it is, give it back to your chief of staff and tell him that it can be used as it is.

Again to summarise: Treat a media release like any source of news. Check to see if it contains anything which is new, unusual, interesting or significant about people. To put it briefly: Never be pressed to release the press release as a quick relief.