Anatomy of a Press Release

A press release, seen simply, is a piece of communication letter (or email) to inform, announce, educate or deny and sent to a media publishing house for mass distribution through their news channel - print, radio, television or the web.

What should it contain - the barebones, in chronology

a) Information about the sender, including address, correcly spelt names, contact numbers.
b) Clearly stated content - no puffery or advertising slant, although cleverly worded advertising messages are often overlooked and allowed.
c) Supportive information for the content - ie. clearly taken pictures, maps, audio or video supplements.
d) Information about the Press Release writer or organisation - not all companies write their own, many commission publicity managers or public relations officers,