1. Contact
information of a company spokesperson including name, title, telephone and fax
numbers must be located somewhere at the top of the press release.
2.
"FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE" should be written on the top left hand side
of the piece in all capital letters.
3.
The release should include a headline, or title, which must be in present tense
even though the story is in past tense.
4.
When beginning the body of the release, a dateline should be inserted first. The
dateline includes the city and state where the story is happening and the month
and day it is released.
5.
The release should begin with a brief lead paragraph containing the "who,
what, where, when and why" of the story. The "how" of the story
is not necessary in the lead.
6.
The rest of the release should tell the full story using quotes from key people.
7.
A boilerplate paragraph that gives a brief background of the company or organization
should be one of the last paragraphs in the release.
8.
All press releases should end with three number signs, ###.