Any information deliberately sent to a reporter or media source is considered a press release

Press release length can range from 300 to 800 words.

Any information deliberately sent to a reporter or media source is considered a press release as it is information released by the act of being sent to the media. Public relations professionals often follow a standard professional format for press releases. Additional communication methods that journalists employ include pitch letters and media advisories. Generally, a press release body consists of four to five paragraphs with a word limit ranging from 400 to 500.^[2] Press release length can range from 300 to 800 words.^[3]

Common structural elements include:

• Letterhead or Logo
• Media Contact Information – name, phone number, email address, mailing address, or other contact information for the PR or other media relations contact person.
• Headline – used to grab the attention of journalists and briefly summarize the news.
• Dek – A sub-headline that describes the headline in more detail.
• Dateline – contains the release date and usually the originating city of the press release. If the date listed is after the date that the information was actually sent to the media, then the sender is requesting a news embargo.
• Introduction – first paragraph in a press release, that generally gives basic answers to the questions of who, what, when, where and why.
• Body – further explanation, statistics, background, or other details relevant to the news.
• Boilerplate – generally a short “about” section, providing independent background on the issuing company, organization, or individual.
• Close – in North America, traditionally the symbol “-30-” appears after the boilerplate or body and before the media contact information, indicating to media that the release has ended. A more modern equivalent has been the “###” symbol. In other countries, other means of indicating the end of the release may be used, such as the text “ends”.

As the Internet has assumed growing prominence in the news cycle, press release writing styles have evolved. Editors of online newsletters, for instance, often lack the staff to convert traditional press release prose into print-ready copy.^[4]

Distribution models

In the traditional distribution model, the business, political campaign, or other entity releasing information to the media hires a publicity agency to write and distribute written information to the newswires.^[5] The newswire then disseminates the information as it is received or as investigated by a journalist.

An alternative is the self-published press release. In this approach, press releases are either sent directly to local newspapers or to free and paid distribution services.^[6] The distribution service then provides the content, as-is, to their media outlets for publication which is usually online.