A Step by Step Guide to Writing a Media Friendly Press Release

The Enduring Value of a Professional Press Release

Despite the constant stream of new digital content formats, the press release remains a surprisingly resilient tool. According to Cision’s 2025 State of the Media Report, 72% of journalists still prefer receiving press releases, a figure that confirms its continued importance in media relations. This preference exists because a well-structured release delivers information efficiently, which is critical for professionals on a tight deadline.

Today, a media-friendly press release serves a dual purpose. It is a direct line to journalists, but it is also a valuable asset for your digital presence. When distributed online, it contributes directly to search engine optimisation, helping build visibility for your brand’s key terms. The challenge, however, is immense. With some journalists receiving over 150 press releases daily, your announcement must be sharp, relevant, and professional to earn a moment of their attention. Learning how to write a press release is not just a skill, it is a strategic necessity.

The Foundational Four-Step Writing Framework

The thought of writing a press release can feel intimidating, often viewed as a task requiring a special kind of creative flair. The reality is much more straightforward. Industry leaders approach it not as an art form but as a structured process. This methodical approach ensures every critical component is in place, making the final document effective for both time-poor journalists and the AI-driven news platforms that increasingly filter information.

We can break down the entire process into a manageable, four-step workflow. This framework serves as a reliable press release template that you can use for any announcement:

1. Discovering Your Newsworthy Angle
2. Crafting a Headline That Captures Attention
3. Writing a Lead Paragraph That Delivers the Essentials
4. Building the Body with Quotes and a Boilerplate

Following these steps transforms the task from a blank-page problem into a clear, repeatable process. It ensures your message is not only heard but also respected.

Step 1: Discovering Your Newsworthy Angle

Before you write a single word, you must answer one fundamental question: Is this actually news? A press release fails the moment it reads like an advertisement. Journalists are looking for stories that provide value to their audience, not announcements that serve only the company’s internal goals. The most common mistake is confusing what is important to your company with what is interesting to the public.

A genuinely newsworthy story contains at least one of these elements: timeliness, audience impact, uniqueness, or human interest. Does your announcement offer new data? Does it solve a common problem in a surprising way? Does it signal a significant local impact, like job creation? Your angle must answer the journalist’s unspoken question: “Why should my readers care?” Without a compelling answer, even a perfectly formatted release will be ignored. The first step in learning how to write a press release is learning to think like a journalist.

Announcement Type	Weak Angle (Promotional)	Strong Angle (Newsworthy)
Product Feature	'Our Company Launches New Dashboard Feature'	'Tech Startup's New AI Feature Cuts User Workflow Time by 50%'
Company Milestone	'We Are Celebrating Our Fifth Anniversary'	'Local Business Marks Five Years of Growth by Announcing 20 New Jobs'
New Data	'Our Internal Survey Shows Customers Are Satisfied'	'New Industry Report Reveals Surprising Shift in Consumer Behavior'
Partnership	'Company A and Company B Announce Partnership'	'Two Industry Leaders Join Forces to Tackle a Major Sustainability Challenge'

This table illustrates how to frame an announcement to highlight its impact and relevance to a broader audience, rather than focusing on internal company news.

Step 2: Crafting a Headline That Captures Attention

With your newsworthy angle identified, the next step is to package it into a powerful first impression. Your headline is the single most important sentence in the entire document. It must work hard, appealing to two very different audiences: a human editor scanning a crowded inbox and an AI algorithm ranking content for relevance. This is the core challenge of writing a press release for media today.

A widely accepted industry guideline is to keep headlines under 100 characters. This ensures it displays properly on news aggregators and search engine results without being cut off. Use strong, active verbs and focus on the outcome or impact of your news. Instead of "Company X Announces New Software," try "Company X Launches AI Software That Automates Financial Reporting." The second version is specific, active, and immediately communicates value.

Immediately following the headline is the dateline. This small but essential component grounds your story in a specific time and place, which is a fundamental requirement for journalistic context. The format is simple and standardised:

SINGAPORE – Oct. 26, 2026 –

This detail adds a layer of official credibility and tells the journalist exactly where and when the news originates.

Step 3: Writing a Lead Paragraph That Delivers the Essentials

After the headline, the first paragraph, known as the lead, carries the most weight. Its job is to summarise the entire story immediately, leaving no room for ambiguity. This is where you deploy the classic journalistic formula of the "Five Ws": Who, What, When, Where, and Why. You should also include the "How" if it is central to the story. A busy journalist should be able to understand the complete announcement just by reading this single paragraph.

This front-loading approach is more critical than ever. As platforms like Grammarly often highlight, clarity from the first sentence is paramount in all business writing. AI summarisers and news bots often scan only the first few lines to determine relevance, making the opening sentence do-or-die. Your core news hook must appear within the first 30 words.

Consider this contrast:

Weak Lead: "Dedicated to innovation, TechCorp has been working for two years on a new project. Today, the company is excited to announce the launch of its new platform, 'ConnectSphere,' which will be available next month and aims to help remote teams."

Strong Lead: "SINGAPORE – Oct. 26, 2026 – TechCorp today launched ConnectSphere, a new communication platform designed to reduce meeting times for remote teams by up to 40% using its proprietary AI-driven agenda tool."

The second example delivers all the essential information upfront. While the rest of the release adds detail and context, the lead must be able to stand alone as a complete, concise summary.

Step 4: Building the Body, Quotes, and Boilerplate

Once your lead paragraph has delivered the core message, the body of the press release serves to add depth and supporting details. These paragraphs should expand on the information presented in the lead, providing further context, data, and background. Keep paragraphs short, ideally two to three sentences, to maintain readability on screen. Use clear and direct language, avoiding jargon wherever possible.

Quotes are a vital part of this section, but their purpose is often misunderstood. A quote should not just repeat facts already stated in the body. Instead, it must add a human element: personality, opinion, or perspective from a key stakeholder. A CEO’s quote can convey the vision behind a launch, while an expert’s quote can validate the importance of the news. This is what brings a story to life.

At the end of the release is the boilerplate. This is your standardised "About Us" paragraph. It should be a concise, consistent description of your organisation that provides essential background for a journalist who may not be familiar with your brand. This is also a great place to apply some basic press release SEO tips by naturally including your company’s key terms. Just be careful to avoid "keyword stuffing," as authenticity is crucial for credibility. After perfecting your content, you can ensure it reaches the right audience through a dedicated platform like our Media Boost service, which specialises in connecting brands with journalists across Asia.

The Final Checklist for a Flawless Release

Before you hit "send," a final quality check is non-negotiable. A single typo or factual error can undermine your credibility and get your release deleted. This last step ensures your document is professional, accurate, and ready for media scrutiny. A polished, error-free document that follows the correct press release format is far more likely to earn the respect and attention of journalists.

Run through this checklist before every distribution:

• Proofreading: Is the grammar, spelling, and punctuation flawless? Read it aloud to catch awkward phrasing.
• Fact-Checking: Are all names, titles, and data points 100% correct?
• Headline: Is it under 100 characters, active, and impactful?
• Contact Information: Is the media contact name, email, and phone number included and accurate?
• Boilerplate: Is your "About Us" section up-to-date?

Remember, a press release is a direct reflection of your brand’s professionalism. Taking the time to get it right demonstrates respect for the journalist's time and ultimately helps you achieve your communication goals.