Press Releases

Here are 10 basic rules for sending out press releases:

1) You must include the following key elements:

2) Remember that neither the sports correspondent, nor the reading public know anything about fencing. Spell everything out clearly and simply, and avoid acronyms like BYC - call it the "National Championships"

3) Simplicity is everything. A story about a last 32 in a Junior A grade means nothing, whereas winning a county U14 title is clearly understandable to all. The public don't know, or care, about the relative strength of the competitions. If you came second, you didn't "lose the final" you "won the silver medal".

4) Don't be afraid of being cheesy. Zorro and D'Artagnan jokes are ok - people can understand them. Long treatises on the state of British Fencing are a no-no. No one cares.

5) The text of a press release should consist of a few short paragraphs, in descending order of excitement. It should be possible to stop reading at any paragraph end, and for what you have read to make sense, without seeing the subsequent paragraphs. Items like this are used for filling space/air time after the news about the local premiership team has been covered, and you have no control over how big that space is, so the item may not get used in its entirety. If they want more copy, they will contact you.

6) The text should be in a form that can be directly copied and pasted into the paper or read out on the air.. Journalists get lots of similar material and will use that which requires least editing.

7) The photo sells the piece. Don't worry that you are depicted taking a lesson without a mask, or that you would never come enguarde in that pose. The picture has to catch attention, and make people want to read the piece - its not a primer on fencing technique. File size should be 100-200kb for face shots, and about 1MB for display shots.

8) Play up the local angle. This is not the Sun, or the BBC news, and people want to read about people from their district, or someone who attends their grandson's school.

9) Beat the 2012 Olympic drum. You may feel that you have no chance of getting to the Olympics, but find a form of words that implies that it is a possibility. The media don't want to know about your limitations - but they are interested in credible sounding potential. "Local boy targets Olympics" is a headline. "Local boy is quite good" is not!

10) Press releases should be sent by fax and or email. Don't post them.No one reads their junk mail, and media organisations get loads. Take the time to phone the paper/station to get the relevant name and fax numbers/email addresses, and ADDRESS THEM PERSONALLY! If they don't get used, contact the addressee and ask (politely) whether they are the right person to send them to, and what you might do differently in future to make them more usable. DON'T complain about them not using your stuff - you don't want a reputation as a trouble maker!