CONSIDER THESE LEADS
Read through these leads and consider what ones give the reader the most information up front. Ask yourself which ones you consider “best” and which ones need improvement. How would you make them better?
• The “Adopt-A-Street” program is a volunteer service project.
• Through the Adopt-a-Street program, students from Anoka-Ramsey Community College (AARC) will begin working with members of the community to help cleanup and beautify the community and the AARC campus.
• The Student Government Association at Anoka Ramsey Community College will begin an Adopt-A-Street Program which will have volunteers cleaning up the streets and beautifying the campus and the surrounding community.
• Student Government Program is offering an on-campus organization to keep the community of Anoka-Ramsey clean.
• More than six hundred students, from eighteen on-campus organizations, volunteer in the Adopt-A-Street program.
• Anoka-Ramsey Community College will be offering students and faculty the chance to help their community by participating in the Adopt-A-Street program.
• With more than 600 students form eight on campus groups pitching in to clean up the streets, the Adopt-A-Street program is growing.
BEWARE OF ATTRIBUTING ‘PEOPLE’ TRAITS TO STATIC THINGS
WRONG: The Adopt-A-Street program will also clean up debris and trash left over from the winter months.
FIX: Adopt-A-Street members will also clean up debris and trash left over from the winter months.
WRONG: The Adopt-A-Street program lets students work with members of the community to help clean up and beautify the community and campus.
FIX: Through the Adopt-A-Street program,students work with members of the community to help clean up and beautify the community and campus.
DON'T USE ADJECTIVES
Like all news stories, your opinion shouldn't show up in a press release. Avoid using adjectives at all times (great, wonderful, amazing, etc.). Also watch out for other loaded words that give away what you think of something.
KEEP YOURSELF OUT OF THE RELEASE
Remember that news releases are like news stories: you need to keep yourself out of them. Refrain from using words like “I,” “our,” “we,” and “us.”
PROPER FORM INCLUDES CONTACT INFORMATION
Remember to include the contact information at the top of the press release. See page 512 in your textbook for the proper form for press releases. It doesn’t do any good to send out information on a program if reporters and other interested parties don’t know who to contact for more information.
Adopt-A-Street Program
11200 Mississippi Blvd
Coon Rapids, MN, 55433
Release Date: Monday, Sept. 20, 2010
CONTACT: Tesha Christensen
Office phone: (763)-555-1111
Cell phone: (763)-653-8279
Email: Tesha.christensen@anokaramsey.edu
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