Hooking the Media

Just as with any great first impression, it has to happen in the first ten seconds or you’ve missed your opportunity – sometimes forever. And grabbing attention in a media release is no different. You have to hook the reader immediately so they will continue to read through until the very end.

When writing a news-piece, get straight to the point, and then develop the story backwards. Your most important statements – your newsworthy factor – are included in the first paragraph.

Remember the Rule of 10. Editors will likely give you a “10 second” glance to see if your topic is newsworthy. That means your first “10 words” had better say something enticing. Your opening paragraph must hook the reader and concisely state the purpose of your media release. In other words, what is your news and why is it important. The first paragraph must seamlessly weave key information that answers six critical questions:

Who is doing it?
What are they doing?
When are they doing it?
Where are they doing it?
Why are they doing it?
How are they doing it?

Depending on your news angle, only five of the above six questions may be necessary. But be sure to include the juiciest news up front.

When you begin writing your media release, start by answering these questions. This will form the basis of your opening paragraph. You may then want to put your media release to the test. Ask your colleagues or clients if they find this information interesting. It’s a good time to make sure you are really writing about something that is newsworthy.

Then put it all together in a punchy style to hook the editors into reading on. Expanding the details will happen in further paragraphs – but don’t get too wordy.

By breaking your newsworthy account down and answering these questions, you’ve simplified the writing process. The rest of the release should effectively support your opening – and help to get you the free publicity that money can’t buy.