Press Release and Media Writing Training Course

Why select this training course?

A Press Release is one of the most strategic marketing tools for every organization, business, and industry, whether large or small. In the sphere of public relations, a working relationship with journalists cannot be undermined, and this can be perfected with the delivery of top-notch Press Releases by organizations. A Press Release is a document employed to establish a relationship with the media and garner brand credibility by an organization, business, or industry. As a result, organizations or businesses should ensure that they create in-depth, compelling releases that would garner the attention of journalists to gain press coverage and contribute to their overall growth.

On the other hand, media writing is a specific form of writing employed by PR professionals for a particular set of audiences and for marketing the brand and reputation of an organization, business, or industry.

• Communications team leaders: responsible for liaising and networking with media houses, journalists, and editors
• Public relations professionals: responsible for working with clients to develop and ensure compelling ideas that would attract journalists, editors, and the entire public
• Journalists: responsible for reporting stories and pitches for an organization, industry, or business
• Marketing practitioners: responsible for advertising an organization or brand using various mediums and platforms
• Small business owners: who need exposure and publicity for the growth and development of their business
• Media team: responsible for initiating and dissemination multi-media content of an organization
• Any personnel that is interested in writing and telling stories to market and publicize an organization, industry, or brand

What are the course objectives?

The Press Release and Media Writing Training Course by Rcademy aim to help participants achieve the following objectives:

• Understand and implement strategic ideas that are newsworthy
• Ability to depict strategies to employ to ensure journalists’ selection of an organization’s press release
• Learn the art of implementing strategic steps like planning and executing media campaigns, creating contracts, and dialoguing with the press
• Identify the conventional structure a standard press release should follow
• Learn the art and skill of writing in-depth and engaging content
• Apply and launch media campaigns with reliable channels for the benefit of an organization
• Learn the art of target journalism, networking, and dialoguing with the press
• Understand the concept of diversity and how to engage different audiences on various platforms
• Improve pitching skills for the organization’s benefit in the international and local media networks
• Improved reputation in the field of PR for an organization, business, or industry
• Obtain the skillset of concise yet compelling content creation and delivery

How will this course be presented?

This course is curated to satisfy and provide participants with the necessary skillset optimally; it is participant-oriented. It also employs several methodologies, like in-depth research on individual modules and the teaching of these modules by experts in the field.

Rcademy course Press Release and Media Writing Training Course consist of theory and practical learning by providing lecture notes, press release samples, case studies, presentations, and a platform for feedback to confirm participants’ learning.

What are the topics covered in this course?

Module 1: Press Release Plan

• Background to the Concept of Press Release
  – Components of a strategic news
• Identification and streamlining of business goals
• Understanding target audience
• Conducting of research
  – Establishment of keywords
  – Discovering engaging facts
  – Identification and application of reliable sources
• Writing
  – Use of standard press release structure
  – Act of keyword placing
  – Writing effective headlines
  – Combination of ideas
• Review of Press Release
  – Media-friendly language
  – Expression and phrasing
  – Proofreading
• Promotion
  – Establishment of a recent database
  – Sharpening of media relationships
  – Sensitisation and publicity before the release
  – Social media and social bookmarking sites
  – Promotion with strategic partners

Module 2: Media Writing

• Types of media
  – Traditional
  – Digital
• Establishment of media contact lists
• Networking with journalists
• Types of releases
  – Persuasive releases
  – Compelling releases
  – Informative releases
• Writing styles for audiences and publications
• Tone use
  – Factual tone
  – Professional tone
• Structure and content
  – Credible headline
  – Lead paragraph
  – Follow-on paragraphs- Conclusive paragraph
  – Quotes
  – Notes

Module 3: Grammar and Writing Styles

• Unique writing styles
• Image use and photographs
• Delivery methods for Press Release
  – Distribution channels
  – Media agencies
• Media strategies
• Brand techniques
  – Digital and social media
  – Media campaigns

Module 4: Proactive Press Release Practice

• Press Release Writing
  – News creation
  – Quotation techniques
• Journalistic inquiries
  – Briefing and pitching stories

Module 5: Persuasive Writing

• Basis of communication
  – Sender
  – Message
  – Channe
  – Receiver
• Theories of communication
  – Media uses and gratifications
  – Cognitive dissonance
  – Framing
  – Diffusion and adoption
• Factors in persuasive writing
  – Audience analysis- Source Credibility
  – Clarity of message
  – Appeal to senses
• Ethics of persuasion

Module 6: Shortcomings of News Making

• Factors responsible for shortcomings
  – Timelines
  – Prominence
  – Proximity
  – Significance
  – Unusualness
  – Conflict
• Newsfinding
  – Internal business documents
  – Newsletters/ magazines
  – Roving reporters
  – Pseudo events
  – Brainstorming

Module 7: Public Relations and Writing for the Web 

• Functions of PR writing
• Textual tools
  – Press releases
  – Invitations
  – Newsletters
  – Factsheets
  – Audiovisual
• Writing for the Web
  – Traditional web writing
  – Audience expectations
  – Writing formats
  – Blogpost
  – SEO

Module 8: The Mass Audience and The Writer

• Identification of media audience
• Levels of commitment
• Informing and persuading
• Concept of writing
  – Syntax and grammar
  – Conjoining sentences
  – Audience expectations

Module 9: Writing Techniques

• Leads and inverted pyramid style
  – Summary leads
  – Inverted pyramids
• Feature stories
  – Function
  – Structure
  – Style
  – Research
• Advertising
  – Copy strategy
  – Function
  – Planning and writing advertisement