First Marketing HOWTO (write a press release)

[David Nalley]

On Mon, Sep 14, 2009 at 2:45 AM, Larry Cafiero <larry.cafiero at gmail.com> wrote:
> You have a paragraph on this wiki page that includes the following:
>
> "Press release worded so it can be copy/pasted into a news article by lazy
> journalists. Include quotations. End with contact details for someone they
> can talk to plus a url where they can get photos or video. Always remember:
> Journalists are lazy! They love it when you do their job for them. "
>
> There are several things wrong with this:
>
> -- Having a well-worded press release with supporting materials is something
> you should always provide journalists and media because it reflects a high
> degree of professionalism on the Fedora Project's part, as well as
> reflecting the quality of the product Fedora provides. Most marketing and
> public relations professionals will tell you that putting the best face on
> your product is the reason you do this, not because "journalists are lazy."
>
> -- Speaking personally, as a newspaper editor I appreciate the fact that I
> can find a well-written and informative press release while going through
> the 200-300 of them in an average workday. You can bet the farm that those
> releases generally get better attention than ones that are sloppy and
> unclear, no matter how "great" or deserving the subject matter might be.
>
> -- The news industry has gone though many transformations over the last
> several years, most of them not exactly positive ones. Primarily, in the
> wake of massive newsroom layoffs, some reporters and editors are doing two
> and three times the amount of work that they had been doing as recently as
> 18 months ago -- and that is the case in my situation.
>
> -- Having said this, when press releases are "worded so it can be
> copy/pasted" (whatever that means) into an article, this is appreciated by
> the overworked reporter/editor because a.) you've taken the time to be
> thorough with your information and background materials and b.) you have
> written something that takes little, if any, editing, and overworked
> reporters and editors appreciate the help. You're "not doing their job for
> them" as much as you're doing your "job" to get your information published.
>
> So you should consider rewriting this part of the wiki to reflect a more
> professional position toward the media.

Excellent input, Larry
It's a wiki, please make changes boldly!