Top 10 Tips for Approving Releases and Media Information

Top 10 Tips for Approving Releases and Media Information

Press releases and media info generally can be like like football – everyone has an opinion. But that can make approving a press release a tortuous path. It’s amazing how much time can be sucked and how many deadlines missed by to-ing and fro-ing.

In-house PR, agencies and clients might all benefit from the following tips for smoother-than-smooth, rapid approval.

1.      Keep the number of people invited to comment on media information to a bare minimum.

2.      If you absolutely must have more than one person approving a news release (in large organisations this is unavoidable) seek amends in stages. By that I mean one person at a time if possible with the most senior person
offering amends last.

3.      If you forward a release to two or more people at once you’ll rarely get the same amends back from each person. And they can conflict leaving a decision over which amend to action. The answer? See number 2 above.

4.      If you have PR support – let them handle the approval process. They should make it a priority to field opinions, chase feedback and action amendments to get approval. It’s a time sucker but this should be part of any self-respecting PR support.

5.      Make sure quotes are written before the approval stage. Don’t ask for quotes to be added by the person approving the release. This way, the writer can control the flow of the copy and ensure key messages are delivered. It also
avoids delays waiting for non-writers to supply quotes. It’s much easier for people to tell you what they don’t want to say than what they do!

6.      Consider online approval using applications like Google Docs. This way everyone in the approval chain can keep track of
how the changes are going.

7.      To those amending the media information: try and remember why the media information is sent. It’s to generate editorial coverage! Will your amendments really help to generate more coverage? Would the information be less likely to generate coverage if the amendments weren’t made?

8.      And try to avoid making amends based on style. Media information is written in a layered format. It doesn’t need to be stunning prose. It does, however, need to deliver a quick sharp fix of fascinating news irresistible to journalists.

9.      Do amend factual innacuracies and add more facts if you can. The more newsworthy information the better.

10.  Make and communicate amendments promptly.