What Is a Press Release?

A press release is a short, factual, journalist-ready document announcing news — a launch, a funding round, a partnership, a leadership change — written in a format editors and wire services expect. It isn’t marketing copy; it’s written the way a news story would be written, so a journalist can use it with minimal rewriting, or a wire service can publish it as-is.

The Standard Press Release Format

Every properly formatted press release follows the same six-part structure. Skipping or reordering these sections is the fastest way to get a release ignored by an editor or rejected by a wire service.

1. Headline

One clear, specific sentence stating the news. No hype, no exclamation points — “Company X Raises $4M Series A Led by Y Ventures,” not “Company X Is Changing Everything!”

2. Dateline

The city and date the release is issued from, e.g. “MUMBAI, India — August 10, 2026 —” placed at the start of the first paragraph.

3. Lead Paragraph

The who, what, when, where, and why, in one to two sentences. A journalist should be able to read only this paragraph and still understand the entire story.

4. Body Paragraphs

Supporting detail in descending order of importance — context, a quote from a founder or executive, relevant numbers, and background. Put the most newsworthy detail first; assume an editor stops reading whenever they’ve seen enough.

5. Boilerplate

A short, standard “About [Company]” paragraph that stays consistent across every release you issue — usually two to four sentences covering what the company does, who it serves, and where it’s based.

6. Media Contact Information

A named contact with a direct email and phone number, so a journalist with follow-up questions has someone real to reach.

A Copyable Press Release Template

Use this structure as a starting skeleton for any announcement:

  • Headline: [Company] [does specific newsworthy thing]
  • Dateline: [CITY, Country] — [Month Day, Year] —
  • Lead: [Company], a [one-line description], today announced [the news] to [the goal/outcome].
  • Quote: “[One sentence of genuine insight, not a slogan],” said [Name], [Title] at [Company].
  • Supporting detail: [Numbers, context, what changes for customers]
  • Boilerplate: About [Company]: [Company] is a [description] based in [location], serving [audience]. Learn more at [website].
  • Contact: [Name], [Email], [Phone]

Common Mistakes to Avoid

The most common failure isn’t grammar — it’s newsworthiness. A release that reads as an ad (“the best,” “revolutionary,” “game-changing”) gets discarded by editors who see hundreds of releases a day. Other frequent mistakes: burying the actual news in paragraph three, skipping the boilerplate, forgetting a real contact name, and writing headlines that describe a feeling instead of a fact.

What Happens After You Write It

A well-formatted release is only half the job — it still needs to reach an editor’s inbox or go out through a wire service to actually get published. That’s the distribution half of the equation, and it’s where guaranteed publication timelines come from.