A press statement or a press release is a written document or recorded communication that is directed strongly at members of the media and the news. The purpose is to announce something that is claimed to be of value. A press release or press statement is typically faxed or mailed or even emailed to assignment editors at magazines, newspapers, television and so on, they are often sent to a variety of different media outlets with the purpose of informing. Commercial press release distribution services are often used to distribute new releases and sometimes they are often sent for the only purpose of announcing news conferences.


However a press release is much different from a news article. A news article is often an informative piece of news, which can contain both facts and opinions, but it is more often factually based. These articles are written by journalists and are then published in the news/media. A press release on the other hand is sent to journalists with the intent to encourage them to produce articles on the subject. A press release on gun crime for example may be sent to encourage journalists to raise awareness of gun crime. However a press release is often, but generally biased towards the objectives of the author.


In the field of public relations it is common to use news releases and the aim is to attract favourable media attention to the PR firms client and bring publicity as a result. This can help push attention of the public and also attract favourable media attention for the products marketed by the client.

100 submissions - £90

Press release writing - £ 50