What kinds of topics are considered newsworthy for Press Releases?

What is considered a newsworthy press release to media contacts will really depend on what stories the journalists are working on, and what is making the news in the industry and world around them. Anything you can do to tie your product, brand or announcement to a local or national news story that’s unfolding in the moment will make it much higher on the priority read list than just a straight forward announcement.

As a press release writer, you always want to think, “Why should the media care?” Keeping this question in mind will give you a great start to finding those nuggets to capture the media’s attention and keep them interested in talking about your brand. Depending on their beat, a reporter or journalist is most likely focused on writing about the industry-specific or national news stories that are trending at the time – after all, it’s their job to report on what’s happening in the moment. Hone in on what that piece of news is, whether that’s on an industry, local or national level, that you can connect your brand to. A big caveat here is to be careful of what the news is. You don’t want to associate your brand with something that’s not appropriate or is too far of a stretch. The PR world is, unfortunately, strife with examples of brands that took it too far, like the company that distributed a press release about a drug rehabilitation program on the heels of a celebrity’s overdose news. While relevant, journalists did not take too kindly to the overt capitalization of tragic news.

For those who are in more niche categories, don’t write this strategy off as something that would only be relevant for consumer brands. Industry-changing news and updates can be a great hook for media outlets that write about your specific niche. Also consider distributing news that not only has a major effect on the overall industry, but can ladder up to more mainstream products. This can make your brand relevant to media outlets that extend beyond your niche category. For example, if you’re a chip manufacturer releasing a new product, the newsworthiness of the press release may seem limited to those in the chip and perhaps technology industries. However, if Apple makes an announcement about a new phone or a large consumer technology show is happening during the time of your distribution, these are both opportunities for you to tie your press release to a relevant and trending topic that can get the right attention from the right journalists in a variety of media verticals.

Making your press release newsworthy can seem overwhelming, but if you do your research beforehand and find out the news your target media outlets would be interested in covering, you can make your release much more relevant and interesting to the readers you’re trying to reach.