Lovell Communications Inc.

How many times have you opened a newspaper to find a story that extols the virtues of a company or product using phrases like “best of breed” or “leading provider of integrated [insert industry jargon here] solutions”? What about one that describes a company’s charitable mission in glowing, yet completely canned and barely understandable corporate-speak?

Zero, right? That’s because — unlike many press releases — news stories are written in plain English. Effective releases not only avoid using gimmicky sales drivel better suited for a product brochure but also steer clear of jargon, acronyms, annoying buzzwords and overused phrases (paradigm shift, anyone?) altogether.

I’ll be the first to admit that writing a clear, concise press release is more difficult than it might appear. Communicators constantly walk the fine line between pleasing the clients — be they internal or external — and providing the kind of strategic communications counsel designed to advance business goals. The result is often a garbled press release that falls short of what it was intended to do, which is to grab a reporter’s interest and generate coverage.

I remember my first experience in editorial tug-of-war like it was yesterday. I was a lowly marketing intern at a hospital charged with writing a press release about the opening of a new service line. I labored over every word and finally presented my supervisor with what I felt was a pretty darn good draft. After it made the rounds with the higher ups, it came back looking like someone had suffered a serious nosebleed while reviewing it. The worst part was that it had been loaded down with so much corporate-speak about the hospital’s mission that it had been completely neutered of any real meaning. Ouch.

While it’s fair to say my writing probably left a little something to be desired, I learned a very valuable lesson … one that probably resonated with me because I was an outsider. Sometimes you have to step back to see the forest for the trees.

A press release is a means to an end. It’s just one tool a company can use to tell its story. It doesn’t have to include everything but the kitchen sink. Above all, it should be brief, yet packed with meaning — as in who, what, when, where and why — instead of gobbledygook only someone steeped in your industry would understand.

So the next time you contemplate alerting the media, stop and ask yourself these questions:

• Is this really news? (No, really, is it?)
• Would someone who isn’t on the payroll of your company understand this and why it’s important?
• Are all of these words, phrases and superlatives necessary?
• Does my quote add substance or is it simply hype?
• Have you remembered your audience? (Hint, it’s the journalist – not your boss).

While no press release is perfect and a little creative editing is probably inevitable, it’s important to remember — and help others understand — why you’re sending it in the first place. Just like anything in life, a little common sense goes a long way!