Imagine your press release as a pyramid â your first ... The World Health Organization reports ... Estimation, suicide
How to Write a World Suicide Prevention Day Press Release Headline: Should be short and simple. It should be no longer than 170 characters and the primary keyword for the release should be included. Summary Paragraph: The first paragraph should briefly illustrate what the main point of the release is, including why the information provided is relevant and newsworthy. Date Line: Begin the opening paragraph of the release with the city and state of your organization or event, and the date of the news release (month, day, and year). Body: Typically consists of three or four paragraphs. Each paragraph should be focused on a single idea and have only a few sentences. Remember to use links and keywords throughout. What makes a good press release?
Sample WSPD Press Release
Here are a few key pointers for writing good press release copy:
(Headline) World Suicide Prevention Day Memorial Walk to be held in Our Town
1. Make sure you grab the reader’s attention from the very first paragraph – think about the ‘human’ angle i.e. what the story means to ordinary people. Think about how you would want to see your story covered in a newspaper and what the headline would be.
(Summary Paragraph) The Our Town Suicide Prevention Alliance will be holding a memorial walk on Tuesday, September 10th in observance of World Suicide Prevention Day.
2. As a general rule, your first paragraph should be no more than 30 words. Make sure your first paragraph answers the questions: Who? What? Where? When? and Why? 3. Imagine your press release as a pyramid – your first paragraph has laid the foundations. (It is worth remembering that sub-editors will often cut a story from the bottom up so make sure your most important information/points are close to the top). All subsequent paragraphs should gradually give more and more detail of people involved, the time, the place etc. 4. Make sure you include a quote from your organisation in the third or fourth paragraph or add suicide prevention facts from the Fact Sheet provided in the WSPD Press Package (http://tinyurl.com/7jmghab). The quote should be no more than two paragraphs; you can always add more further down in the release. Try and make the language reasonably informal – like real speech. 5. Try to include an external endorsement as one of your quotes – perhaps from a service user, public figure or elected official. 6. Always put a contact name and number at the end of the release. 7. Always try and think in terms of visuals – is there an interesting picture opportunity that might illustrate the story? Even if a picture doesn’t say a thousand words, it can certainly take up more space and give your story greater prominence. 8. Don’t spend ages thinking of a witty headline – leave the headline writing to the sub-editors. If in doubt, write it straight - it is more important to use the headline to encapsulate the story in four or five words than providing side-splitting puns. 9. Top tip - it is useful to paste your press release into the body of an email rather than sending as an attachment. This way, the journalist can read it straight away. And remember to take out any tracked changes that might still appear in the release! Adapted from KnowHowNonProfit: http://tinyurl.com/7rulp2m
(Body) (Date Line) Our Town, Our Country, September 10, 2013 -- The Our Town Suicide Prevention Alliance will be holding a memorial walk in observance of World Suicide Prevention Day at 10am, starting from Our Town Park at Avenue A and Avenue B. This is the fourth annual memorial walk held in Our Town, which helps to raise awareness about suicide prevention and mental health issues. The World Health Organization reports that approximately one million people worldwide die by suicide each year. According to the WHO and the latest Burden of Disease Estimation, suicide is a major public health problem in highincome countries and is an emerging problem in low- and middleincome countries.. The number of lives lost each year through suicide exceeds the number of deaths due to homicide and war combined. Our Town Suicide Prevention Alliance President, Jane Doe, says, “A large proportion of people who die by suicide suffer from mental illness. Recent estimates suggest that the disease burden caused by mental illnesses will account for 25% of the total disease burden in the world in the next two decades, making it the most important category of ill-health (more important than cancer or heart diseases.). Yet a significant number of those with mental illnesses who die by suicide do not contact health or social services near the time of their death. In many instances there are insufficient services available to assist those in need at times of crisis. We want people who are despairing and thinking about suicide to know that there is help available. All you need to do is to ask for help. We expect 100 people to turn out. These walks mean so much to the survivors of suicide.” A suicide prevention information booth will also be held from 10am -1pm in the park.” Our Town Suicide Prevention Alliance is a non-profit organization that provides bereavement support services to survivors of suicide, and education talks. Established in 1999, the organization has grown to 40 volunteers. World Suicide Prevention Day is co-sponsored by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the International Association for Suicide Prevention (IASP), a global association of academics, mental health professionals, crisis workers, volunteers and suicide survivors from over 50 countries who are devoted to preventing suicidal behavior and alleviating its effects. ### Contact Information Our Town Suicide Prevention Alliance Jane Doe President 555 555-5555 Web: www.ourtownsuicidepreventionalliance.org
