CMW Tool - Create a Press Release

CMW Tool: Create a Press Release

Create a Press Alert, from your friends at Community Media Workshop

Thanks for visiting Community Media Workshop's Media Alert Generator at www.newstips.org. Check out our upcoming nonprofit communications training or register for our upcoming Making Media Connections Conference. Also, don't forget to get your compass and map to navigate the Media Landscape, Get the 2008 Getting on the Air, Online and Into Print media guide.

Use the form below to create a press release for your organization. Click the "Preview/Print" button to view your work; use your browser program's print capability to print your release.

Contact Info

Organization Name

Address

City

State

Zip

Day Phone

Evening Phone - Must fill in, in case your story is assigned to a night shift reporter.

Fax

Email

Web Site Address

Contact Name

Embargoe This Release? - Check "yes" if you have hot information and want to hold publication to a certain time and date. Check "no" if the time frame isn't as urgent.
Yes No

Date - Give ample time before the event you're announcing.

Headline Portion

Overline - Support headline with an appeal & broad stroke.

Headline - Be concrete!

Now explain the WHAT, WHY, WHERE, WHEN, HOW and WHO of your story. Arrange these in order of importance.

What - Keep it to 1 sentence, maximum 5 lines.
A new, expanded counseling program for prospective home buyers of new affordable "American Dream" housing for low-and moderate-income families.
Display Order: 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th

Why - Keep it to a direct, to-the-point sound-bite.
Moderate and low-income families, once priced out of the home-buying picture, have dramatically new and different housing opportunities in reviving areas of the city's west side.
Display Order: 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th

Where - Just the facts, one line.
Good Works headquarters, 1212 S. 56th St.
Display Order: 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th

When - Just the facts: dates, times.
10 a.m.-5 p.m., Saturdays in July -- 5th, 12th, 19th, 23rd
Display Order: 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th

How - How is this news event happening?
Good Works, Inc. is doing what they said couldn't be done: it has developed single-family housing that low- and moderate-income families can afford to buy and maintain at salaries of $30- or $60,000 a year. Forty homes are being completed in Jonquil Terrace, a new community built on what were once rubble-strewn vacant lots on the west side.
Display Order: 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th

Who - Describe the key players.
Good Works also runs the city's largest and most respected counseling program to help find and prepare buyers for these homes. The construction is the result of a creative partnership that includes Aetna State Bank, the city's housing department, St. James Episcopal Church, adn Housing Partnership, Inc.
Display Order: 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th

Mission Statement - Describe the organization behind this story.
Good Works Inc., a 10-year-old community-based nonprofit housing developer, purchases, rehabilitates, and constructs single-family homes in developing areas of Upscale. Through rigorous, respected business practices and close contact with community residents, it is turning affordable housing from a slogan and distant dream into a practical reality.