Public Relation Firms in West Palm Beach, and All Across The United States, All Stem From 100+ Year Old PR Reaction
What is a press release?
A press release is a form of communication between the community and a business; it is typically sent to media outlets such as editors and journalists at newspapers, with the sole purpose of attracting attention. You can create interest towards various topics such as new products or services, awards, jobs, and upcoming events. The goal while writing a press release is to relay the facts quickly, and get your message out to your market.
What is the history behind the press release?
The idea of press releases is attributed to a man by the name of Ivy Lee. In 1906 there was a train wreck, and the owner of the Pennsylvania Railroad just so happened to be a client of Lee’s. Instead of waiting for the newspapers to publish the story, Lee advised the owner of the railroad to make a statement. Lee and the Pennsylvania Railroad company wrote up a statement, written in the railroads perspective, and gave it to the journalists. Thus, the press release was born and the rest was history.
How has the press release stayed the same in the last 100 years?
The press release has been around for about 100 years. Although times have changed, there are things about the press release that have stayed the same. Two of the biggest similarities between now and then is the formatting and purpose.
PR firms in West Palm Beach, and across America, use the same formatting seen below:
- 1) Logo
- 2) Contact Information
- 3) Headline
- 4) Sub-Headline
- 5) Dateline (which includes the city, state, and the date)
- 6) Body paragraphs and Quotes
How has it changed?
While the general structure of the press release has stayed the same, the content found in it has changed. While you typically have your logo, headline, sub-headline, dateline, body, quotes, and contact information other elements have been added over the years. Those elements include, but are not limited to keywords to improve SEO value, links to websites, pictures, and videos.
Another big change over the past 100 years or so is the way press releases are obtained. Back then the only way to read a press release was through a newspaper, today you have online magazines/newspaper, email, websites, and social media. While you may still be reading a press release, the platform you are reading it on may have changed.
Altogether, press releases themselves have not changed all that much, they have been updated to keep up with the times.