China’s largest corporate announcement distribution and media targeting services provider PR Newswire Asia, the Asia branch of PR Newswire, held a "Media Coffee" on 5 December, 2008 in Shenzhen, where Southern China’s most prominent media representatives and corporate PR officers from 20 companies exchanged their views under the theme "How to write press releases". 

    Representatives from the three biggest mainstream media organizations in Southern China -- Xiao Huili, Editor of the Financial section of Shenzhen Economic Daily, Lee Cheong Hong, Reporter from Hong Kong Wen Wei Po and Pan Yurong, reporter of Nanfang Daily shared their work and experiences on how corporate news is sourced and reported on and explained how press release writing and targeting affect its pickup.

Reporters and Editors of three mainstream media organizations exchange views with more than

20 corporate PR representatives from leading Chinese companies.

    Through presentations based on daily operation experience as China’s leading media organizations, along with questions from corporate PR professionals, guest speakers generalized seven useful tips in successful PR writing:

    1 -- Highlight key issues, avoid flashy rhetoric and overuse of adjectives; Focus on "5W+1H": When, Where, Who, What, Why, and How -- and the most important information should come first, in the first paragraph, and be followed by supplementary information in the body text.

    2 -- A broad coverage helps, while accuracy and media targeting also matter. Editors and reporters face a massive volume of press releases each day. Sending to "the right person at the right time" is a crucial factor in deciding the effectiveness of a distribution.

    3 -- A good press release caters to the issuing enterprise, the media and the audience. It helps build a company’s image while carrying accurate information about products, services and a corporate mission, and by providing relevant information to media workers according to their nature and needs. Press release distributions help build a positive and interactive relationship with the press and the media, and should be written from the viewpoint of reporters who will be the users of the information. 

    4 -- Corporate PR is not about a single release distribution but a series of sustainable media strategies. The follow up, including gathering feedback of the media, the tracking of how the news is channelled, and media monitoring by professional agencies, is also important.

    5 -- Some reasons for a release not getting good pickup: a limitation on reporting space amid a massive amount of stories available may prevent a story that is being followed by reporters from being published; an outdated story is generally not reported on; a flashy and commercial PR writing style may undermine the news value of a release and make it difficult for reporters to collect what is relevant to them.

    6 -- Some tips for effective PR writing: Focus on news value (Timing, impact, what’s special about the news, a possible negative angle, regional importance and privacy); highlight in the headline what the news is about; include the names of involved companies and the industries that might attract media attention.

    7 -- Use a professional service for media targeting and understand how the media works, including hot topics and reporting schedules, and work with the media for better exposure. ProfNet, a PR Newswire Asia platform that bridges those looking for a story to report and those that have the information to promote their brands, provides an excellent resource in professional and media information. ProfNet enhances the effectiveness of PR distributions and is a powerful tool in sharing information for businesses and the media alike. 

Experienced media worker shares how effective PRs are written

    PR Newswire Asia Media Coffee

    For over 50 years, PR Newswire has provided electronic distribution, targeting, measurement and broadcast services on behalf of tens of thousands of organizations worldwide, covering media communities in 170 countries. PR Newswire hosts regular Media coffees to bridge media workers with corporate PR professionals to discuss the latest developments in the communications field. PR Newswire Asia has continued this tradition since coming to China in 2002 by hosting regular media coffees in Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen and other major cities. This has assisted hundreds of PR professionals in expanding their communications networks by directly interacting with local reporters and editors. For more information on PR Newswire Asia Media Coffees, schedules and venues, please call +86-10-5864-5288.