Jump to Navigation | Jump to Content
 
  |  Join ABA  |  Media  |  Contact
Advanced Search
Topics A-Z
 

 
Print This  |  E-mail This
ABA Judicial Division logo

American Bar Association Judicial Division
Press Release Form



Disclaimer

The news release template is a service for the exclusive use of ABA Judicial Division members. Any Judicial Division member who makes use of the template is responsible for the content of the news release submitted. The leadership of the Judicial Division retains the right to edit any release, and to limit or refuse distribution of any release for reasons including accuracy, newsworthiness, and compliance with the ABA Model Code of Judicial Conduct. Division leadership and staff will work with ABA Media Relations on the dissemination of the release. The news sources to which the release is delivered will be reported to the member submitting the release. Any further distribution of a release is the sole responsibility of the individual ABA Judicial Division member.

News Release Checklist

A news release is just one of many "tools" for reaching out to the media, and like any tool, it needs to be the right one to do the right job - the right job being to generate news. For a news release to have value to a reporter it must meet that reporter's standards of "newsworthiness." If it fails to do so, it will not be used anywhere and your efforts will have been in vain. Please review the checklist below prior to completing and submitting your news release.

Does your news release present:

  • Something that makes an impact
  • Important to a wide audience and or to your community
  • Tied into an issue in the news today
  • Something unique, something no one else is doing or thinking
  • Activities of well known, key or famous people
  • A conflict and/or reaction
  • Trends
  • Something "new"
  • Something novel, unusual, special, an "oddity"
  • Change
  • Tragedy
  • Scoops
  • Wrong-doing or misconduct in high places
  • "Man bites dog"
If your news release does not offer any of these attributes, it will not generate news. Aside from that being discouraging, a repetition of such news releases might even lead the reporter into a "boy who cried wolf" opinion of the news source. To download the PDF version of the News Release Checklist click here.



I agree to the disclaimer stated above and have reviewed the checklist.

Back to Top

Copyright American Bar Association. http://www.abanet.org