Press releases often reflect someone else’s agenda. Discover how to analyse, verify, and transform them into strong, independent journalism.
My first staff job in journalism was at my local newspaper. There, if a reporter turned up in the morning without an original story idea, the news editor would thumb through a stack of press releases on their desk, pull one out, and tell the journalist to “knock out four pars (paragraphs) on this”.
She didn’t want a piece of journalism, she wasn’t even interested in the story, she just wanted to fill up some space between the adverts on an inside page.
Being handed a press release was a form of punishment for entering the newsroom without any story ideas.
And so the reporter would shuffle back to their desk and, as instructed, pick through the press release and reduce it to the four required paragraphs – and, more often than not, those four paragraphs would be the top four in the press release.
The thing about a press release is that it’s written by someone who wants you to publish exactly what they wrote.
They write them knowing that some journalists are lazy, and many newsdesks are busy. So they are hoping that, if it reads well, there is a chance it will be published without any changes – that is not journalism, that’s successful PR (public relations).
Sometimes, the news editor would pluck a press release out of their tray and ask a reporter to “see what you can find out about this”. That meant that the news editor had spotted something that was worthy of investigation and which required investigating further – perhaps a few phone calls needed to be made.
Worth remembering
A press release is written by someone who wants you to publish exactly what they wrote. That is not journalism. That is successful PR.
Digging for the real story
A few years later I got a job as a reporter on my local radio station. One morning I was handed a press release to follow up. As usual, the most important information the company wanted to promote was at the top. But, hidden in the sixth paragraph was an angle that would have a devastating impact on the local community. It went along these lines (names changed for legal reasons):
Stan & Ollie Electronics Ltd announces 100 new high-tech jobs
The next three paragraphs expanded on the news in a way that made the company look great. There was to be a new “high-tech factory”. It would be “state of the art” and produce the “technology for the future”. It would place the region “at the centre of the European hi-tech revolution”.
What’s not to like? A lazy reporter might well have bashed out the headline and a few paragraphs based on the top half of the press release only.
But the problem lay in the sixth paragraph, which announced – with much less fanfare – that to make way for the new development, the old Stan & Ollie Electronics Ltd factory, which produced outdated technology, and which employed 850 workers, would close. The existing workforce would be allowed to apply for the new jobs, and retraining would be provided if they were successful.
Whichever way you look at it, at least 750 workers would be going home that night knowing that the likelihood was that they were soon to be unemployed. So, what’s the story for a local newspaper or local radio station?
Is it “Stan & Ollie Electronics Ltd announces 100 new high-tech jobs” – which is what would be published or broadcast if the journalist just skimmed off the top of the press release. Or is it “Factory closes with the loss of 850 jobs” if the journalist has bothered to read further than the top line?
Neither really tells the whole story – not that you ever get the whole story in a press release. This was at a time when the unemployment rate in the city was already 15.2% and predicted to rise with dock closures and manufacturing declines. So jobs, and job losses, was always a big story at that time.
My best effort is “850 jobs cut as new high-tech factory set to hire 100”. Not great, but I am not a sub-editor. Can you do better?
Worth remembering
A press release is written by someone who wants you to publish exactly what they wrote. They know some journalists are lazy and many newsdesks are busy. Always read to the bottom – the most important information is rarely at the top.
Types of press releases
Not all press releases are in the Stan & Ollie Electronics Ltd format. They come in many forms. Let’s have a look at a few.
- Announcements: The most common are announcements. These include new products, new appointments, new contracts, new buildings. These are written to promote something. The tone is good news, they list the benefits, and set it out in simple, everyday language in the hope that the news organisations will promote and the public will consume and believe.
- Financial: There are financial press releases, which are often legally required and must meet strict disclosure rules. These are usually data-rich, based on one aspect of what the numbers are indicating, and open to interpretation. Journalists should keep in mind the famous quote: “There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies, and statistics.” Financial press releases need detailed scrutiny.
- Crisis management: There are crisis press releases, which are designed to limit damage and control the information flow when something has gone wrong. These are especially newsworthy because journalists will want to know what went wrong and why?
- Events: There are event-based releases promoting conferences, openings, or launches. The lazy option is to put these in the news organisation’s what’s-on diary. The responsible option is to investigate further in order to add context.
- Advocacy: And there are advocacy releases from charities, campaign groups, and trade bodies, which are essentially lobbying dressed up as news (lobbying is the act of attempting to influence the decisions, policies, or laws of government officials and lawmakers). There is always a story behind an advocacy press release – and it’s not always the one they are trying to promote.
You get all these working on a newsdesk. Each type has its own agenda. Each requires a different kind of treatment. But each must NOT be published without journalistic scrutiny.
Worth remembering
A press release is not a news story. It is a marketing/communications document written to serve the interests of the organisation that produced it. Never forget that.
Why organisations issue press releases
The reason why many businesses and politicians churn out press releases as part of their communications strategy is simple: they are hoping to get free publicity. They want you to do their job for them – or see you as an important cog in spreading the word about their businesses or their politics. A well-placed press release can generate coverage that would cost a small fortune in advertising.
But beyond that, press releases are used to control what people are talking about. They bury bad news, deflect criticism, pre-empt a story that is about to break anyway, or satisfy legal or regulatory obligations. Sometimes they are used to test public reaction before a decision is fully committed to.
Understanding why a press release has been issued at a particular moment is often as important as understanding what it says. Ask yourself: “why is this being announced today?” Timing is rarely accidental. Bad news is often released late on a Friday afternoon, or on a day when something bigger is dominating the headlines.
There is a famous phrase in the UK: “A good day to bury bad news”. It was picked up in 2001 after being leaked in a political email. It describes the intentional timing of negative announcements during major, overwhelming news events (like tragedies or major elections) to ensure the story gets drowned out.
Worth remembering
The timing of a press release is often as revealing as its content. Ask yourself: “Why is this being announced today?”
The tools at our disposal
Journalists already have all the tools at their disposal to thoroughly examine any press release, it’s just that some journalists either don’t know how to use them or choose to ignore them. Here are some which are published here on Media Helping Media and are free to access.
- Questions: The questions every journalist should ask
- Evidence: Evidence-based reporting
- Facts: Fact-checking and adding context
- Thinking: Critical thinking for journalists
- Research: Lateral reading for journalists
- Ethics: Why editorial ethics are important
- So What?: News sources and the ‘so what’ factor
Worth remembering
Journalists already have all the tools needed to scrutinise a press release. The question is whether they choose to use them.
What to look for
So, armed with all those tools. How do we go about examining a press release? The first thing a journalist should do is read the whole press release, not just the headline and the first paragraph.
As the Stan & Ollie Electronics Ltd example above shows, the most significant information can be buried lower down, sometimes quite deliberately.
- Numbers: Look at the numbers. Are they presented in a way that flatters the organisation? A company might announce “a 200% increase in customer satisfaction” without telling you that the baseline was so low as to make the figure meaningless. Or it might quote a percentage rise rather than the actual figure, because the actual figure is unimpressive.
- Language: Look at the language. Words and phrases such as “world-class”, “state-of-the-art”, “industry-leading” and “innovative” are promotional filler. Strip them out and ask what you are left with. The language used rarely contain anything a real person would actually say, and they almost never say anything substantive.
- Quotes: Look at the quotes. Press release quotes are almost always written by a PR professional. Some of those PR staff will have been journalists in the past. They know the tricks of the trade. See: How to handle a media-trained interviewee. A quote that cannot be removed without losing meaning is worth following up. A quote that is pure filler can be ignored.
- Excluded: Look at what is missing. This is perhaps the most important skill. What questions does the press release not answer? What context is absent? Who is not being quoted?
Worth remembering
The real story is often in what the press release does not say. Train yourself to notice the gaps.
What to be wary of
Those who have experience in handling press releases will have made a mental note of any red flags (warning signs that something is wrong and needs attention). Here are a few from my experience.
- Embargoes: An embargo is a request not to publish before a specified date and time. Organisations use them to manage the flow of news and to ensure that everyone publishes the same story at the same time. This suits them, not you. You are under no legal obligation to honour an embargo unless you have signed an agreement to that effect. However, breaking one may cost you future access. That is a judgement call, and it depends on the story.
- Exclusives: Be wary of exclusives offered by PR companies. An exclusive sounds attractive, but ask yourself why you are being offered it. Is the story so strong that the organisation wants it broken by a credible outlet? Or is it a marginal story that would struggle to get coverage otherwise, and the exclusive tag is a way of flattering you into running it?
- Packaged material: Take care if offered pre-packaged content. This includes ready-made quotes, broadcast-quality video, studio-quality photographs. This material is designed to reduce the effort required to publish, which in turn reduces the critical thinking applied. The easier it is to publish a press release, the more dangerous it is.
- Statistics: Always check any statistics that don’t have a sources. If a press release cites a survey or a study, find out who commissioned it and who conducted it. A survey commissioned by the organisation issuing the press release and conducted by a polling company paid by that organisation is not independent evidence. It’s PR. “A survey by us shows we are great” is not news. Always ask who commissioned the research, who carried it out, and what questions were actually asked.
Worth remembering
Watch for embargoes that suit the organisation, not you; exclusives designed to flatter rather than inform; packaged content that bypasses critical thinking; and statistics without independent sources.
How to handle press releases
The starting point is to treat every press release as a tip, not a story. It is the beginning of a reporting process, not the end of one. Then do the following:
- Read it from top to bottom – and then again. Make a note of what it’s claiming, what it’s not saying, and what questions it raises.
- Ask whether those claims can be verified independently. Who else can you speak to? What do people on the other side of this story think?
- Find out if there is any documentation to back it up such as a planning application, a company report, or a research document that either supports or contradicts what is being claimed?
- If the press release is from a publicly listed company, check the regulatory filings. If it’s from a government body, check the underlying data. If it’s from a charity, check its accounts. If it’s from a campaign group, find out who funds it.
- Contact the organisation if you need to, but do not rely solely on what they tell you. And do not simply call the PR contact and ask them to expand on the press release. That will only give you more of the same.
- Speak to people with direct knowledge of the subject – employees, customers, regulators, academics, rivals.
Worth remembering
Treat every press release as a tip, not a story. It is the beginning of a reporting process, not the end of one.
Hidden dangers
The most obvious danger is legal. A press release may contain claims that are contested, defamatory, or simply untrue. If you repeat those claims without verification, you may find yourself as liable as the organisation that made them. “But it was in the press release” is not a defence. See: The role of the media lawyer.
There is also the danger of manufactured consensus. If a coordinated campaign sends the same press release to dozens of outlets and most of them publish it without question, it can appear that a claim is widely accepted when in fact it has never been tested.
And there is the danger of becoming a conduit. An organisation that knows its press releases will be published unchanged has no incentive to deal with you honestly. You become part of its distribution network rather than an independent check on what it does.
Worth remembering
Publishing unverified claims from a press release does not make you a journalist. It makes you a distribution channel. And unlike a PR agency, you will carry the legal and reputational risk.
Hidden opportunities
Press releases can also be valuable, but usually not for the reasons the issuing organisation intends.
- A financial press release that shows a company is doing well might lead you to ask why a competitor is struggling.
- A press release announcing a new appointment might lead you to investigate why the previous person left.
- A crisis communications release might reveal that a problem exists that you were not aware of.
- An advocacy release from a trade body might point you towards an industry-wide issue that has not yet been properly reported.
- The announcement buried in a press release about a minor planning application might be the seed of a major development story.
- The job losses mentioned in passing alongside a headline about new investment – as in the Stan & Ollie Technology Ltd case – might be the real story.
Worth remembering
Some of the best stories start from press releases. They just rarely end there. A press release is a door, not a destination. The story is usually somewhere behind it.
Action plan: how to handle a press release
- Read it in full before doing anything else. Do not skim.
- Identify what is being claimed, what is being promoted, and what is being avoided.
- Note the timing. Why is this being issued now?
- Strip out all promotional language and see what substance remains.
- Check every statistic. Find the original source. Establish who commissioned any research cited.
- Identify who is quoted and who is absent. Seek out the missing voices.
- Verify the key claims independently before publishing anything.
- If a survey or study is cited, obtain the full methodology and the raw questions asked.
- Check any relevant public records – company filings, planning documents, regulatory decisions, court records.
- Treat any offer of exclusive access or pre-packaged content with caution.
- Ask yourself: what is the organisation not telling me?
- Ask yourself: who benefits if I publish this story as written?
- Ask yourself: who is harmed if I do not dig further?
- If you are pressed for time, still do the minimum – read the whole release, make one independent check, and do not repeat unverified claims as fact.
Final thought
A press release is a starting point, not a finished product. The organisation that wrote it has one aim: to get you to publish what it wants, in the way it wants, at the time it wants. Your job is something else entirely. Read everything. Verify the claims. Find the missing voices. Check the timing. Strip out the promotional language and ask what is left. The best stories from press releases are rarely the ones the organisation intended to tell. They are the ones you find when you look harder than it hoped you would.
