Receiving a press release is not the end of a reporting process. It’s the beginning. Every press release is written to serve the interests of the organisation that issued it. Your job is to go further.
This quick guide is based on the article How to deal with press releases, which we recommend you read before applying the checklist below.
How to deal with a press release
- [ ] Treat it as a tip, not a story: A press release is a starting point. Never publish it without independent verification.
- [ ] Read it in full: Do not skim. The most important information is often buried lower down, sometimes quite deliberately.
- [ ] Ask why it has been issued today: Timing is rarely accidental. Bad news is often released towards the weekend or on a day when bigger stories dominate.
- [ ] Strip out the promotional language: Remove words such as “world-class”, “innovative”, and “state-of-the-art”. Ask what substance remains.
- [ ] Check every statistic: Find the original source. Establish who commissioned any research cited and who carried it out.
- [ ] Look at what is missing: What questions does the press release not answer? Who is not being quoted? The real story is often in the gaps.
- [ ] Verify claims independently: Speak to people with direct knowledge – employees, customers, regulators, academics, rivals.
- [ ] Check public records: Company filings, planning documents, regulatory decisions, and court records can all add context or reveal contradictions.
- [ ] Be wary of embargoes, exclusives, and packaged content: Each is designed to reduce your critical thinking and increase compliance.
- [ ] Remember the legal risk: Repeating an unverified claim from a press release does not protect you. “It was in the press release” is not a defence.
These steps will not make handling press releases any more straightforward. But they will make you a journalist who uses press releases rather than one who is used by them. Press releases can lead to strong original stories. They just rarely start and end there. A press release is a door, not a destination. The story is usually somewhere behind it.
Worth remembering
Handling a press release well is not about scepticism for its own sake. It is about doing the job properly – and making sure that what you publish serves your audience, not the organisation that issued the release.
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