Guidelines for Members’ News Submissions
February 2, 2003
By Linda Lopez
Feb 2, 2003 — It was exciting to receive so many member submissions for the February 2003 issue of FOCUS on New York Media. The FOCUS editorial team thank you for your enthusiastic response. MCA-I NY members are an accomplished group and it makes us proud — especially in these economically challenging times — to be able to share your success stories with others.
FOCUS’s Member News section was conceived as a way to help you toot your own horn, and we want to help you make the most of the opportunity. To that end, we offer these few easy tips for composing and submitting news releases for publication in this section. (Many of you have this routine down pat, but, for the rest, here’s how the pros do it.)
SUBMITTING YOUR STORY
Format
Submit your stories in news release format only (see sample below). Your news release should have, at minimum, a dateline; a contact person with phone number(s) and email address (which we will hyperlink); a title; and a story that is heavy on fact and light on hyperbole. A blurb at the end of your story can give editors additional information, like your Web address and those of others in the story (which we will also hyperlink).
Sending Us Your Story
Send your story via email only. Put your news release in the body of the email; do not send it as an attachment. This method saves the editor time, paper, and the risk of email-borne viruses. You may attach a picture file (photo) in .jpeg or .gif format but please tell us in the body of the email what is attached.
HERE’S A SAMPLE
Dear Focus Editors:
I am submitting the following news release for inclusion in the Spring 2003 issue of FOCUS. There is a photo (.jpeg) attached of me receiving the Award of Distinction.
Thank you,
Sharon Shepard-Levine
*************
NEWS RELEASE
*************
Contact: Sharon Shepard-Levine
Video & Multi-Media Producer
973-762-7333 office
shlevine@worldnet.att.net
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
2002 COMMUNICATOR AWARDS
CELEBRATES AWARD WINNERS
NEW YORK, January 2, 2003 – The Communicator Awards 2002 Video Competition received 3,242 entries from 48 states and 9 other countries.
Sharon Shepard-Levine, producer of Beyond 9/11 for The Mental Health Association in New Jersey received the Award of Distinction. The Award of Distinction recognizes works that exceed industry standards in quality, excellence, production or communication skills. Approximately 18 percent of the 2002 Video Competition entries won this prestigious award. The Communicator Awards is an international awards program founded by communications professionals to recognize excellence in the communication field. The Communicator Awards provides producers and their clients with recognition for outstanding works. All works are judged based solely on quality, creativity and resourcefulness, without regard for the size and budget of the project. Entries are judged by industry professionals who look for companies and individuals whose talent exceeds a high standard of excellence and whose work serves as a benchmark for the industry.
Learn more about Sharon Shepard-Levine at (for example) www.sharonswebsite.com, The Mental Health Association in New Jersey at www.mhanj.org, and The Communicator Awards at www.communicator-awards.com.
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Editor’s Note: Since Sharon correctly submitted her release in the body of her email, we have singled her out to demonstrate how it should be done. We’ve also added some content to illustrate our points on what to include in a release. Click here to read Sharon’s actual release.
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