How to write a hospital press release journalists use

Transcript

Most hospital press releases are written for the promoter, not the reporter.

Here is how to build one a journalist can actually use.

Before writing a word, run the news test.

A release is for news people outside the hospital can use.

Who benefits: which patients, in which area?

What is genuinely new?

And why does it matter now?

If not, it belongs on the website.

Write the headline as the story a reporter would file.

Lead with the patient consequence or the fact, then the hospital.

The first paragraph answers who, what, where, when and why it matters, in two sentences at most.

No journalist uses: we are delighted to bring world-class care to the city.

Use an opinion, an explanation or a human observation.

Journalists increasingly check.

Every number needs a source.

Avoid firsts you cannot prove.

And patient stories need specific, written consent.

The full guide, with sources, is on gauravphogat.com.

The link is in the description.