Tips
on Releasing a New Report, Study or Survey (pdf
version)
1. Set yourself apart: Reporters need to know right
off the bat what makes your report unique and worth covering. Create
interest in why your report demands attention by completing sentences
such as "This is the first study of its kind to...” or "This
report is the most comprehensive look at...”
2. Prepare an executive summary: Make the reporter's job easier with a short summary of key findings up front, along with recommendations or analyses. Sometimes, this is the only information reporters have time to review.
3. Localize, localize, localize: Having a local angle can make or break a story. You'll significantly raise your chances of making headlines if your report includes state-, county- or city-level data. Even better, use your data to make rankings, such as the "top 10 most polluted cities in America."
4. Image
is everything: Break up text by illustrating your data with
bar graphs or pie charts. Also consider a “side bar...”
of real-life stories that give life to dry statistics. For example,
a report on the health care crisis for America's poor could feature
a case study about a single working mother raising three children who
becomes homeless because of the hospital bills from treating her breast
cancer. People are motivated by emotions, not facts.
Source: Fenton Communications