2009/12/2 Michael Peel email@mikepeel.net:
On 30 Nov 2009, at 18:17, Thomas Dalton wrote:
2009/11/30 Michael Peel email@mikepeel.net:
Does someone want to start drafting a press release that can be sent out, then?
Ok, here's a first draft:
http://uk.wikimedia.org/wiki/Press_releases/Free_online_news
Steve Virgin's just rewritten this - any comments on the latest version? The current plan is to send it out tomorrow morning.
I like most of that rewrite - talking about how social media is already playing a big role in telling the news is a really good idea. I've made a few changes, though: I've changed it back to being a statement (rather than a kind of op-ed) since that how I've seen other organisations do these kind of press releases. I've been told that press releases should be ready to just be put straight into a newspaper (although that isn't likely to happen with this one - it will get incorporated into a larger story, but the style should be the same) and no-one would publish an article about what we think, they would publish one about us saying what we think. I've also rearranged the first paragraph so it isn't such a run-on sentence (I've been trying to cut back on my use of commas!). Steve, what do you think? I have essentially no experience of writing press releases, so I may have it all wrong!