The press gets a small mountain of press releases every day. These can be broadly categorised as follows:
1. Announcement releases
An announcement release is one that informs the media about a public event. This event may be the laying of foundation stone for a flyover by a minister, distribution of free dhotis by the leader of a political party, convening of the general council meeting of a company, holding of a trade expo, arrival of a team of Senators from the US, meeting of the Board of Control for Cricket in India to pick the Indian cricket team, etc.
The purpose of announcement releases is to communicate the information to the public at large. Most of these press releases are newsworthy as they inform the common man of the initiatives being taken by the government or companies.
However, there are several that may have limited interest. These include the meetings of Rotary clubs, prayer meetings, spiritual lectures by less known gurus etc. The newspapers use such announcement releases for the engagements column that list the day’s public functions.
A few newspapers have set up an appointment column to accommodate announcements of managerial appointments. Like the city events, this column is used to list all major postings made during a week. Announcement releases that give information about appointments of the Cabinet Secretary or Chief of Defence Services are published as news reports because they have greater news value.
2. Activity releases
These form the bulk of press releases received in any newspaper office. These press releases give details of speeches made by ministers, bureaucrats, company officials etc; activities undertaken by ministries and departments; details of meetings conducted by ministers and officials; reports of public functions addressed by politicians; etc.
Most of these press releases are nothing but chest thumping. The reporter has to struggle to find information that has news value. That is why most editors insist that such press releases be dumped in the nearest bin.
3. Position papers
These are the most valuable press releases that are issued by organisations. They try and clear the air about the activities being undertaken by a company or a government department. Such press releases especially become very useful when a company is involved in an environmental spat or a product related issue.
4. Backgrounders
More and more public relations officials are recognising the importance of softening harsh announcements by providing useful background information. For instance, the Petroleum Ministry never increases the price of petrol overnight. It tries to prepare the common man for the impending price hike by releasing information about the way prices of oil are escalating in the international market. The Ministry backgrounders also tell the common man of the losses the oil companies are suffering on account of the rise in prices of petroleum products; the amount of oil that is consumed in India and the impact that the increase in prices is causing on the government’s revenue deficit. This is clever backgrounding, and helps the government reduce the negative effect of the price rise.
Similar backgrounders are released by car companies when they increase the price of cars. They issue press releases giving details of the costs they are being forced to absorb because of an increase in tax rates, increase in prices of accessories etc.
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