# Press Release Format: The Structure Editors Expect URL: https://contentassistant.app/journal/press-release-format Type: blog Locale: en Published: 2026-11-05 Updated: 2026-11-05 --- > The press release format is seven blocks on one page. Here is what goes in each, a fill-in template, and the steps where an AI assistant saves time. You have a product launch on Thursday and a blank page on Monday. The press release format is the easy part: headline, dateline, lead, body, quote, boilerplate, contact. Seven blocks, one page, 400 to 500 words. What takes the time is deciding what goes into each block, and that is where an assistant that writes with you earns its place. ## What does a press release look like, block by block? Every release you will ever send fits the same skeleton. Editors read it top to bottom in about ten seconds, so the order matters more than the polish. - **Headline:** the news in 8 to 12 words, with a verb and a fact. - **Subheadline (optional):** one line that adds the detail the headline had no room for. - **Dateline:** city in capitals, date, then a dash, opening the first paragraph. `PORTLAND, Ore., Nov. 5, 2026 -` - **Lead paragraph:** who, what, when, where, why, in two sentences at most. - **Body:** two to four short paragraphs, most important detail first. - **Quote:** one or two, from a named person with a title. - **Boilerplate and contact:** 2 to 3 sentences about the organisation, then a name, email and phone number a journalist can use today. Close the page with `###` centred under the last line. It is the traditional "end of release" mark, and `-30-` does the same job. Pick one. ![Hands marking up a one-page printed document with sticky tabs](https://fdzlnqpwsaniezitwiuw.supabase.co/storage/v1/object/public/cms-media/contentassistant/2026-11/659be7-i1.webp) That is the whole format. If you want a second opinion on it, the [Purdue OWL guide to press releases](https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/subject_specific_writing/journalism_and_journalistic_writing/press_releases.html) lays out the same structure, and so does every wire service template. ## Why does the inverted pyramid decide whether anyone reads past line two? A journalist with 200 unread emails cuts from the bottom. So you write the release the way a news story is written: most important fact first, supporting detail next, background last. Here is the test. Cover everything after your first paragraph. Does the reader still know what happened, who did it and why it matters? If not, the news is buried. A weak lead: "Acme Corp, a leading provider of workflow solutions, is pleased to announce the upcoming launch of its new platform." A usable lead: "Acme launched a shared inbox on Nov. 5 that cuts the time a support team spends triaging email from 6 minutes to 2, according to a 40-customer pilot." Same company, same product. The second one contains a date, a number and a reason to care. The first contains a feeling. ## Which format details actually matter, and which are noise? Most debates about press release formatting are about things that no editor checks. Here is what moves the needle and what does not. Worth getting right: - **Dateline accuracy.** City, state or country, and today's date. A missing dateline reads as an advert. - **A real quote.** One that a named person said and approved, in a sentence a human would say out loud. - **A working contact.** Direct email and phone, not `info@`. - **Plain text that survives copy-paste.** No tables, no text inside images. Skip it: - "FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE" in giant capitals. Fine to include, pointless to agonise over. - Letterhead and heavy design. If you send the release in the body of the email, none of it renders. - A second page. If you need one, you have two announcements. - The word "announces" in every headline. Say what happened. Where the release goes also changes the format. Pasted in the email body, it should be plain and short. Attached as a PDF, it can carry the logo. Posted on your newsroom page, it needs a clean headline and a slug a search engine can read. ### How long should a press release be? Between 400 and 500 words is the working range, and the [PR Newswire guide to AP style](https://www.prnewswire.com/resources/articles/ap-style-press-release/) gives similar targets. Under 300, you are probably missing the quote or the context. Over 600, you are writing a case study and calling it a release. Paragraphs run 2 to 3 sentences. The first paragraph stays under 30 words when you can manage it, and you can manage it more often than you think. Here is a quick budget for a 450-word release: - Lead: 35 to 45 words - Body: 200 to 250 words - Quote: 40 to 60 words - Boilerplate: 60 to 80 words - Contact block: everything else ## Where does AI help with a press release, and where does it not? Three places it helps, one where it replaces nothing. ![A journalist's desk with a busy inbox, notebook and phone](https://fdzlnqpwsaniezitwiuw.supabase.co/storage/v1/object/public/cms-media/contentassistant/2026-11/5c21c6-i2.webp) **It helps with the first draft.** Give the assistant five facts (what, who, when, why it matters, one number) and ask for a lead paragraph and a headline in three versions. You pick one and edit. Starting from a rough draft is faster than starting from nothing, and the format is fixed, so the assistant has little room to wander. **It helps with tightening.** A release that runs 620 words usually has two paragraphs of context that belong on the website. Paste it in, ask for 450, and read what it cuts. You will agree with about two thirds of the cuts and reverse the rest. **It helps with variants.** The same news needs a one-line email pitch, a LinkedIn version and a newsroom post. Writing those from the finished release takes a few minutes instead of an afternoon. **It does not replace the quote.** An assistant will write a quote that sounds like every other quote: "We are thrilled to announce a solution that empowers teams." No journalist uses it. Interview the spokesperson for five minutes, take their actual sentence, and tidy only the grammar. If you already live in a chat assistant, [ChatGPT](https://chatgpt.com) can do the first-draft step. What matters is that the draft happens where you already write, so you are not copying text between tabs. ### What does a short working process look like? My version, after a few years of client releases, runs about 25 minutes for a standard product announcement: - **Five facts in a note (5 minutes).** What happened, who is involved, the date, why anyone should care, one figure with its source. - **Real quote (5 minutes).** Ask the spokesperson two questions and write down their answer word for word. - **First draft with the assistant (5 minutes).** Paste the facts and quote, ask for the seven blocks in order, 450 words. - **Your edit (8 minutes).** Check every number against your note. Cut adjectives. Rewrite the headline in your own words. - **Send check (2 minutes).** Read the lead aloud. Open the contact email. Check the dateline. Those timings are a plan, not a benchmark. Your first release will take longer, and your fifth will not. ![A writer drafting a document on a laptop at a home desk](https://fdzlnqpwsaniezitwiuw.supabase.co/storage/v1/object/public/cms-media/contentassistant/2026-11/79fa37-i3.webp) ### Which mistakes make a release look amateur? Four come up again and again, and an assistant will repeat all of them unless you tell it not to. **Invented numbers.** Language models fill gaps with plausible figures. Give it the numbers and tell it to use only those. Then check. **Jargon in the lead.** "Leveraging next-generation capabilities" says nothing. "Lets a two-person team publish in four languages" says something. **A boilerplate that is three years old.** Update it every quarter. Old headcount and old product names undermine everything above them. **No reason to run it today.** If the release has no date hook, no launch, no result and no event, it is not news. Add a news angle or send a pitch instead. ## Do you need a tool to distribute it? Not for the writing. For distribution it depends on your goal. A paid wire puts your release in front of aggregators and feeds. A media-relations tool such as Prowly helps you keep a list and track who opened it. Direct pitching to five journalists who cover your beat often beats both. If your main problem is finding the right reporters, a database like Muck Rack is built for that job, though the price reflects it. Before anything goes out, run a final proofread. A grammar checker such as Grammarly catches typos and AP-style slips on short copy, and it takes under a minute. ## What does a fill-in-the-blanks template look like? Copy this into your own document and replace the brackets. It is deliberately plain. **[Headline: verb + fact, 8 to 12 words]** *[Optional subheadline: one supporting detail]* [CITY, State, Month Day, Year] - [Who] [did what] on [date], [giving this result or reaching this milestone]. [One sentence on why it matters to the reader of the publication.] [Body paragraph 1: the single most useful detail, with a number and its source.] [Body paragraph 2: how it works or what changes for the customer.] "[Real sentence from a named person]," said [Name], [title] at [Organisation]. "[Second sentence, if they said one.]" [Body paragraph 3: availability, price, date, link to more.] **About [Organisation]** [2 to 3 sentences: what you do, for whom, since when.] **Media contact** [Name], [email], [phone] `###` Every bracket is a decision you make before you ask any tool for help. That is the point of a format: it tells you exactly what is missing. ## How is a press release different from a media advisory or a pitch? People mix these up, and the mix-up costs them replies. A **press release** reports news that has happened or is happening now. It is written to be lifted, quoted and published as is. A **media advisory** announces an event a journalist could attend. It is short, usually under 200 words, and structured around who, what, when, where and why to show up. A **pitch** is a personal email to one reporter, three or four sentences, explaining why this story suits their beat. It often links to the release instead of attaching it. Send the pitch first, link the release inside it, and keep the release itself in the format above. Journalists can then decide in one click whether they want the full document. ## What would we actually do on Monday morning? Write the five facts first. Get the quote from a person, not a prompt. Use the assistant for the draft and the cuts, and keep the headline for yourself. Then send a plain-text release, with the dateline and a working contact, to five reporters you can name. That is the whole job, and it fits in one morning. ## FAQ ### What is the standard press release format? A press release has seven blocks in a fixed order: headline, optional subheadline, dateline, lead paragraph, body, quote, and a boilerplate with media contact. It runs about 400 to 500 words, follows AP style, and ends with ### or -30-. ### How long should a press release be? Aim for 400 to 500 words, roughly one page. Below 300 words you are usually missing context or the quote. Above 600 you are writing a case study. ### What is a dateline in a press release? The dateline opens the first paragraph. It gives the city in capitals, the state or country, and the date, followed by a dash, for example PORTLAND, Ore., Nov. 5, 2026 -. ### What is a boilerplate and how long should it be? The boilerplate is the About paragraph that closes the release. Keep it to 2 or 3 sentences covering what the organisation does, for whom, and since when. Review it every quarter so headcount and product names stay current. ### Can AI write a press release? It can draft a lead, a headline and variants quickly, and it can tighten a long release. You still supply the facts, the real quote from a named person and the final check of every number. ### Should I send a press release as an attachment or in the email body? Paste it into the email body as plain text so it survives every mail client, and link the full version on your newsroom page. Attach a PDF only when you need a logo or a designed layout.