Editor's Press Release of the Month | Australian researchers make breakthrough discovery on major global health threat: antibiotic resistance

With a press release practically overflowing from the 7 News Values in journalism, Monash University’s breakthrough research on antibiotic resistance taps into and offers a solution to a concerningly hot topic with major implications for global healthcare. 

Headline/Opening Paragraph 

Australian researchers make breakthrough discovery on major global health threat: antibiotic resistance

Right off the bat in the headline, Monash lets us know that this is a local study by “Australian” researchers (news value: proximity) which has a major global healthcare impact (news value: impact) on the hot topic issue of antibiotic resistance (news values: relevance/currency and timeliness) to immediately catch journalists’ attention. It is quite a feat to manage to convey four news values in such a short headline.

On a grammar point, the use of a colon in headlines is a great tactic to spotlight key terms, phrases and for brevity.

The first paragraph provides further explanation in a single succinct sentence, with all the vital information for time-poor journalists.

Pro tip - Original research on a hot topic

While it is fine to quote another organisation’s research (briefly!) to make your point in a press release (newsjacking/piggybacking), it will be seen as a reactive press release by newsrooms if you’re not offering a new perspective/angle on the issue. This is especially true when it comes to health-related content. If you aren’t providing original research and commenting on another organisation's research, consider offering your spokesperson to comment further in a Talent/Media alert type of press release.

Level-up opportunity

The quotes in this press release don’t appear until the sixth paragraph. It is important to work a spokesperson’s quotes into the second paragraph to give the content credibility as early as possible. For effective press release writing, a first paragraph should contain the “Who, What, When, Where, Why and How” then segue into quotes in the following paragraph. Expect that quotes are the only item in a press release journalists will lift verbatim to use in their articles.