Press releases should be newsworthy and easy to read, and should follow a standard press
release format which looks different from a news article. To help you understand the
difference between a press release and a news article, we will illustrate.
What is a Press Release?
A press release is designed to express newsworthy information about a
company, product or service, event, etc. Press Releases are
self-serving marketing tools designed to keep journalists, editors,
bloggers and the public updated on information related to the creator
of the press release.
Press releases include elements such as a headline, opening paragraph,
detail paragraphs and a boilerplate paragraph. Press releases are
generally under 500 words in length.
What is a News Article?
News articles are well written informational stories that are
perceived by readers to be of value from an objective source of
information. News articles can be about any topic and may not be
self-serving to the writer.
In most cases, news articles do not talk about a single current event
but rather a subject in detail. For example, a heating and air
conditioning company may release a news article titled "The Top 10
Methods for Reducing Your Heating Cost".