Press Releases:
Tips and Contacts
General Information
In one way or another, the Kenosha News prints at least something from
virtually every press release we receive, providing:
-
The subject of the release (event, person, issue, etc.) has a local
connection.
- The release is considered newsworthy. Broadly defined, that means
other readers would find it interesting and/or informative.
- The release is NOT overtly commercial.
Preparing a Press Release
We receive hundreds of press releases every week. Here's how you
can make sure yours gets the attention it deserves:
-
Keep it concise and to the point. Avoid the use of flowery adverbs
and adjectives.
- Submit the release in a timely manner (generally, at least one week
before a scheduled event or reservations deadline).
- Make sure all names are spelled correctly and all other information
is accurate. (Dates, times, etc.)
- Include any relevant notes or suggestions, ie, why this event is
significant, when and where you would like the information to run.
- Include a name and contact number for more information.
- Follow up with a phone call to make sure we got the release.
What to Expect
-
Chances are your release will be edited for clarity and trimmed for
space. We will make every effort to retain all relevant information.
- It also is likely your release will not be given the prominent display
you would like to see.
- Depending on the topic and newsworthiness, a press release can run
anywhere from Page A1 to the weekly Spotlight Page, or from
- the A2 and A3 briefs columns to the Business or Life sections. We
will make the determination based on our best professional judgment.
- Contact us immediately if there was an error in your release, or
if you think that critical information was omitted.
Special Situations
For various reasons, some information doesn't work well as a news
release. Here are options:
-
If the information is more opinion than fact, it might be used as
a Voice of the People letter.
- If the information is too commercial, you will be referred to the
Advertising Department.
- If the information is truly noteworthy, we might assign a reporter
to do a staff-written story.
- If the information is of a more routine nature, it could end up
on the Spotlight page.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q. Do you publicize new businesses?
A. The opening of a business is legitimate community news. We typically
take a photo of the owners either inside or outside of their business.
To qualify, a business must have a distinct presence - a "storefront," if
you will. In-home businesses generally don't qualify for photo coverage.
Q. How can I get news about my employees in the paper?
A. We encourage business owners to submit the names and photos of new
hires, people being promoted, award-winning employees, etc. The information
runs in the "Bulletin Board" column in the
Sunday Business section.
Q. Why don't you do more to promote non-profit community service
agencies?
A. First, we don't promote, we report. We're happy when
our reporting results in good publicity for worthy local institutions,
but as
objective journalists we don't actively engage in public relations
work. It's an issue of credibility. That said, we would love to
do more reporting on the non-profit community- but we need help.
Alert us whenever you have a news tip or feature story idea, and we'll
take it from there.
Q. If that's the case, why have my ideas been rejected in the
past?
A. Some story requests are rejected for lack of a legitimate news peg.
We typically don't do stories without some kind of hook or "peg" that
a reader might find interesting. Examples: For non-profits- Is
your budget up or down significantly compared to recent years? Are you
changing your mission? Have you reached an important milestone (fund-raising,
clients served, etc.)? Are you working on a particularly unusual case?
For businesses- Do you provide a product or service
unique to southeastern Wisconsin? Have sales increased - or decreased- significantly
in the wake of a recent event? Have you been expanding? Reached a goal
or milestone? For government entities- Have you developed an
interesting new way to serve your constituents, or save money? Are you
aware of any trends that might interest our readers (percentage of absentee
ballots, new road-paving techniques?) Again, if you're going to pitch
a story, give us something we can hang our hat on.
Q. How do you choose which VOP letters to run?
A. We run almost every letter we receive from local letter writers,
rejecting only letters that are libelous, blatantly inaccurate, commercially
driven or inflammatory and/or in poor taste. Conventional wisdom aside,
we never reject letters with which we mightdisagree. In fact, we encourage
them. Letters are limited to 275 words and writers can file once a month.
Q. Why is there so much negative news
in the paper?
A. We'd like to believe there is just as much positive news as
negative when averaged over time. However, most newspapers do tend to
focus more on what's wrong than what's right. Shining bright lights in
dark corners is part of our historical mission. Our goal is to hold powerful
people and institutions accountable, keep readers fully informed and,
hopefully help bring about positive change.
Q. Why do you favor…
-
Bradford over Tremper
- Kenosha over Pleasant Prairie
- Democrats over Republicans
- Women over men
- Boxers over briefs
A. We don't.
Q. But seriously, you do have a reputation as being very liberal. We
also know you play favorites.
A. On some issues, we are liberal. On others, we're conservative.
On most, I believe, we adopt sensible, middle-of-the-road positions.
Regardless, we try not to let our personal or institutional opinions
influence our news coverage. Play favorites? We actually bend over backwards
to avoid playing favorites. We recognize that we wield a certain amount
of power, and with that power comes great responsibility.
Q. Why does it take so long to get something in the paper?
A. No excuses, other than the fact that we're very busy people
with a lot of news waiting to be covered. Items that in our view are
less significant than others sometimes get set aside or forgotten about
completely. Again, please call if you feel something you submitted isn't
receiving the attention it deserves.
Q. I'd like to learn more about the Kenosha News and the newspaper
industry in general. Any suggestions?
A. We're happy to help. Journalism, for most of us, is a passion
and we're always eager to spread the word. Toward that end, we
offer tours of the building. We also welcome guests to attend (and participate
in) our late-afternoon planning meeting. Lastly, we're always happy to
meet with individuals or small groups to discuss issues, coverage, disputes,
or anything else of interest.
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