A Sample Press Release

national Radon action month EvEnt Planning Kit Sample Press Release Send a press release to the media to announce your radon campaign and increase your community’s awareness of radon issues. A well written press release can yield more media coverage than any amount of advertising. Here are a few steps to take to ensure you get the coverage you deserve. f Keep your press release concise. Reporters and editors don’t have time to read through lots of text. Your press release should be no longer than one page and should focus on the facts and the call to action for your community. f Grab their attention. At the upper left-hand margin, just under your letterhead, you should have the words “For Immediate Release” in bold, capital letters. f Make it easy for them to learn more. Somewhere near the top of the page, list your contact information including your name, title, telephone numbers, fax number, and e-mail address. Also, indicate if you have health or other experts on hand to provide interviews. f Include a headline such as “Health Risks in Our Community: How You Can Protect Your Family”. f Include a dateline or the city and state from which the press release is issued. f Craft a lead paragraph. The first paragraph should grab the reader’s attention and contain relevant information, such as the five Ws (who, what, when, where, and why) if you’re publicizing an upcoming event. The sample release on the next page can serve as a guide for creating your own. Be sure to time the release during or near National Radon Action Month. Or, if your radon campaign activities will occur during an alternate time, send this out to fit your schedule. Print the letter on your organization’s stationary and fill in local information where [indicated]. You may also wish to tailor this release to announce a special event, press conference, or other local campaign activity. See the Media Outreach Tips section on page 18 of this Kit for more information about working with the media. 23 www.epa.gov/radon/nram national Radon action month EvEnt Planning Kit Sample Press Release (continued) LEASE FOR IMMEDIATE RE CONTACT: [Point of co ntact’s name and ph one number] THEIR HOMES UNITY’S HEALTH IN ECTING OUR COMM PROT LLER RADON – A SILENT KI for Radon, the Seco Urged to Test Homes nd Leading Cause of Lung Cancer in U.S. Citizens ntal Protection Agency with the U.S. Environme rganization] is working on exposure and to — [O out the dangers of rad [Your city, state, date] tion] is to educate Americans ab paign r community, [organiza (EPA) in a nationwide cam mes and families. In ou in ir ho l Radon Action Month e action to protect the tivities] during Nationa encourage them to tak local radon action ac scribe conducting [briefly de January. able from your state ea] homes (info avail els in about [X]% of [ar that is dispersed in vated lev odorless, tasteless gas Radon is present at ele ally occurring, invisible, entists have long been is a natur trapped in buildings. Sci radon office). Radon ch harmful levels when h overwhelming proof can rea fore has there been suc outdoor air, but which of radon, but never be alth risk in humans. concerned about the he radon causes lung cancer re to elevated levels of that exposu for more than 20,000 that radon is responsible tion Agency estimates cancer in the U.S. after l Protec d leading cause of lung The U.S. Environmenta don is the leading secon r,” says [spokesperson] year. Ra non-smokers. “Howeve lung cancer deaths per h effects of lung cancer among g cause d to downplay the healt smoking and the leadin smell radon, people ten ecause you can’t see or in their homes.” from [organization] “b might be a silent killer the possibility that there and ignore rchased at don test kits can be pu ple and inexpensive. Ra are priced ed levels of radon is sim ting companies. Many Testing homes for elevat directly from radon tes or ilar to that of many me improvement stores contractors for a cost sim local hardware and ho $800 to can be fixed by qualified blems talled (anywhere from under $25.00. Radon pro g a new water heater ins such as painting or havin common home repairs about $2,500). Action s year’s National Radon to take action during thi h but [community] residents our community’s healt [Organization] urges poses a serious threat to n on, and homes for radon. Rado on testing and mitigati Month by testing their ormation on radon, rad it our solution. For more inf phone number] or vis there is a straightforward tion] at [organization’s iza Month Web site at nstruction, call [organ National Radon Action radon-resistant new co Web site], or visit EPA’s tion’s Web site at [organiza ov/radon/nram. www.epa.g 24 www.epa.gov/radon/nram