Press release: [Event name], [date]

Replace the blue placeholders with your own words and delete the grey notes as you go. Fill in the table first and copy from it, so the release, the advisory and your website never disagree.

Event	[Name of the event]
Day and date	[Saturday, March 13 (day of the week included)]
Times	[Start and end, e.g. 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.; time zone if online]
Venue	[Venue name, street address, city; entrance for big venues]
Price	[Ticket prices, or the word free]
How to register	[Web address, and the deadline if there is one]
Accessibility	[Step-free access, captions, interpretation, quiet room]
Media contact on the day	[Name and a mobile number they will answer]
Send dates	[Announcement / media advisory / results release]

The one new thing: [A first, a number, a person or a change from last year, in one sentence]

“Our event is back” isn't news. This sentence becomes the headline.

Release line

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Or EMBARGOED UNTIL a date, time and time zone, sent only to reporters who have agreed to it.

Headline

[The event plus the one new thing, most important words first]

Subhead

[Dates, place and price the headline left out, in one sentence]

Lead

[CITY, State] — [Month day, year] — [Organization] will hold [event] on [Day, Month date], from [start time] to [end time], at [venue], [street address]. [The one new thing, in a sentence.]

Dateline in AP style: the city in capitals, then the state as AP abbreviates it (TUCSON, Ariz.). Months: Jan., Feb., Aug., Sept., Oct., Nov. and Dec. are abbreviated with a date; March to July are not.

See a filled-in lead

TUCSON, Ariz. — Jan. 27, 2027 — The Desert Ink Conference, a two-day gathering for freelance writers and editors, will give every attendee a printed sheet listing what its 40 speakers charge per word, per hour and per project. The conference runs Saturday and Sunday, March 13 and 14, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Ironwood Center, 410 E. Saguaro St.

Fictional example: the conference, venue and address are invented.

Details

In falling order of importance, so an editor can cut from the bottom.

Price and registration: [prices, free options, where to buy, deadline]
Program: [two or three highlights, not the whole schedule]
Who is taking part: [speakers, performers, numbers]
Who it's for: [the audience, and anything they need to bring or know]

Quote

“[A reason or a detail only this person could give, in words they would say aloud],” said [Full name], [title].

Have the speaker approve the quote in writing before the release goes out.

Tickets and access

Tickets: [prices and the link]
Accessibility: [wheelchair access, captions, ASL, seating]
Getting there: [parking, transit, road closures]
Age limits or rules: [if any]

For media

Photo moments: [what happens, when and where]
Interviews: [who is available, and when]
Press check-in: [entrance, credentials, registration deadline]

About [Organization]

[Standard boilerplate, under 100 words, word for word the same as on your other releases]

Media contact

[Full name], [title]
[Email]
[Mobile number answered on the day]

###

See the full announcement

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Tucson conference for freelance writers will publish what its 40 speakers charge

The Desert Ink Conference runs March 13–14 at the Ironwood Center. Day passes cost $85; students attend free.

Day passes cost $85 and weekend passes $140 at desertink.example. Students with a school ID attend free, and 50 scholarships cover the full weekend for writers who apply by Feb. 26.

“Every year someone asks what to charge, and every year the room goes quiet,” said Marisol Vega, the conference's founder and a freelance journalist for 19 years. “This year the answer is on paper, with names next to the numbers.”

The Ironwood Center is wheelchair accessible, every main session has live captions, and parking is free in the center's garage.

For media: reporters attend free with credentials if they register by March 6. The rate sheet will be available to the press at 9 a.m. on March 13.

Media contact: Owen Mirza, Press Coordinator, press@desertink.example, (520) 555-0149

###

Fictional example: the conference, people and contact details are invented.

Media advisory

Send three or four days before and again early on the morning of the event. Keep it to a list an assignment editor can read in ten seconds.

MEDIA ADVISORY

[Headline: what reporters can see or hear, and when]

What	[What happens, in one sentence]
When	[Day, date and time; the best time to arrive]
Where	[Street address and press entrance]
Who	[Who can be interviewed]
Visuals	[Photo and video moments, with times]
Contact on the day	[Name and mobile number]

See a media advisory

MEDIA ADVISORY

Freelance writers' conference releases speakers' rate sheet Saturday morning

What: The Desert Ink Conference publishes what its 40 speakers charge, then opens two days of sessions.
When: Saturday, March 13, 9 a.m.
Where: Ironwood Center, 410 E. Saguaro St., Tucson. Press check-in at the east entrance.
Who: Founder Marisol Vega; 12 editors taking pitch meetings Sunday from 1 p.m.
Visuals: 9 a.m., attendees reading the rate sheet in the main hall.
Contact on the day: Owen Mirza, (520) 555-0149

Results release

Send it that evening or the next morning, to everyone who got the announcement. Lead with what happened, not with thanks.

[Headline: the result, with a number]

[CITY, State] — [Month day, year] — [What happened, with the numbers: attendance, money raised, winners, findings, and a comparison with last year]. [Where the full results, photos or recordings are]

Quote: [a reaction to the result, not a thank-you list]
What's next: [next year's date, or what the money will pay for]
Photos: [two or three links, with captions and credits]

See a results release opening

Desert Ink rate sheet shows freelance rates ranging from 10 cents to $2 a word

TUCSON, Ariz. — March 15, 2027 — Rates charged by the 40 speakers at this weekend's Desert Ink Conference ranged from 10 cents to $2 a word, according to the rate sheet the conference published on Saturday. The median was 45 cents. About 610 people attended, up from 430 last year, and editors took 96 pitch meetings on Sunday.

If plans change

Send a short release at once, with the change in the headline, to everyone who got the original: the new date or venue, what happens to tickets, and where updates will appear.

[Headline: the event, the new date and the reason]

Before you send

The headline carries the one new thing
The day of the week, date, times and street address match the table
The price is in the first two paragraphs, or the word free is
Accessibility and getting-there details are included
The person quoted has approved the quote
The media contact will carry the phone on the day
The advisory and results release dates are in the table