Example press releases
Here are templates for two types of press release: one for national media and one for local media. These templates show you what to include in a standard press release.
Adapt the wording so that it’s suitable for your project — or of course, you may wish to write your own press releases from scratch.
Then send it to your media contacts, as described in our guide to promoting FixMyStreet.
It’s best to copy and paste the text into the body of an email, rather than send it as an attachment: journalists say that they are far more likely to read an email than an attachment.
Press release 1: For national media
Headline: Put a large headline at the top; you can also use the same wording as the title of your emails, prefaced by the words: PRESS RELEASE.
You don’t have to use this sentence, but try to think of a short statement that will attract journalists’ attention as well as explaining what your site will do.
[Your site’s name]: a new way to get your community fixed
If you would like to send your press release before launch, to give journalists a little time to write their story, include an embargo date/time. That means they won’t publish anything until this date. Typically embargo times are given as 12:01am.
EMBARGO: [Date/time]
Include the URL of your FixMyStreet site, and any other URL that’s useful, eg your organisation’s website.
LINK/S: [URLs]
Your name and email address/phone number
CONTACT: [hello@example.org]
Three or four bullet points which summarise the main content of the press release. If you have a quote from a councillor or mayor, so much the better, but if not, it’s fine to quote yourself.
- [Name of site] launches today
List the most common problems in your own country:
- Report potholes, broken pavements and other community problems to the authorities responsible for getting them fixed
- “A revolution in citizen to government communication” says founder
This is the main body of your press release. Keep it fairly succinct: 5–10 paragraphs of 1–2 sentences each is plenty. You can, of course, alter the text to make it more appropriate to your country’s own circumstances.
[Name of your site], a new and simple way for citizens to report street faults, launches today.
Most people know that it’s the council’s job to fix problems like potholes, dangerous pavements or broken street lights. But reporting such problems can often be a difficult task. People don’t always know which council area they are in. Even if they do, they’re often faced with a lack of information online, or hard-to-navigate web forms.
Now, a new website simplifies the process for people in [name of your country or the area that your site covers].
With [name of your site], a project from [your organisation], all the user has to do is put a pin in a map to show where the problem is, then add a few lines of text to describe the issue. Optionally, they can also add a photo.
[Name of site] sends the issue to the right department of the right council: the user doesn’t even have to know which jurisdiction they are in. From the council’s side, responding to the problem report is as simple as replying to any other email.
Reports are already flooding in, including [list some interesting existing reports, with links].
[Name of site] also publishes all reports online, eventually building into a rich resource showing what the prevalent types of problem are in any area. The site uses the FixMyStreet Platform open source software, which has proven effective in the UK and across more than 20 other countries around the world.
[Your name], [your job title or description], says, “[add a quote here]”.
[Name of site] is ready to send off your street fault reports: give it a try at [URL].
Press release 2: For regional/local media
Headline: Put a large headline at the top; you can also use the same wording as the title of your emails, prefaced by the words: PRESS RELEASE.
You don’t have to use this sentence, but try to think of a short statement that will attract journalists’ attention as well as explaining what your site will do. Include the name of the local area so they can see how relevant it is to their audience.
[Your site’s name]: a new way to get [city or county name] fixed
If you would like to send your press release before launch, to give journalists a little time to write their story, include an embargo date/time. That means they won’t publish anything until this date. Typically embargo times are given as 12:01am.
EMBARGO: [Date/time]
Include the URL of your FixMyStreet site, and any other URL that’s useful, eg your organisation’s website.
LINK/S: [URLs]
Your name and email address/phone number
CONTACT: [hello@example.org]
Three or four bullet points which summarise the main content of the press release. If you have a quote from a councillor or mayor, so much the better, but if not, it’s fine to quote yourself.
- [Name of site] launches today
List the most common problems in your own country:
- Now it’s simple for residents of [city or county name] to report potholes, broken pavements and other community problems
- “Let’s get [name of city or county] fixed”, says founder
This is the main body of your press release. Keep it fairly succinct: 5–10 paragraphs of 1–2 sentences is plenty. You can, of course, alter the text to make it more appropriate to your country’s own circumstances.
[Name of your site], a new and simple way for [city or county name] to report street faults, launches today.
Most people know that it’s the council’s job to fix problems like potholes, dangerous pavements or broken street lights [or substitute the common problems in that region]. But reporting such problems can often be a difficult task. People don’t always know which council department to contact. Even if they do, they’re often faced with a lack of information online, or hard-to-navigate web forms.
Now, a new website simplifies the process for people in [city or county name].
[Name of your site], a project from [your organisation], covers the whole of [the country/name of city], using smart technology to send problems to the department responsible for getting them fixed.
All the user has to do is put a pin in a map to show where the problem is, then add a few lines of text to describe the issue. Optionally, they can also add a photo.
[Name of site] sends the issue to the right department of the council: the user doesn’t even have to know which jurisdiction they are in. From the council’s side, responding to the problem report is as simple as replying to any other email.
[Name of site] also publishes all reports online, eventually building into a rich resource showing what the prevalent types of problem are in any area. Residents of [city/county name] have already reported issues such as [list some existing reports, with links].
The site uses the FixMyStreet Platform open source software, which has proven effective in the UK and across more than 20 other countries around the world.
[Your name], [your job title or description], says, “[add a quote here, perhaps mentioning the city or county]”.
[Name of site] is ready to send off your street fault reports: give it a try at [URL].