05.01.01 - Press Releases
CITY OF BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA ADMINISTRATIVE POLICY MANUAL CHAPTER: 05 Public Affairs Policy No. 05.01.01 SECTION: 01 Media Page: 1 of 5 SUBJECT: 01 Press Release PURPOSE The purpose
of this procedure is to provide guidelines for the preparation and distribution of press releases emanating from the City of Boynton Beach. The information contained herein is a summary
of the guidelines and procedures outlined in the City’s Communication Plan (rev. 6/26/07). Where there may be many differences, the guidelines and procedures found in the Communications
Plan shall prevail. POLICY Press releases will be prepared and issued by the Public Affairs office or designee, as newsworthy information becomes available or as events occur. Exceptions
are publications prepared and issued by the Fire and Police department’s public information officers and the Recreation and Parks Department’s marketing manager. Other departments that
wish to issue a news release will first have it approved by the Public Affairs office, which can assist in its distribution. An exception is any matter that is factual, incidental or
of an inconsequential nature, such as notification of a special event or special event schedule. Not all of what happens in the City is worthy of a press release. Some items may best
be handled as “media advisories” or feature story suggestions. Other items may best be handled as correspondence to a particular group. The Public Affairs office is available to provide
guidance to departments as to which is most appropriate. DEFINITIONS 1. Press Release – Formal, written news item submitted to media outlets. 2. Media Advisory – “Heads up” announcement
to media, providing few details. 3. Feature Story – Story focusing on human interest or soft news angle. 4. Breaking Story – A story that is happening at the moment. 5. Public Information
Officer – Chief media contact for a department, division or program. 1
PROCEDURES 1. Press releases should be written to address five basic questions: who, what, where, when and why/how. 2. If a department has a PIO, then the PIO should prepare all press
releases coming from that department or division. If the department does not have a PIO, then the Public Affairs office is available to prepare a press release. The Public Affairs Director
may designate someone within a department to prepare and approve releases. 3. All press releases should be submitted on the standard press release form provided by the Public Affairs
office or on a department press release form that has been approved by the Public Affairs office. 4. In preparing the press release, the “release” is determined by the department submitting
the release. Most releases should have “immediate” as the release time. In some cases, the department may wish to embargo the release, and the release space should note that desire.
It’s best to avoid embargoed press releases because they may inadvertently be used upon receipt by a news organization. It’s usually better to have a release ready to go, and release
it to the media when it’s ready to be printed or aired. 5. The “date” is the date the release is to be distributed. 6. The “contact” is the person who will field questions and his/her
telephone number. The contact must be available to answer questions on the date of the release. Person listed as contacts should build time into their work schedules to handle questions
about the release. Contacts should also be available to do print, radio and television interviews. a. Provide only the facts that you know in your official capacity. b. Do not speculate.
Investigate to determine facts and inform the news media where the City is in the investigation – the beginning, the middle or about to conclude. Never speculate about what the investigation
might conclude. Tell the news media that you will not engage in speculation. c. If your responsibility covers only a portion of an event, tell the news media what you can and cannot
discuss. d. Never go off the record. Assume all communications will be broadcast or printed, and assume every word you speak will appear in the news media. e. Do not release the names
of victims or personal data unless you are sure it is public information. f. Be ready to provide the names and telephone numbers or e-mail addresses of your supervisor or department
head, if requested. 2
7. The “distribution” is the group or area where the release is supposed to go. Many releases should appropriately go to relatively small areas. The Public Affairs office can provide
advice on degree of distribution. 8. Always proofread the release for typographical errors, misspelled names, transposed figures and words used incorrectly. 9. If a second page is needed,
end the first page with the word “more” on a separate line. The second page should begin with the same headline/slug set and an indication that this is the second page. 10. Many media
outlets today prefer that press releases be e-mailed. Do not use attachments; using the same conventions as above, copy and paste the news release from your word processing program directly
into the body of the e-mail. 11. The release is completed with the word “end” or a series of pound signs to indicate the end of the release. REVIEWS AND APPROVAL 1. Departments other
than Police, Fire and Recreation and Parks that wish to issue a news release will first have it approved by the Public Affairs director. 2. An exception is any matter that is factual,
incidental or of an inconsequential nature, such as notification of a special event or special event schedule. 3. When sending a news release to the Public Affairs office for review,
include a note indicating the intended audience. 4. If the release requires changes, the release will be returned to the originating department for corrections. 5. Once approved, the
Public Affairs office is available to assist with distribution to the news media. 6. The initiating department is responsible for sending copies to their personnel. EFFECTIVE DATE: January
10, 1990 REV ISED: September 20, 2007 Kurt Bressner Kurt Bressner City Manager 3
. . . . . . . . . . . . For Details, Contact:Wayne M. Segal, (561) 742-6025 City of Boynton Beach Office of Public Affairs P.O. Box 310 Boynton Beach, FL 33425-0310 Phone (561) 742-6025
Fax (561) 742-6233 SAMPLE City of Boynton Beach I Want My BBTV 18 Set To Launch on the 18th Beginning Sunday, March 18, with the melding of a cable at midnight, some 62,000 cable subscribers
in Boynton Beach will be able to turn to Comcast channel 18 for complete news and information about their city. This “soft” debut of “18 on 18” will feature bulletin board-type announcements,
weather every 10 minutes on the “7’s” and local traffic conditions on the hour and half hour. In time, the station, which will air 24 hours a day, seven days a week, will broadcast a
host of local, regional and nationally produced informational, educational and cultural programming as well as public meetings, including gavel-to-gavel coverage of City Commission meetings,
on a tape delayed basis. “BBTV represents another informational outreach venture that we hope people will want to invite into their homes,” said Mayor Jerry Taylor. “The programming
we air will be in keeping with the station’s mission to inform and educate and enable the City to forge stronger links with its residents.” The City will strive to provide programming
that is fair, accurate, balanced and without regard to partisanship or ideology. It is not the City’s intention to create any sort of public forum on BBTV but to provide information
concerning City Government issues. # # # . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . For Immediate Release: March 16, 2007 4
. . . . . . . . . . . . For Details, Contact:Wayne M. Segal, (561) 742-6025 City of Boynton Beach Office of Public Affairs P.O. Box 310 Boynton Beach, FL 33425-0310 Phone (561) 742-6010
Fax (561) 742-6011 5 SAMPLE City of Boynton Beach M E D I A A D V I S O R Y EVENT: City Demolishes Wilson Center To Make Way for New Recreation Complex TIME: Friday, March 31, 2006,
8:30 a.m. PLACE: Wilson Recreation Complex, 211 NW 13th Ave. DETAILS: Palm Beach County Comm. Addie L. Greene will join Boynton Beach Mayor Jerry Taylor and members of the City Commission
in a demolition ceremony to make way for a new Wilson Center Recreation Complex. A new, two-story, 14,000 square foot structure will replace the old Center building and renovations will
be made to the complex’s swimming pool. Construction on the $7.7 million project will begin later this year with completion expected in mid 2007. Palm Beach County contributed $1 million
to the cost of the project while the state gave $200,000. # # # . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . For Immediate Release: March 29, 2006