SAMPLE PRESS RELEASE

NEWS RELEASE FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE For more information, contact: [date] [Contact Information] DOE FAMILY ISSUES STATEMENT <City>, <State>, <Date> – The family of [victim] issued the following statement today: [The STATEMENT or body of the text is written here. At the end of the release, indicate that the release is ended. This lets the journalists know they received the entire release. Type “End” on the first line after your statement is completed. If your statement goes over one page, type “MORE” at the bottom of the first page.] For additional information: The Doe family will not respond to media inquiries. John Brown is the family’s media spokesman. He can be reached at: [include contact information such as phone, cell, fax, email, address]. –END– FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: These words should appear before the body of the text. In this sample they are placed in the left-hand margin, just under the letterhead. Every letter is capitalized. Headline: One sentence. Use proper title case, capitalizing every word except for the following articles: of, it, the, a, an, from, and, is, by …Use a boldface type. Dateline: This should be the city your press release is issued from and the date you are mailing your release. Contact Information: Skip a line or two after the statement and list the name, title, telephone and fax numbers of your spokesperson. When choosing which contact information to include, keep in mind that reporters often work on deadlines and may try to contact the spokesperson after hours.

Created by the Wisconsin Crime Victims Council and the Wisconsin Department of Justice Office of Crime Victim Services, 2009

Are you a reporter looking to cover a domestic violence homicide?  Here are guidelines to sensitively and respectfully covering a case:

What can the media do to shape community perceptions of domestic violence?

1. Place the crime in the context of domestic violence.

2. Acknowledge that domestic violence is not a private matter.