Gixo Quill · content guide
Press Release Examples
A press release is a factual announcement written so a journalist can use it without rewriting. Before the structure matters, one question does: is this news to anyone outside the company? Most releases fail that test and get ignored regardless of how well they are written.
Last reviewed: August 2026
The parts, in order
- Headline. The news in one line, in plain past tense. Not a slogan.
- Dateline and lede. City, date, then who did what, when, and why it matters — in the first sentence.
- Supporting paragraph. The detail a journalist needs to write the story without calling you.
- Quote. One from your side that says something a press release would not otherwise say. Two quotes is usually one too many.
- Third-party quote. A customer or partner, where you have one. Worth more than anything you say about yourself.
- Boilerplate. One paragraph on the company, unchanged across releases.
- Contact. A named person who will actually answer.
Three common announcements, structured
| Announcement | Lede leads with | The detail that gets it used |
|---|---|---|
| Funding | Amount, round, lead investor | What the money is for, specifically |
| Product launch | What it does and who for | A customer already using it |
| Partnership | What the two parties will do together | What changes for customers |
| Hire | Name, role, and what they will own | Why the role exists now |
| Milestone | The number and the period | The comparison that makes it meaningful |
How Gixo Quill handles this
Quill has PressRelease-shaped output alongside its other content types, and the deterministic checks matter more here than in most formats: the hedging check catches the vague claims that get releases discarded, and the style-guide linter enforces house conventions on names and titles that journalists notice.
Frequently asked questions
What should a press release include?
A plain headline, a dateline, a lede answering who did what and why it matters, a supporting paragraph, one internal quote, ideally a third-party quote, boilerplate and a named contact.
How long should a press release be?
One page. A journalist decides in the first two sentences whether to read on, and length past a page rarely adds anything they will use.
Do press releases still work?
For genuine news, yes — they give journalists the facts in a usable form. For announcements that are not news outside the company, no amount of structure helps.
How many quotes should a press release have?
One from your side, and one from a customer or partner if you have it. A third-party quote is worth more than anything you say about yourself.
What makes a press release get ignored?
Not being news. After that: a headline written as a slogan, a lede that takes three sentences to say what happened, and claims with no evidence.
Related content guides
Write the release, then check it
Quill drafts the release in the standard structure and runs deterministic checks for hedging and house style before it goes out.