ANATOMY OF A PRESS RELEASE
(Headings from Press Flash, 1999)

1. A standard introduction for a press release:
   FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
2. Who to contact for more information.
   This may be the sender of the press release, such as a university public relations department. Typically name, address, and phone are included
3. Succinct title that entices the reader.
   The headline should attract attention to the release by highlighting a newsworthy aspect of the research.
4. Begin with the location and date, followed by an introduction covering all major points.
   The introduction should provide a concise overview of the press release. "Don't give all the details." Construct the introduction so that if someone read it they would have a good idea about the rest of the press release (Hartunian, 1999)
5. A quote by a company representative adds credibility to your release.
   A quote from the lead researcher, plus their credentials, adds credibility to the research process. A quote from person(s) with disabilities adds a "human face" to the press release and credibility to the impact of the research.
6. Include information about why this event is newsworthy.
   Include information about important facets of the research and how the research will improve the lives of people with disabilities. This section should add interesting details to the release without overwhelming the reader. Readers may get additional details from the background information in the press kit.
7. Conclude with further contact information.
   This may include information about the originator of the information, such as the researcher's name, address, phone, email, and Web site URL. Toll-free telephone numbers and email addresses are particularly useful for contacts from journalists.

Applying the seven components to a Press Release

1. A standard introduction for a press release:

   Example:
   FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

2. Who to contact for more information.

   Example:
   University of Vermont
   Office of Public Relations
   86 South Williams Street
   Burlington, VT 05401-3404
   802-656-2005
   rblount@zoo.uvm.edu

3. Succinct title that entices the reader.

   Example:
   "VIRTUAL CORSET" FOR BACK PAIN BEING FIELD-TESTED IN VERMONT

4. Begin with the location and date, followed by an introduction covering all major points.

   Example:
   BURLINGTON, VT, Sept. 29, 1997. Whenever Stowe Landscaper Christopher Janes bends his torso to pull a weed or lift the wheel of his lawnmower, the change in inclination is recorded by an electronic device strapped to his chest. If Janes bends far enough to risk straining his back, the device--which is housed in a plastic case used for electronic pagers--vibrates to warn him about the danger.
   
   The electronic device – dubbed the "virtual corset" -- is being tested by University of Vermont (UVM) researchers as a potential improvement on the cloth corsets or harnesses some workers use to avoid straining their backs. Field testing of the virtual corset follows six years' work on such devices by researchers at UVM's Vermont Back Research Center, the nation's only federally funded low-back pain rehabilitation research and information center. The latest model was developed in cooperation with Microstrain, Inc., a Burlington-based company started by UVM researchers and former students.
   
   Janes is the 26th participant in the new study, which involves four weekly visits by researchers to participants' worksites around the state. The owner of Eastern Exposure Landscaping in Stowe, and the newly opened Summer Breeze fitness center in nearby Morrisville, Janes hurt his back in May while lifting heavy equipment onto a trailer. But after a couple of weeks in the study -- including one with the device's vibration function turned off, Janes reported that it seemed to have reminded him to avoid bending in ways that risk reinjury.

5. A quote by a company representative adds credibility to your release.

   Example:
   "With the thing turned off I kind of miss it," he said. "I'll bend over and think ‘it ought to be going off now.'
   
   By following Janes and others to their actual worksites, UVM researchers James Fox and Lise MacDonald hope to get real-world feedback on the effectiveness of their device and on the correlation between bending and back pain. In the current study, data from the devices will be correlated with participants' reports of pain, as well as their range of motion and other measures of back function.
   
   Freed from the laboratory by portable data-collection devices and laptop computers, the researchers also hope to make participation in their ongoing studies more convenient for Vermonters -- yielding more participants and fewer dropouts.
   
   "The easier we make it for participants, the longer they'll stay in the study," said MacDonald, Vermont Back Research Center's human research coordinator. "It makes sense to go out of our way to study participants. After all, they're doing us a tremendous service."

6. Include information about why this event is newsworthy.

   Example:
   The device also offers a unique way to take the back pain research out of the laboratory and into the fields, factories, quarries, and other worksites where so many people injure their backs. Low back pain is the most common musculoskeletal disorder, a leading cause of doctor visits, and the most frequent source of disability-related claims filed with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Back pain affects 80 percent of Americans at some time in their lives and costs the nation an estimated $50 billion to $100 billion each year in medical treatment, worker compensation, and lost productivity.
   
   Funded by the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research, the Vermont Back Research Center also provides information services such as bibliographic searches and fact finding, as well as consulting services in the areas of rehabilitation engineering and ergonomics.

7. Conclude with further contact information.

   Example:
   For further information about the Back Research Center contact:
   University of Vermont
   Vermont Back Research Center
   One South Prospect Street
   Burlington, VT 05405
   1-800-527-7320
   http://physioweb.med.uvm.edu/

---

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Rick Blount
University of Vermont
Office of Public Relations
86 South Williams Street
Burlington, VT 05401-3404
802-656-2005
rblount@zoo.uvm.edu

"VIRTUAL CORSET" FOR BACK PAIN BEING
FIELD-TESTED IN VERMONT

BURLINGTON, VT, Sept. 29, 1997. Whenever Stowe Landscaper Christopher Janes bends his torso to pull a weed or lift the wheel of his lawnmower, the change in inclination is recorded by an electronic device strapped to his chest. If Janes bends far enough to risk straining his back, the device--which is housed in a plastic case used for electronic pagers--vibrates to warn him about the danger.

The electronic device -- dubbed the "virtual corset" -- is being tested by University of Vermont (UVM) researchers as a potential improvement on the cloth corsets or harnesses some workers use to avoid straining their backs. Field testing of the virtual corset follows six years' work on such devices by researchers at UVM's Vermont Back Research Center, the nation's only federally funded low-back pain rehabilitation research and information center. The latest model was developed in cooperation with Microstrain, Inc., a Burlington-based company started by UVM researchers and former students.

Janes is the 26th participant in the new study, which involves four weekly visits by researchers to participants' worksites around the state. The owner of Eastern Exposure Landscaping in Stowe, and the newly opened Summer Breeze fitness center in nearby Morrisville, Janes hurt his back in May while lifting heavy equipment onto a trailer. But after a couple of weeks in the study -- including one with the device's vibration function turned off, Janes reported that it seemed to have reminded him to avoid bending in ways that risk reinjury.

"With the thing turned off I kind of miss it," he said. "I'll bend over and think ‘it ought to be going off now.'

By following Janes and others to their actual worksites, UVM researchers James Fox and Lise MacDonald hope to get real-world feedback on the effectiveness of their device and on the correlation between bending and back pain. In the current study, data from the devices will be correlated with participants' reports of pain, as well as their range of motion and other measures of back function.

Freed from the laboratory by portable data-collection devices and laptop computers, the researchers also hope to make participation in their ongoing studies more convenient for Vermonters -- yielding more participants and fewer dropouts.

"The easier we make it for participants, the longer they'll stay in the study," said MacDonald, Vermont Back Research Center's human research coordinator. "It makes sense to go out of our way to study participants. After all, they're doing us a tremendous service."

The device also offers a unique way to take the back pain research out of the laboratory and into the fields, factories, quarries, and other worksites where so many people injure their backs. Low back pain is the most common musculoskeletal disorder, a leading cause of doctor visits, and the most frequent source of disability-related claims filed with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Back pain affects 80 percent of Americans at some time in their lives and costs the nation an estimated $50 billion to $100 billion each year in medical treatment, worker compensation, and lost productivity.

Funded by the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research, the Vermont Back Research Center also provides information services such as bibliographic searches and fact finding, as well as consulting services in the areas of rehabilitation engineering and ergonomics.

For further information about the Back Research Center contact:
University of Vermont
Vermont Back Research Center
One South Prospect Street
Burlington, VT 05405
1-800-527-7320
http://physioweb.med.uvm.edu/

Press Release Example : Note:This press release was originally submitted to the Burlington Free Press. It was picked up on the news wire and led to subsequent articles in:
The Detroit News, January 20, 1998
MSNBC, August 24, 1998 <http://www.msnbc.com/news/190131.asp>
Smithsonian Magazine, August 1998 <http://www.smithsonianmag.com/smithsonian/issuesall/issues98/aug98/back.html>

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