How journalists want media releases
The ideal press release should be included directly in the email and also attached as a Word or PDF file. This was the finding of a survey conducted by the PR network Ecco International among journalists in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. Download links are well accepted for images, but not for text.
In the second half of April 2013, a total of 450 journalists from Germany, Austria and Switzerland took part in an online survey conducted by the Ecco agency network on the ideal form of media releases. The results show a relatively uniform picture across national borders, as detailed in a press release. Media representatives would like to receive the texts directly in the e-mail as plain text (no HTML formats) and also attached as a Word or PDF file. Media releases should be clearly marked as such in the subject line.
Telephone calls to remind people of media appointments are now taboo throughout the German-speaking world; media professionals want a short e-mail with the relevant key data for this purpose. Today, images and graphics are not only accepted as download links, but also as attachments by almost all editorial offices; for most media professionals, these attachments can be over two MB in size.
The study
450 media professionals in Germany, Austria and Switzerland responded to an online survey conducted by the Ecco agency network on the ideal form of media releases. They represent a cross-section of the German-speaking media scene, from daily newspapers, magazines, trade press and electronic media to freelance journalists and editorial offices. The survey was conducted in the second half of April 2013.
The detailed results for Switzerland (PDF)
You can find the complete study results here: www.ecco-network.de/page0/page29/
