Asia Pacific Forum of National Human Rights Institutions The inverted pyramid Journalists are taught to write stories using the “inverted pyramid” model. This approach places the most important information – the “lead” – at the start of the story, with information following in descending order of importance. This means that readers can leave the story at any point and take away the key points, even if they don’t have all the details. It also allows sub-editors to edit the story if there are space restrictions in the printed version of the newspaper. Information in media releases should also be organized according to the same principles. THE LEAD The most important information Gives the who, what, when, where, why and how of the story THE BODY The crucial information Provides the argument, the evidence, the controversy or the reaction THE TAIL Additional information May include interesting or related information Distributing your release Media releases can be emailed or “tweeted” to journalists, using the details in your media contact list. Depending on the importance of the story, you can call a journalist to see if he or she has received your release. Journalists are often busy and have deadlines to meet so it is important to make your call brief and to the point. If you do contact the journalist, don’t try to argue the newsworthiness of the story over the phone – that should have been done in the media release. 22 | Chapter 2: Engaging with the media: Tools and strategies