A news release that provides journalists and other readers an accessible, complete account of your research should contain the following elements. (Condensed from Chapter 10 of Explaining Research):

• An informative top that includes institutional, contact, and embargo information
• A clear compelling headline
• A tight "lede" that concisely conveys the essence of the research findings
• A high "nut graf" that tells the journalist or lay reader why the story is important
• A high "news peg" that gives information on the scientific publication or other reason for issuing the release
• An inverted pyramid style that summarizes the key concepts first, with background relegated to later in the release
• Concise explanations of the scientific concepts
• Caveats about the research
• A broader perspective on how the findings fit into the research field
• Full credit to all the participants
• Unobtrusive titles, rather than long-winded names of professorships, etc.
• "Real" quotes that sound like something a person would really have uttered
• No subjective hype words, such as "breakthrough," leading expert," etc.
• No unattributed subjective statements
• Reader-friendly use of technical terms. For example, definitions on first usage and use of only those terms necessary to tell the story
• Comparative measures that tells readers how big, small, etc. something is in relation to a popular object
• Vivid analogies and descriptions of concepts and experiments
• A conflict-of-interest statement
• Compelling visuals
• A comprehensive account of the research that goes beyond the perfunctory "wire service" version