Some online pressrooms are a study in obfuscating clutter and about as reporter-friendly as a tightly lipped C-suite executive whose company is about to be bought by another. But it doesn't have to be that way. If you want to make your Web site a venue that's amenable to media, following are some guidelines:
• Be organized: Old press releases should be archived-don't leave them up on your site's home page for eternity. That makes your company's communications department look sloppy.
• Avoid excessive downloads of PDF files: Reporters on deadline don't have time to download a million files. Plus, frequently, reporters may have to download an application just to open these files.
• Make sure newsworthy articles have a one-click access on your company's home page: This should be obvious. Make it easy for the reporter to find the article and read it in its entirety.
• Put breaking news on the home page: Again, this is a given and when you do this, you are serving your media audience.
• Post after-hours contacts: News cycles are 24/7 and very often a reporter will want to contact someone after hours.
• Make sure your press releases are searchable.
• Include fact sheets: They’re an excellent resource for deadline-driven journalists. Use them.
• Use a newsletter format: Many pressrooms look like lists. A newsletter format is more helpful and eye-catching when it comes to catching important information.
• Make the articles/news items in your press room printer-friendly: Don't force reporters to print out extra pages.
• Avoid using stale, banal quotes in articles.
• Incorporate FAQs.
• Use downloadable logos.
Source: ragan.com
P.S. From PUBLISIDE:
• Make sure the link to your online press room is visible for users of all servers, including Safari. You don't want to have a journalist surf away from your site because they frustratingly can't find the appropriate link.
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