Your news is worth a press release if something has actually changed, you can state it in one sentence with a name, a date and a checkable fact, and someone outside your company would learn something from it. Launches, new locations, original research, partnerships, acquisitions, senior hires, independently granted awards and milestones with a clear basis usually qualify. Brand refreshes, general statements about how good you are and lightly reworded repeats of an earlier release usually do not.
Which announcements usually justify a release?
These are the kinds of news that tend to carry a release on their own:
- launching a new product or service;
- opening a new location or entering a new market;
- publishing original research or your own data;
- announcing a partnership, with what each side contributes;
- making an acquisition;
- appointing a senior leader;
- reaching a significant milestone you can show the basis for;
- receiving an award or accreditation granted by an independent body;
- releasing an annual or quarterly industry report;
- announcing an event with a date, place and organiser; or
- documenting a material change to the business, such as a rebrand or a change of ownership.
What they have in common is that each one creates a record of a specific event, with people, places, dates and figures attached.
Which announcements usually do not?
Some news is real but too thin to distribute. Some is not news at all.
| Announcement | Why it usually falls short |
|---|---|
| "We have refreshed our website" | Nothing has changed for customers, journalists or anyone else |
| "We remain committed to excellent service" | A statement of intent with no event behind it |
| A seasonal discount | That is an advert, not an announcement, and editors will send it back |
| The same launch, reworded a month later | No new information, so a reader has nothing to learn |
| An award you paid to enter with no judging criteria | It will not survive a journalist checking it |
| "We are exploring opportunities in Europe" | No decision, date or place to report |
If your news is on this list, it may still belong on your own website or blog. It just does not need distributing.
What are the four tests?
Run your announcement through these in order. If it fails one, fix that before going further.
1. Has something actually changed?
A release documents an event. Something now exists, has opened, has been published, has been signed or has started that was not true before. If the honest answer is "not really", stop here.
2. Can you say it in one sentence?
Write the news as one sentence containing who, what and when. For example: "Kestrel Dental opened its fifth practice, in Penarth, on 2 November 2026." If you need three sentences of background before the news appears, either the news is not clear yet or it is not news. The full set of questions every release must answer is in who, what, where, when, why and how.
3. Can someone check it?
Could a journalist, a search engine or an AI assistant find something that confirms the claim: an address, a product page, a regulator's register, a partner's own announcement, a methodology? If the main claim rests on adjectives, it will not hold. From vague claims to verifiable facts shows how to rewrite claims so they can be checked.
4. What new information does it add?
A strong release adds at least one of these to the public record: a new fact, event, dataset, product, relationship, result, market development or expert interpretation. If a reader who already knows your company would learn nothing, the release has no job to do.
How does this work on real candidates?
Kestrel Dental, a fictional group of dental practices in Cardiff, has four possible announcements this quarter. All details are invented for the example.
| Candidate | Changed? | One sentence? | Checkable? | New information? | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New logo and brand colours | Barely | Yes | Yes | Not for outsiders | Website news only |
| Fifth practice opens in Penarth on 2 November | Yes | Yes | Yes: address, opening date | Yes: new location, services, jobs | Release |
| "Our patients love us" | No | No | No | No | Drop it |
| Analysis of 11,200 check-ups finds 1 in 6 children overdue by more than a year | Yes | Yes | Yes, with method stated | Yes: original data | Release, and the strongest of the four |
The data release is the most useful because nobody else has that information. Original research is one of the strongest formats for search and AI visibility when it is genuine, which is why it gets its own post: research and data press releases.
What if your news is close but not quite there?
Often the news is real but underpowered. A few ways to strengthen it without inventing anything:
- Add the numbers you already have. An opening becomes stronger with the number of staff hired, the services offered and the date. A milestone becomes stronger with how it was counted.
- Wait for the date. A launch with a fixed date is news. "Coming soon" is not.
- Combine related updates into one substantial release, rather than sending several thin ones. This is different from reissuing the same news with small changes, which you should avoid.
- Publish it on your own site instead. Not everything needs distributing. A clear newsroom page still helps people and search engines understand your business.
Frequently asked questions
Is a funding round worth a press release?
Usually, yes, if you can say who invested, what round it was, what the money is for and, where you are willing to disclose it, the amount. A raise with no investors named and no use of funds is much weaker.
Can I announce something that has not happened yet?
Yes, when it has a fixed date and firm details: an event with a venue and registration, or a launch with an on-sale date. Plans without a decision, a date or a place are better kept until they are real.
How often should a business publish releases?
When there is meaningful news, not to meet a quota. Empty monthly releases do more harm than good. How often to publish press releases covers cadence by goal.
Once you have news that passes all four tests, the next post covers the six questions every release must answer before you submit it.
media:on Editorial. Written and reviewed by the media:on editorial team, who edit every release before it files.