When I was running for [and winning~] political office, I learned the value of a good press release. I had one campaign volunteer that did nothing but write press releases.

Newspapers and other media outlets have reporters that are usually overworked and underpaid. They have a need to write articles that are timely and interesting to their readers while meeting deadlines.

If you present a well-written news article about you, then you have just provided a pre-written news piece that is [hopefully] timely and interesting to read. You have just made someone else's life easier.

Your press release should sound like a news story, so it will not need editing. Make sure you include your name and all contact information as well as date of release. After your story, put a paragraph that states you are giving the recipient permission to publish and permission to give the story to others to republish; also permission to edit as necessary and *permission to the recipient to claim authorship*. That way it can be edited slightly [or not at all] and the reporter will run it with his or her name as author, making it appear more like a news story and less like a press release, because news stories are more interesting than press releases.

It is the advertising you just cannot buy.