Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with pressreleases

How do I secure the rights to reprint publications of the Canadian government?

synecdoche — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 11:51:02 -0800

Whose permission do I need to reprint publications of the Canadian government? I am currently doing some work helping somebody prepare a (scholarly) book for publication. One of the things that said person would like to include in the book is an appendix that includes reprints of publications of the Canadian Prime Minister's Office (such as press releases) as well as the exact wording of debates and discussion in provincial legislatures and the federal parliament.

My job at the moment is to find out who needs to be contacted to obtain these permissions, but I can't for the life of me figure out who I need to talk to. I have found, for instance, that the material is protected by Canadian copyright law and that it is he author's / publisher's responsibility to determine who has the rights and to secure the rights. However, nowhere can I find any indication as to who posseses the rights to, say, the text contained in hansard.

We've tried contacting people via e-mail, but responses are few and far between. Short of hiring a copyright lawyer (which is an expense that the author would prefer to avoid if it is at all possible) how do I go about making sure that the text can be legally reprinted?

Press release etiquette?

bubukaba — Thu, 31 Jan 2008 12:31:40 -0800

What is proper etiquette for writing and distributing press releases? General advice, book/website suggestions appreciated; more specific questions inside. I've been publicity chair of a film society in Chicago for about two months. We have a 500-seat cinema, we screen films every night of the week on 35mm whenever possible (often rare or archival prints), and we have some of the most interesting, eclectic programming in the city. So, in some senses we're very professional.

But the reality is that we're actually an all-volunteer organization staffed by unpaid undergraduates (I'm one, too) and occasional cinephiles from the City. The University is completely uninvolved in most of our work.

So, two months ago I found myself in charge of all of our publicity - with pretty much no experience. I think I've done a pretty good job so far, but I'm concerned that my lack of experience is leading me to make a lot of assumptions about what is and isn't okay to do when dealing with the press.

1: I've mostly been emailing our press releases (we send out one announcing our quarterly calendar and about one a month about special events). Is this a terrible idea?

2: Is it bad form to BCC it to everyone with a generic greeting and "this is the press release for ____. Thanks a lot, etc etc" kind of opening letter? Should I be emailing each reporter individually instead?

3: What should the subject line to an emailed press release read?

4: Should I still put -30- at the end of an emailed press release? (What about a paper one?)

5: Is sending an attached .pdf always bad?

6: Under what circumstances should I mail a paper copy?

7: Should I write to ask if people would like to be added to our press list, or if they want to remain on it? How do I build these sorts of relationships? (This is the kind of thing that seems particularly hard in a four-year institution).

8: How do I inform the press of corrections to my initial press releases?

9: Are there differences in how I should approach newspapers and how I should approach blogs? (I'm particularly worried about my dealings with the Slowdown section of Gapers Block - they seem to have completely ignored everything I've sent them, including questions about how to best submit our calendar of screenings to them).

10: Should I write to thank journalists who write things about us?

11: How long should a press release be?

Any suggestions of web or print resources on figuring this whole game out would be enormously appreciated.

where to get press releases?

Svea — Mon, 09 Jan 2006 05:49:34 -0800

how or where does one sign up to receive UK press releases? Are there centralized sources or do the releasing parties pick who to send news to? we are looking to add a related news section to a nascent website and would prefer not to repost news scraped from other online sources but have the ability to report appropriately themed/related subject matter news as it is released. this would only be news gathered that is relevant to the subject matter of the site.

aside from the simple answer to the first question does anyone have anything to share with regard the standards and guidelines one should follow when starting a news site?