Press announcement with AI

How can you turn an announcement into information a journalist can use, without letting AI invent the facts?

1250 € per session, excl. VAT

In short

In a half-day session of 3 hours participants turn a factual dossier into a press release that a newsroom can use. They use generative AI to suggest angles, structure the text and revise its wording, then check the evidence, quotations and practical information before human approval.

Why this training?

A press release must enable journalists to identify the news quickly, its relevance to their readership and the verifiable facts. Promotional text, an ambiguous quotation or missing practical information can make the announcement difficult to use. AI makes it easier to suggest headlines and rewrite text, but it can add plausible details without a source. The course teaches participants to separate established facts, proposed wording and elements requiring confirmation, while retaining human editorial responsibility. Running case study: The fictitious association « Traverse Réemploi » is preparing to open a repair workshop for small appliances, accessible to local residents. Its dossier distinguishes between confirmed services, arrangements still to be clarified and a proposed quotation that has not been approved. The press release targets the local press, without turning intentions into commitments. Application at work: For a future announcement, reuse the brief and assessment checklist with information authorised for use. Compare the versions before and after revision against the same criteria, then submit the text to the communications manager before any distribution.

Objectives of this training

  • Select a relevant angle for an identified readership.
  • Structure a press release using the inverted pyramid.
  • Use AI to write a factual headline, standfirst and body text.
  • Verify every claim and identify quotations requiring approval.
  • Assess the text using a checklist and correct any shortcomings.

Who is it for and what are the prerequisites?

Roles and tasks concerned

  • Communications officers who need to write announcements for the media.
  • Managers of associations or small organisations preparing their relations with the local press.

Prior skills

  • Have previous experience of formulating and refining a request in a generative AI assistant.
  • Know the audiences and approval processes for your communications.

What you will work on

  1. Assess the news and its supporting evidence

    Objective: Choose an angle based on the available information. News value, readership, the difference between an announcement and advertising; categorising confirmed and missing facts.

  2. Make the key information immediately clear

    Objective: Prioritise the information before drafting. Informative headline, standfirst, inverted pyramid, context, organisation overview and press contact.

  3. Write without exaggerating

    Objective: Produce a first draft that remains faithful to the sources. Short sentences, precise verbs, removal of jargon; handling proposed quotations and incomplete information.

  4. Check before approval

    Objective: Measure quality and prepare to hand over the text. Sentence-by-sentence verification, consistency between headline and standfirst, practical information, distribution status and internal approval.

What you take away

  • Press brief with an angle, readership and sourced facts.
  • Reusable, annotated writing prompt.
  • Revised press release with elements requiring confirmation flagged.
  • Completed quality checklist and list of required approvals.

Method and assessment

  • Short teaching inputs followed by immediate practice using the running case study.
  • Individual work followed by work in pairs, with peer review of the outputs.
  • Facilitated group discussion: what works, what needs correcting and what remains a human decision.
  • Preparation: Have access to a generative AI tool authorised by the organisation. Prepare an anonymised example of a press release; a fictitious dossier is provided for the exercises.

Observable criteria: The headline and standfirst announce the same central fact without an unsupported superlative. ; The first paragraph answers the essential questions: who, what, where, when and why. ; Every factual claim refers back to the dossier; missing information remains flagged. ; Every quotation is attributed and its approval status is explicit. ; The checklist is completed before and after correction, with resolved shortcomings identified..

Frequently asked questions

Can AI fill in missing information?

No. It must flag the gap; an authorised source then provides the information.

Can a confidential announcement be used?

The exercises use only fictitious or anonymised cases, within tools authorised by the organisation.

Is the press release sent out during the course?

No. The deliverable prepares the text for approval; distribution follows the internal process.

How is the result assessed without press coverage?

The checklist measures the editorial and factual quality of the text, not its uptake by the media.

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