Press Release (example) for Marie Stopes

Example of a press release. NOT real.

PRESS RELEASE

30^Th of January 2010

Campaign “Be STRONG, say STOP”.

A new campaign to create safe sex awareness for the Afro-Caribbean society in the UK has been launched today by Marie Stopes International. The campaign “Be STRONG, say STOP” is encouraging women to look after their sexual health.

At Marie Stopes International UK clinics we often see young people wanting to seek information and services, however being reserved when it comes to seek help, is resulting in an unintended sexually transmitted infection. We hope that the first phase of the campaign, “Be STRONG, say STOP”, will encourage younger women to talk more openly about their options and fears, and find a method to best suit their individual needs and circumstances, enabling them to practice safer sex.

The campaign will run for four months until end of April 2010. The counting up timer has travelled around the UK for the whole of January, showing how many people get infected every day.

From today the www.bestrong.com website for young women is lunched in order to get them talking and registering their views on the safe sex issues. When they register they will receive a bracelet to promote their confidence and strength in a healthier sexual life and the goal of the Marie Stopes International campaign.

Yekaterina Odintsova spokes person for the campaign at Marie Stopes International said: “Marie Stopes International welcomes the new national campaign to promote more open and honest discussions about safe sex.”

Prevention is better than cure, and the evidence is clear that when women are able to talk about sex, and are provided with information and access to a variety of contraceptive methods, reductions in sexually transmitted infections rates will improve.

- END -

Notes for Editors

· Marie Stopes International is a specialist organisation providing expert and confidential care and support to adults and teenagers in relation to their sexual and reproductive healthcare. This includes advice, information and services related to regular and emergency contraception provision, sexually transmitted infections and unintended pregnancies.

· Website for the campaign www.bestrong.com

· Marie Stopes International provides a 24 hour information line to offer advice and assistance: 0845 300 8090. For further information, please visit www.mariestopes.org.uk

Contacts

Press officer Yekaterina Odintsova

Tribeca Public Relations

T: +44 (0) 796 193 2456

y.odintsova@tribecapr.com

www.tribecapr.com

Transparency And The Truth In Public Relations

We talk in PR about transparency, the need for companies to tell the truth, to avoid hiding or camouflage facts. But how can PR be transparent? Im thinking if there is a link between truth telling and transparency. Telling the truth means giving up all facts and secrets, where as transparency means you need to show your every step.

Do companies want to give up their whole process? Maybe for some companies it is relevant, but companies like Apple live on their secrecy. No one knows about their product before the launch day, and it works for them, and seams like their audience forgive them for the discloser of information. So why do people require transparency and availability to any information they want?

Looking up the definition of transparency: “Transparency is the opposite of privacy.” Of course, you can’t say that about truth, which drives this discussion about the difference between truth and transparency. Truth doesn’t require that “all information…is open and freely available.” Maybe people want the truth and not transparency. I believe with the new online communication, many question if what we read online is the truth, who writes the information, some one we can trust? PR since its beginning have been perceived as a deception practice, which means the transparency in online communication might be our way to put things straight and change this perception by for once telling the truth.

I'm writing this to see what others think, as i want to explore this 'transparency' concept further in my dissertation.