GNOME Press Releases

A press release is a news post designed to be consumed by other websites and journalists. Frequently, this involves writing a news post that can be easily reproduced elsewhere.

Where possible, press releases are produced for major GNOME events.

See our previous press releases.

Posting Press Releases

Press releases are written using the gnome.org Wordpress instance. Ask the Engagement Team for an account, if you don't already have one.

Writing Press Releases

Remember that journalists want to quickly know the Who and What, and then they want to know why it's interesting. They can recognise nonsense.

• Press releases should be written in simple, upbeat, U.S. English. Avoid meaningless superlatives and filler words.
• Write the press release as a complete news story, without the need for modification.
• Ensure that the post includes high-quality images.
• Write for a general audience and don't assume specialist knowledge. Find an angle to write the post from - make it interesting rather than just a factual report.
• Include two or three quotes where appropriate. Generally it is good to have a mix of people from the GNOME project and third-party organisations or companies. You can help the people with the quotes - just make sure that people approve their quotes.

• Follow the style/guidelines of the local market. For instance, in the U.S., we should follow the AP (Associated Press) Stylebook. Also online, the definitive Elements Of Style.

Press Releases for New GNOME Releases

In the past, we used to do separate press releases and news posts for GNOME releases. However, currently we just produce a single news post and a screenshot pack, which can be reused by the press.

• Press release quotes - information on who we have asked for quotes previously, as well as ideas for who to ask in the future.

• Schedule for advertising new release releases

Contacting the Press

Ideally, we should contact members of the press to let them know about the press release. Several members of the Engagement Team have a set of press contacts, so ask around to see if someone can help with this.

Places to try (this list is probably out of date):

• KDE News

• Slashdot

• OSNews

• Linux.org

• LWN

• CNet List of editors & staff writers - Matt Asay also blogs for them.

• Linux Journal - Doc Searls could be a good entry point
• Linux Magazine
• Linux Foundation
• ZDNet - Dana Blankenhorn or Paula Rooney
• The Register
• Groklaw, if relevant
• O'Reilly's Radar, if relevant

• Wiki News world portal to many languages!

  • English Wiki News

• Linux PR

• German:

  • DailyNet.de

  • OpenPR

To reach out internationally, it is a good idea to contact active local groups to get them to help circulate the news to the press in their countries.

Using Embargos

In some situations, it is a good idea to circulate a press release under embargo. This means giving the news story to members of the press prior to it being published, with a date and time set after which they can talk about it.