How to Write a Campaign Press Release in Wisconsin

Local papers and radio shows still need news about the races in their area, and most weeks they get very little of it. A short, clean press release hands them that story with your name in it. Done right, it costs you one evening and a phone call.

Tony RuffiNov 13, 202612 min read

Add as a preferred source on Google

This guide covers what counts as news, how to write a release step by step, and a fill-in template you can copy. It also shows who to send it to and the slips that send a release straight to the trash. By the end of it, you'll be ready to send your first one this week.

What is a campaign press release, and does a local race need one?

A campaign press release is a one-page news story your campaign writes and sends to reporters. It says what happened, who did it, when, where and why, with a quote from the candidate. Yes, a local race needs one. Small newsrooms have few reporters, so a clear, true release is often what they use.

Why do local reporters need what you send them?

Because there are fewer of them every year. Northwestern University's Medill school tracks local news across the country. Its 2025 report found that almost 40% of local newspapers have closed in the past twenty years. Now 212 counties have no local news source at all, and 1,525 counties have only one.

The same report says about 50 million Americans now have little or no local news to turn to (The State of Local News 2025). Think about what that means for a small newsroom in Wisconsin. One or two people may cover the school board, the city council, high school sports and the county fair. They can't be at every event.

When a campaign sends a clean story with the facts checked and a quote ready to use, it saves them hours. That's the deal a good release makes. You do the legwork, and they decide if it's news.

Will every release get printed? No. A reporter can cut it, rewrite it, call you with questions or skip it. But a release that's easy to use gets picked up far more often than one that isn't.

Coverage like this is called earned media, which means news coverage you didn't pay for. A paid ad runs because you bought the space. Earned media runs because a reporter or a host decided your news was worth telling, and that is the whole point of it.

Want help turning campaign news into stories local outlets will run? Our political consulting team handles press for candidates all over Wisconsin. The first call is free.

What campaign news is worth a press release?

News is something that just happened, or is about to happen, that voters in your area would want to know. A launch, a big endorsement, a public event, a plan on one local issue or a real milestone all count. "We're working hard" doesn't. If you can't say what changed this week, wait.

Here's how we sort it with the candidates we work with:

A ward is one of the small voting areas a city, village or town is split into. Most local campaigns we've worked on have room for a handful of good releases from launch to election day. Your launch is the first one, and our article on how to announce your candidacy walks through that day. An endorsement is often the second, and our endorsements article covers how to earn them.

How do you write a campaign press release, step by step?

Start with a short headline that says the news. Put who, what, when, where and why in the first two sentences. Add one quote from the candidate, then the rest of the details, most important first. End with a two-line "about" note and a name and phone number that a reporter can call today.

1. Put "FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE" and the date at the top. That tells the reporter they can use it right now.
2. Write a headline of about 10 words. Say the news plainly. "Local nurse runs for county board" beats "A New Voice for Our Community."
3. Start with a dateline. A dateline is the name of the town the news comes from, set in capital letters at the start of the first line.
4. Put the news in the first two sentences. If a reporter reads only that far, they should still have the whole story.
5. Add one quote from the candidate. Two or three sentences in plain talk, saying why this matters to people in your area.
6. Give the details next. Times, places, the names of people involved and a link to your website. Most important first.
7. Close with an "about" note. Two lines on who the candidate is and what seat they're running for.
8. List one contact. One name, one phone number that someone will answer, and the campaign website.
9. End with ###. Three pound signs at the bottom are how newsrooms mark the end of a release.

Read it out loud before you send it. If you run out of breath in the middle of a sentence, cut that sentence in two. If a word sounds like an ad, like "amazing" or "best," take it out, because a reporter will.

What does a good campaign press release look like?

A good one fits on one page and reads like a short news story. Below is a fill-in template we start from. Swap each part in brackets for your own facts. Keep the order the same, because it's the order a busy reporter reads in: the news first, the quote next, the details last.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

[Date]

[Name] runs for [office]

[YOUR TOWN], Wis.: [Name], a [job] who has lived in [area] for [number] years, said today [they] will run for [office] in the [month year] election. [Name] will hold a kickoff at [place] on [day and time], and the public is welcome.

"[Two or three sentences on why you're running, in your own words]," said [Name].

[One short paragraph on the one or two things you want to work on first.]

[One short paragraph with event details, how people can help and your website.]

About [Name]: [Two lines: job, ties to the area and the seat.]

Contact: [Name], [phone], [website]

###

For a public event, send the release about a week ahead, then send a short reminder the day before. For news that already happened, like a big endorsement, send it the same day while it's still new.

Some campaigns also send a media advisory, which is a short note inviting reporters to an event. It's just the who, what, when and where, plus a line on what they'll be able to film or photograph. A release tells the story, and an advisory asks them to come see it.

A press release is news, not an ad. Anything you pay to run, like an ad in that same paper, follows its own "paid for by" rules, which our paid-for-by article covers. That's a plain-English overview, not legal advice, so check the current rules with the Wisconsin Ethics Commission or a lawyer.

Who should get your press release, and how do you send it?

Send it to every outlet that reaches your voters: daily and weekly papers, local radio, TV stations that cover your area and local news websites. Find the reporter or news desk that covers local races at each one. Paste the release into the body of the email, use a clear subject line and send each email by itself.

Start a media list, which is a simple spreadsheet of the outlets and people who cover your area. For each one, write down:

• the name of the outlet and what kind it is (paper, radio, TV or website)
• the reporter or editor who covers local government or elections
• their email and the newsroom phone number
• the deadline day, if it's a weekly paper
• notes, like "wants a photo" or "has a call-in show on weekday mornings"

Write the subject line like a headline: "NEWS: [Name] runs for [office], kickoff [date]." Send each outlet its own email, so no one sees a long list of other names. Add one good photo of the candidate, sized for email. Our article on candidate headshots shows what a clean one looks like.

Then follow up once. A day later, call or send a short note: "Just making sure you got this, and I'm glad to set up a call with [Name]." If they pass, thank them and move on. You'll have more news next month.

Don't leave out radio. Local talk shows and public radio programs fill hours of air every week and need guests to do it. A short email to the show's producer works best. Say who you are, what seat you're running for and one local topic you can talk about for ten minutes.

What can a statewide launch teach a local campaign about the news?

That the first word goes where your voters already listen. On September 23, 2025, Tom Tiffany made his run for governor official live on WISN-AM's Dan O'Donnell Show, a talk radio show. His campaign also put out a launch video, and a public event was set for the next day.

WPR reported the radio moment, including his line, "I'm here to announce on your show that I'm going to run for governor" (WPR). Ballotpedia picked up the launch video the next day (Ballotpedia News). One piece of news, told three ways: on the radio, on video and in person.

You don't need a statewide race to do the same thing. For a local seat, it can look like this:

• Give one outlet the first word. Pick the morning radio show or the weekly paper your voters read most.
• Send the release to everyone else as soon as that first story airs or posts.
• Post your launch video and your website the same day, so people who hear the news can find you.
• Hold a public event within a day or two, so reporters have something to film or photograph.

How did press work help a first-time candidate finish first?

It kept a new name in front of voters every week. In spring 2026, Yauo Yang ran for school board for the first time against three incumbents, people who already held seats. He got 8,231 votes, the most in the race. Earned media and forums carried the final stretch of that campaign.

Our case study on that race lays out how the campaign was built from nothing in about three months. Press wasn't the only thing that mattered. But it helped a first-timer stay in the news next to people voters had known for years.

Press work doesn't stop when you hit send. A good release gets a reporter to call, and what you say on that call is what gets printed, in the paper or on a news website. The thing we've seen get the most traction is plain, brutal honesty said in short sentences.

People don't care to read two full paragraphs on what you think about taxes. Picture walking into a room and saying, "I'm going to talk about taxes for two minutes. Who wants to hear it?" A few die-hard fans might raise a hand, but most of the room won't. If you wouldn't read it, other people probably won't either. Our team could talk about sound gear and audio networks for hours, but explain it to most people and they'd sigh and check the clock. So keep it short and sweet.

Be honest, too, because people can smell a lie, and in politics most of them already feel like they're being lied to. There's an old joke: how do you know when a politician is lying? Their mouth is moving. A joke like that sticks around because people don't trust politicians. That's why honesty works so well right now. Tell them what you think and how you feel, and most of the time it goes over well. It still depends on your district: taking a big stand most of your voters disagree with will push people away.

What do we tell candidates before they hit send?

Check every fact twice, keep it short and make it about voters, not about you. Spell every name right, give a phone number someone answers, and never use a release to attack the other candidate. Reporters remember who sends them clean, useful news, and they remember who doesn't.

• Only send real news. Every release that isn't news makes the next one easier to skip.
• Don't bury the news. If the news sits in paragraph four, the reporter won't get there.
• Answer fast. When a reporter calls back, call them back the same day if you can. They're on a deadline, and you're not the only story.
• Use your campaign email. It looks real, it's easy to find later and it keeps the press away from your personal inbox.
• Fix facts, not feelings. If a story gets a fact wrong, ask kindly for a fix. If you just don't like how it was told, let it go and send better news next time.
• Say thanks. A two-line thank you after a story runs costs nothing and is remembered.

Our article on the first week of running shows where press fits among everything else you'll be doing.

Good news, made easy to use

A press release is good news, made easy to use. That's all it is. Every story with your name in it is one more time a voter sees you before they ever meet you, and in a local race that adds up fast.

Write your launch release tonight with the template above, build your media list this weekend and send it the morning your campaign goes public. We help candidates in every part of Wisconsin, from the Northwoods to the Illinois line, get their news in front of voters. That goes for any seat, from school board to Congress & governor. Call 715-314-3250 or book a free consultation and we'll help you get known.

Fact-checked November 13, 2026 against Northwestern Medill's State of Local News 2025 report, WPR's September 2025 report on Tom Tiffany's announcement, Ballotpedia News, and the Bluejack school board case study.