23 October 2020

How to Get Your Press Releases Noticed

This article is for public information officers (PIOs) eager to distribute their astronomy-related press releases to interested science writers in the absence of the AAS press-release-forwarding service, which ceased operation in December 2020 after 35 years.

Where to Send Press Releases

There are many online services that aggregate and/or distribute scientific press releases, some operated by nonprofit scientific associations and others by for-profit corporations. Most display releases on the web, send them out via an RSS feed, and/or send them out by email. Science writers generally don't have to pay to read/receive press releases, but institutions generally do have to pay to post/distribute press releases — that's how these services make money. Some services charge per release, others charge an annual fee to post an unlimited number of releases, and others charge an annual membership fee plus a per-release fee on top of that. Different services offer different options, letting you post releases under embargo for any specified date and time in the future, letting you schedule when your releases go live, and/or letting you post releases for immediate distribution.

Press Release Services

Here, in alphabetical order, is a list of the most popular services that aggregate and/or distribute astronomy-related press releases. Most of them also cover other disciplines but allow science writers to specify which fields they're interested in when they sign up for email or RSS updates so as not to inundate the with irrelevant material. We recommend that you explore features, pricing, and terms for several of these services and see how they compare before deciding which one(s) to use regularly. Based on surveys of the AAS Press List, the most-used services among journalists are EurekAlert (operated by the American Association for the Advancement of Science, or AAAS), Phys.org, and ScienceDaily, whereas the most-used service among PIOs — by a wide margin — is EurekAlert.

Based on our survey data, after EurekAlert the most popular way that PIOs distribute press releases is via their own email lists, which typically emphasize local reporters, editors, and producers but also include a smattering of national and international science writers.

Press Release Headlines & Links

Even with the AAS no longer forwarding other institutions' press releases to journalists by email, we will continue to post press-release headlines and links on our website and on Twitter, so we encourage you to keep the address press-release@aas.org on your distribution lists. Thank you!

If you have a correction or suggestion for this page, please email the AAS Press Officer.