Glow rides: press note template

A press note is a brief, punchy media invitation or alert—designed to quickly capture a journalist’s attention and convince them to attend or cover an event. It includes key details, story angles, and access to spokespeople, but keeps things tight and engaging. It’s a perfect format to get the attention of journalists who write local listings and what's on type content which we can use to promote our events, where relevant.

This is different from a press release, which is traditionally a fuller, more formal document written in news story style, often issued after an event or when announcing a development or campaign.

We recommend sending a press note out to journalists a few weeks in advance, with a follow up email a week before. If you can, try and find contact details for individual journalists, rather than sending to a generic contact email.

This is what your final press note should look like. It should be no longer than a page.

You can either copy and paste the text from this page, or download it as a word document to adapt for your own ride.

Date: [Day, DD Month YYYY]
Time: [Start – End time]
Start location: [Be specific, include street names or an exact location]
End location: [Be specific, include street names or an exact location]

[Opening paragraphs – two max]

Join us for our ‘glow ride’, one of many nationwide events organised by local campaigners and community members to highlight the urgent need for safer and more inclusive cycling infrastructure for women.

Open to all the community, this is your chance to get a great story and learn more about how women are often put off cycling because of a lack of safe cycle routes, and how we can change that.

The event:

Use bullet points to outline what you are offering media —people to speak to, visuals, story angles, community participation, notable attendees, etc. Be specific about what will make good content for them. Have a look at our example for inspiration.

Why it matters/Broader relevance

The ride in [place] is organised by [group], and is one of many ‘glow rides’ taking place in various UK towns and cities on 22 October. Glow rides are organised by local communities who are calling on politicians to engage with Cycling UK’s demands for safer cycling conditions for women and greater investment in routes that works for everyone.

The rides, lighting up streets across the country with bike lights, glow sticks and vibrant clothing, are part of the charity’s campaign My Ride. Our Right —which revealed how intimidating behaviour from drivers, poor infrastructure and fears over safety are deterring more women in the UK from cycling compared with men, especially during dark evenings.

Signing off

An opportunity to sign-off and inject some personality. “We really look forward to welcoming you on the day as there are lots of exciting stories to share!”