The workshop, “Press Release Essentials: Best Practices For Your Community Newspaper,” will be presented by LPN Editor Andy Flynn via the Zoom videoconferencing platform. It will last two hours.

“With shrinking budgets, community organizations and small businesses need cost-effective ways to tell the public about their news,” Flynn said. “And newspaper editors are always looking for story ideas and local news to help fill their pages.”

Participants will learn the basics of writing and distributing press releases and the best practices to get their releases published in community newspapers. They will get valuable tips on working with the media, learn how to set up a press release system and receive a PR Toolkit with press release templates, samples and submission guidelines for the Lake Placid News.

The workshop is designed for a wide spectrum of the community, including small businesses, sole proprietors, artists, local sports organizations, nonprofit groups and clubs.

“Community organizations can reach more people through traditional media with effective press releases,” Flynn said. “Social media should only be one tool in an organization’s public relations toolbox, as it only reaches a small portion of our society.”

Recent attendees of the workshop have found the material helpful.

“This workshop gave me the tools to dramatically improve my organization’s press communications,” said Tyler Merriam, donor outreach associate for the Ausable River Association. “I highly recommend this workshop to anyone who wants practical and effective guidance on improving their company’s communications with the public through press releases and related outreach methods.”

Flynn has more than 28 years of experience on both sides of the press release, as a public relations professional and a print and radio journalist, including more than 13 years as a newspaper editor for weekly and daily publications.

There are two workshops being held in the coming weeks: 6 to 8 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 10; and 6 to 8 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 17.

Preregistration for the workshop is required in order to receive an invitation to the Zoom meeting. It is only available for participants in the Tri-Lakes region.

To register, email Andy Flynn at news@lakeplacidnews.com.

This workshop is a free service of the Lake Placid News, which covers communities in the towns of Jay, Keene, Wilmington and North Elba, as well as the village of Lake Placid.

Learn more about the Lake Placid News online at www.lakeplacidnews.com.