A Press Release Approval Process for PR Agencies
One wrong number in a release can't be recalled. A press release approval process for PR agencies, from brief to distribution, with fewer rounds.
A Press Release Approval Process for PR Agencies
The press release has been in approval for nine days. The CEO has changed her quote twice. Legal wants a line taken out, and marketing wants it back in. By the time everyone agrees, the news is old, and the journalist you'd lined up has moved on.
The opposite failure is worse. It goes out quickly, with the wrong revenue figure, and a journalist picks it up. Once a release has gone, you can't really unsend it.
An approval process has to deal with both problems at once: fast enough that the news is still news, and careful enough that everything in it is true.
What's at Stake
A press release has to work for an audience that's already swamped. In Muck Rack's State of Journalism 2026, 86% of journalists said at least some of their stories start with a PR pitch, while 43% said they seldom receive pitches that match what they cover. And 88% said they discard a pitch that doesn't match their coverage area.
So journalists do use what PR sends them, but they're strict about what's worth their time. A release that's late, vague or wrong spends some of your credibility, and that credibility belongs to the whole agency, not just this client.
There's a legal side too. A false statement about a competitor or a named person can raise defamation issues under laws such as the UK's Defamation Act 2013. And claims in marketing communications can fall under rules like the ASA's advertising codes. This is exactly why a release needs a process rather than a group email.
Start With a Brief
Most approval pain begins with a release that nobody agreed the purpose of. Before writing, get these answers:
- What's the news? One sentence. If you can't write it, you might not have a story.
- Who's it for? Which outlets and which readers?
- Why now? Is there a date, an event or a reason it matters today?
- What are the facts and sources? Numbers, names, dates and where they came from.
- Who's quoted, and who approves? Named people, with their availability.
- When does it go out? Work backwards from that date.
The Approval Path
Each stage has an owner, and each owner checks something different. Reviewers given a vague "any comments?" will comment on everything.
| Stage | Who | What they check |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Draft | Account Executive | Written from the brief |
| 2. Internal review | Account Director | Newsworthy, clear, right angle |
| 3. Fact check | Account team | Every fact traces to a source |
| 4. Quotes | Person quoted | Their own words, in writing |
| 5. Legal | Client's legal contact | Claims, risk and disclosure |
| 6. Client sign-off | Named approver | Final approval, in writing |
| 7. Final proof | Someone fresh | Exactly what will be sent |
| 8. Distribution | Account team | Embargo, list, timing |
For a typical release, three to five working days is a realistic target, assuming that people are available. Urgent news needs a faster route, so agree that in advance.
Stage 2: Is it actually news?
This is the review that gets dodged. An internal reviewer should be willing to say: "This isn't a story." It's better to hear that now from a colleague than to hear nothing at all from every journalist on the list.
Stage 3: Check every fact
Go through the release line by line. Every number, name, job title, date and product claim needs a source. Spell-check people's names against a reliable source, not against the last release. If anything came from an AI draft, treat it as unverified until you've confirmed it.
Stage 4: Get quotes approved by the person quoted
It's common for agencies to draft quotes, and that's fine, but the person named must approve the wording themselves. Approval by their assistant, or by their marketing team on their behalf, is how you end up with an unhappy executive.
Stage 5: Legal, at the right moment
Bring in legal after the facts are settled, but early enough that they aren't rushed. Tell them exactly what you need them to look at. If your client is a listed company, financial news has its own disclosure rules, and their legal or investor relations team has to lead on timing.
Stage 6: Written sign-off, on the final version
Sign-off applies to one specific version. If the text changes after that, even "just a small tweak", it needs a fresh approval. Most horror stories start with someone making a small change after sign-off.
Stage 7: The fresh-eyes proof
Someone who hasn't seen the release reads what's going out: the final text, as it'll appear, with links and attachments. Check the date, the dateline, the contact details and the boilerplate. Out-of-date boilerplate is a remarkably common error.
Keeping It Moving
The most common blocker isn't disagreement. It's silence. A few habits help:
- Share a schedule at the start. Send each person the date you need them, not just the deadline.
- One document, one version. Comments in one shared place stop people editing different copies.
- Name one person to settle disagreements. When legal and marketing conflict, someone at the client has to decide.
- Limit the reviewers. Each one adds time. Ask who really needs to approve, and who just needs to know.
- Book time for the CEO. Don't wait for a senior person to find a gap. Put ten minutes in the diary.
Distribution
Approved isn't finished. Before it goes:
- Check the embargo terms, if there is one, and be clear about the time and time zone.
- Pitch the right people individually. Given the mismatch that journalists describe, a targeted note to a handful of relevant reporters beats a blast to everyone.
- Publish it on the client's own site at the same time, if appropriate.
- Tell the client's team, so that they aren't surprised by a call.
- Have the spokesperson ready, because the release might actually work.
The Honest Trade-off
Eight stages is a lot, and it doesn't all apply all the time. A routine product update from a small client might need just a draft, a fact check and sign-off. Reserve the full path for news with legal, financial or reputational risk.
Long approval chains also have a cost that's easy to miss: the news goes stale. If a client's process always takes a fortnight, tell them what it's costing, because you can't make up for it with a better pitch. And don't let the release itself become the goal. Sometimes a short personal pitch to one journalist does more than any release.
Put Your Process on Paper
Sharing a written process with a new client at the start saves a surprising amount of argument later.
Build your press release approval SOP, free
You can't recall a press release. Everything in this process exists to make sure that the version leaving your hands is one that you'd be happy to defend, and that it arrives while it's still news.
