I attended a Business Wire panel this morning on the value of adding visuals -- from product photos to video clips -- to news releases through BW's "Smart News Release" offering. A news release with a photo attached, for example, is 2.5 times as likely to be viewed as a text-only release.

The panel featured Chris Wilkins, photo editor for The Dallas Morning News, and David Kent, photo editor for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, as well as a BW exec. They provided the following recommendations for getting your picture in print (with or without the Smart News Release service):

-- Preferred format is Photoshop jpeg, at least 300 dpi
-- Let them know if you've altered the photo beyond basic cleanup, so it can be labeled as a photo illustration rather than a news photo
-- Include a detailed caption in the Photoshop file; many photos are tossed because the cutline info can't be found on deadline
-- With decreases in staffing levels at most newspapers, more submitted photos are being used than in the past. However, so many photos are submitted by PR folks that if your ducks aren't all lined up just right, your submission will probably end up in the trash.
-- Partly as a result of reduced staffing levels, a greater portion of the paper is produced in advance than in the past. So submit your photo early whenever possible -- at least a week before you'd like it to appear in print.