When setting out on a sports journalism course, you may not think that you are going to be spending much time writing press releases. However, such a course might lead you to a job, either in a PR agency specialising in sport or at a professional sports organisation, that will require this. Here we are going to explain one idiosyncrasy of press releases.
Why would a sports journalist need to understand press releases?
Before you enter your professional career, you will probably have enrolled in one of the sports journalism courses found online from a school such as https://schoolofjournalism.co.uk/journalism-courses/sports/. As part of your course, you will learn how to write pithy pieces which get to the heart of a story, and these are the essence of a good press release. Also, you may end up in a job which involves dealing with press releases and turning them into entertaining stories.
History of the -30- ending to press releases
Even in 2025, you will see press releases come across your desk ending “-30-“. This basically tells you that the release ends at that point.
The background to this is the 19th-century form of communication, the telegraph. The 92 Code was adopted by Western Union in 1859 to give telegraph operators a series of numbers to use as shorthand. For example, 1 meant “wait a minute”, and 2 signalled that the message was very important. 30 simply meant “No More – The End”.
How to deal with press releases
Whichever genre of sports journalism you are involved in, you will probably see press releases drop on your desk. As part of your course, you will have been taught how to edit pieces, and this will come in handy when dealing with press releases issued by PR companies representing sports organisations, individual athletes or their representatives.
These releases will be angled on behalf of the individual or the organisation. Therefore it is your job, as a sports journalist, to interpret them independently on behalf of your readers, viewers or listeners. Just don’t add -30- at the end of your piece!
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