In plain English
What does dateline mean?
A dateline is a short line, usually in capital letters, placed at the beginning of the first paragraph of a press release to identify the city (and sometimes state or country) from which the news originates, along with the date. It signals to editors where the story is based and helps wire services route regional coverage correctly.
Datelines follow a strict convention: CITY, STATE ABBREVIATION, Month Day, Year — followed by an em dash and the lead sentence. Inaccurate or missing datelines can cause wire services to reject a release outright.
Example
AUSTIN, Texas, June 12, 2024 — Acme Robotics today unveiled its newest warehouse robot.
Use it well
Three practical tips
- 01
Use the city where the news actually happened, not just headquarters.
- 02
Follow AP style abbreviations for states.
- 03
Never leave the date out; wire services will bounce the submission.
Knowledge check
Did it stick?
What two pieces of information does a dateline always include?
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