The final lines of a press release should let a journalist verify the story or request an interview quickly. PR Newswire and Business Wire both emphasize a clear media contact. Some organizations also use an end mark such as ### to signal that the copy is complete; the mark is a convention, not a substitute for the contact or a requirement of every publishing system.
What the contact block should contain
Name a real person or monitored team, organization, email address, and a phone number appropriate for the release's schedule. Add a time zone or availability note when the announcement is international or goes live outside normal hours. If the expert and media coordinator are different people, make the route to the expert clear without publishing a private number without consent.
Test the mailbox and phone before distribution. An inbox that bounces or an unstaffed generic line can waste the time of the one reporter who wants to follow up. For a sensitive announcement, agree on who may speak, what can be disclosed, and how urgent requests reach the decision-maker.
Where it goes
The organization's boilerplate usually follows the body and call to action; the media contact sits at the end or in the distributor's dedicated contact fields. Some wire interfaces publish contact data separately from the article text. Check the final preview so contact details are visible where intended and no private internal address appears by accident.
A simple illustrative closing is: 'About [Organization]: [one accurate sentence]. Media contact: [Name], [email], [phone].' Replace each bracket with approved information. Do not publish bracketed placeholders or a fabricated spokesperson. The exact order can follow the receiving outlet's style.
What ### does and does not mean
Three hash marks, centered or on their own line, are a traditional end-of-release marker. Some teams use '-30-' or 'ENDS'; others omit an end mark because the submission form already separates fields. Choose the convention your team and distributor use consistently. It simply marks the end of the release copy.
Do not place important information after an end mark if the recipient may treat it as outside the public release. Keep internal notes, approval history, private phone numbers, and pitching instructions in the team's workflow rather than inside the distributable text.
Final publication check
Preview the release on desktop and mobile, open the links, and ask someone else to verify the date, contact details, and quoted person's title. Confirm that the published version includes the intended boilerplate and that any change after distribution can be corrected through the provider's process.
The strongest ending makes it easy to act on the news. A decorative marker cannot rescue a release whose contact is unreachable or whose core facts cannot be confirmed.