Short Writing Assignment: News Release

evanliewer
4 days ago
3 min read

By Evan Liewer

Chat GPT Version:

Contact: Tasha Haug, Executive Director, Homeward Animal Shelter

Phone: 701-364-9013

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Headline: Building a Brighter Future for Homeless Pets: Homeward Animal Shelter Launches “Here We Grow – All Paws In!” Capital Campaign

FARGO, N.D. – Homeward Animal Shelter (1201 28th Avenue North, Fargo, ND 58102) is thrilled to announce the launch of its ambitious capital campaign, “Here We Grow – All Paws In!” The campaign aims to raise $15 million to construct a state-of-the-art facility designed to better serve homeless pets and the community.

Key details:

Who: Homeward Animal Shelter and its supporters
What: Fundraising for a new, expanded shelter with an onsite veterinary clinic, dedicated meet-and-greet spaces, foster family areas, and specialized medical/ quarantine zones. homewardonline.org
When: Campaign underway now; the shelter aims to break ground by summer 2026 and open in 2027.
Where: Fargo, North Dakota — current location at 1201 28th Ave N; new facility to be constructed nearby.
Why: The current space is overcrowded and outdated, limiting capacity to provide care, comfort and second chances to homeless animals.
How: Through community donations, major gifts, and legacy gifts — donors can contact the campaign team to explore naming opportunities and recognition packages.

This campaign marks a transformative moment for the shelter and its mission — Rescue. Shelter. Protect. Rehome.

About Homeward Animal Shelter:

Founded in 1966 and funded through community support, Homeward Animal Shelter has placed over 42,000 animals in lifelong homes. Located in North Fargo, the shelter is dedicated to providing compassionate care to lost, abandoned and owner-surrendered cats and dogs, and educating the community on compassionate animal treatment. homewardonline.org

If you’d like further information or wish to schedule an interview, please contact Tasha Haug at the phone or email above.

My Version:

Homeward Animal Shelter

1201 28th Avenue

Fargo, ND 58102

Contact: Tasha Haug, thaug@homewardonline.org

701-364-9013

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Building a Brighter Future for Homeless Pets: Homeward Animal Shelter Launches “Here We Grow – All Paws In!” Capital Campaign

FARGO, N.D. — Homeward Animal Shelter is proud to announce the launch of its capital campaign, “Here We Grow – All Paws In!” The campaign seeks to raise $15 million to build a state-of-the-art facility that will better serve homeless pets and the Fargo-

Moorhead community.

The new shelter will feature:
An onsite veterinary clinic
Expanded meet-and-greet and foster areas
Dedicated medical and quarantine spaces

With the campaign underway as of May 15, 2025, Homeward aims to break ground by summer 2026 and open its doors in 2027. The current facility is outdated and overcrowded, often forcing animals into hallways due to limited space. The new shelter will allow staff to provide greater care, comfort, and second chances for every animal in need.

Community donations, major gifts, and legacy contributions are vital to the campaign’s success. Donors can contact the shelter to explore naming opportunities and recognition packages.

About Homeward Animal Shelter:

Founded in 1966, Homeward Animal Shelter has found lifelong homes for more than 42,000 animals. Located in North Fargo, the shelter provides compassionate care for lost, abandoned, and surrendered cats and dogs while promoting humane education across the community.

###

My Review:

During the Media Pitch assessment of ChatGPT’s work, I hypothesized that a clearer, more instructive prompt would yield higher-quality output. I provided a detailed prompt:

“Write a 175–200 word news release about Homeward Animal Shelter’s capital campaign (see https://www.homewardonline.org/about-us/capital-campaign/). Include Homeward Animal Shelter, address, contact name, email, and phone number; begin with FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE; provide an engaging headline; cover who, what, when, where, why, and how; use a few bullet points for readability; include an effective boilerplate that doesn’t repeat earlier content; and close with ###.”

Using that prompt, the output we received fell short. Compared with last week’s performance, I was less impressed: the draft contained formatting and layout errors, was repetitive, and exceeded the requested word limit by roughly 70 words. Specific problems I corrected in my version include:

Contact information placement and layout: the draft included the shelter’s address in the opening paragraph (unnecessary) and did not format contact details cleanly. I moved and standardized the contact block.
Structure and tone: the draft used a “Who/What/When/Where/Why/How” bullet list that read like a fact sheet. While scannable, it interrupted the narrative flow and reduced professionalism. I converted the most important items into a concise narrative and retained a short bullet list for key features only.
Clarity and concision: I edited sentences for readability and tightened word choice to achieve a more professional tone.
Compliance with prompt: I reduced length to the 175–200 word range and added the closing “###.”

In conclusion, while ChatGPT is capable of producing solid content, this instance required notable edits to meet the prompt’s format, length, and tone requirements.