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PDF Accessibility in PR: Reaching Every Journalist

Press releases are often PDFs. If yours isn’t accessible, you are ignoring journalists with disabilities. Here is how to fix it.

A press release being read by a screen reader device

PDF Accessibility in PR: Reaching Every Journalist

Public Relations is about reach. You want your story to be read by everyone. But if you send a flat, image-based PDF press release, you are blocking blind or low-vision journalists from reading your news.

1. The “Image-Only” Trap

Some PR firms design a beautiful press release in Photoshop and save it as a PDF.

  • The Result: To a screen reader, this file is blank. It’s just one big picture.
  • The Fix: Always use live text.

2. Alt Text for Images

Your press release has a photo of the CEO.

  • Bad: The screen reader says “Image 1234.jpg”.
  • Good: The screen reader says “Photo of CEO Jane Doe smiling at the launch event.” Add Alt Text to every image.

3. Headings for Navigation

Journalists scan. Screen reader users scan by jumping from Heading to Heading.

  • Tag your “About Us” and “Contact” sections as H2s.
  • If you just make the text bold without tagging it, they can’t skip to it.

Conclusion

Accessibility is not just compliance; it’s good communication. Don’t let your format get in the way of your story.

Accessible by default. MergeCanvas generates tagged, accessible PDFs automatically, ensuring your message reaches 100% of your audience.