A person who can answer questions directly or refer the editor to the appropriate source of more information. Get down to specifics. And get the good stuff up front. You're up against an editor's time and the fact that he or she may be flipping through dozens of news releases. If your headline and first paragraph don't grab attention, what happens after that doesn't matter.
Editors love numbers and statistics.
Include the square footage, type of structure, estimated construction cost, exact location and what the addition will be used for. If you've hired a new vice president, for example, you might get extra mileage by sending a news release to the VP's hometown newspaper. Check every news release for accuracy, especially numbers and the spelling of names. Then check it again. Then give it to someone else to check.