[Hidden-tech] Is the Press Release Dead?

[William Sweet]

Just my .02 as a longtime former journalist now doing freelance PR.

At least in terms of the local print media, the press release is not dead.
In fact, it's doing better than ever, at least by my experience.

Because newspapers are cutting back staff, they seem to more eagerly take
pre-packaged articles, as long as they are written in relative AP style. I'm
just noticing that, whereas they were more picky a year or two ago, they
seem to love the free copy. I've been rather stunned sometimes as to what
they jumped at.

It all depends on how you package it, in my experience.

Bill


On Thu, May 22, 2008 at 10:23 AM, Ron Miller <ronsmiller at comcast.net> wrote:

>   ** The author of this post was a Good Dobee.
>   ** You too can help the group
>   ** Fill out the survey/skills inventory in the member's area.
>   ** If you did, we all thank you.
>
>
>
> I know as a journalist I am much more likely to pay attention to an email
> from someone I know (like Jeff for instance), who has done his homework and
> clearly understands my needs as a writer. Like any business, PR is really
> about building concrete relationships. I would say more than 90 percent of
> the press releases I get in a week (and I get a lot of them) are completely
> irrelevant to me. But give me a story idea like Jeff describes here and a
> person I can talk to, and Wow!, you've made my life easier. Of course I'm
> going to pay attention to you.
> But all that said, I think one good point that David Scott makes is that
> the audience is not just me and my fellow journalists any more and you can
> find ways to publicize your clients that go beyond the traditional ways of
> getting a client buzz.
>
> I think this is a fascinating area (which is why I interviewed David), but
> I think Web 2.0 concepts like the ones David discusses are applicable beyond
> PR and marketing, and have the power to change everyone's job and how we
> interact with one another. I think that social networking in particular has
> powerful implications for small business owners like the folks on this list
> because it can give you a chance to connect with others and let them know
> what you are up to (in a professional, friendly or collegial fashion), and
> for those of us sitting at home in front of a computer, it gives us a
> gateway to the world that is much more dynamic than email.
>
> Ron
>
>
> Ron Miller
> Freelance Technology Writing Since 1988
> Contributing Editor, EContent Magazine
> Staff Writer, Daniweb.com
>
> email: ronsmiller at ronsmiller.com
> my blog: http://byronmiller.typepad.com
> Daniweb Blog: http://tinyurl.com/5hozlr
> web: http://www.ronsmiller.com
>
> *Winner of the 2006 and 2007 Apex Award for Publication Excellence/Feature
> Writing*
>
>
>
>
> On May 21, 2008, at 3:14 PM, Jeff Rutherford wrote:
>
>    ** The author of this post was a Good Dobee.
>    ** You too can help the group
>    ** Fill out the survey/skills inventory in the member's area.
>    ** If you did, we all thank you.
>
>
> Thanks for sharing Ron.
> I think that press releases tend to be overrated too - and in many cases
> one step above spam. In all the media relations/PR work I've done, I've
> always had the best success with a personal, targeted email or phone call
> based specifically on what a reporter routinely writes about and is
> interested in. And, I often forgo a press release for a concise email with 2
> or 3 relevant bullet points of why a reporter should care about what a
> company is doing.
>
> And, I definitely agree with Amy re: reaching audiences/potential customers
> via online media/blogs/podcasts and bypassing "traditional media"
> altogether. But, I also think that you can strategically use blog
> discussions to pique the interest of reporters at much larger media
> organizations.
>
> I've had success in the past emailing 4 or 5 blog posts about a specific
> topic to a reporter at the New York Times, and said, "You really should take
> a look at this. This discussion/controversy is growing in the blogosphere,
> and it's something that you should be paying attention to, and by the way, I
> have a client who is an expert on this that you should talk to."
>
> Jeff
>
>
>
> Jeff Rutherford
> jeff at jeffrutherford.com
> 413 369-4128 - phone
> 866 677-4108 - fax
> http://www.linkedin.com/in/jeffrutherford
>
>
>
>
> On May 21, 2008, at 11:41 AM, A - Z International wrote:
>
>  ** The author of this post was a Good Dobee.
>  ** You too can help the group
>  ** Fill out the survey/skills inventory in the member's area.
>  ** If you did, we all thank you.
>
>
> Interesting Ron . . .
>
> I seem to be living/breathing PR these last few months and I'd say this is
> a bit extreme, if provocative.
>
> I think amateurs overplay the power of press releases. They're important
> for mass outreach. And they can be tailored for social networking sites,
> listservs, whatever . . .
>
> I do agree that the outlets for your information are shifting. In getting
> news out on the Climate Change Transport Think Tank at UMass next week I'm
> convinced that targeting listservs/Web sites of organizations will prove
> just as important as media coverage. But only time will tell . . .
>
> best,
>
> Amy Zuckerman
> HT Founder
>
>
>
> I did a Q&A with David Meerman Scott, author of the New Rules of Marketing
> and PR, in my TechTreasures blog this morning. I look at how Web 2.0 is
> changing the way marketing and PR pros do their job.
>
>
> <http://www.daniweb.com/blogs/entry2490.html>
> http://www.daniweb.com/blogs/entry2490.html
>
>
> Ron
>
>
> Ron Miller
>
> Freelance Technology Writing Since 1988
>
> Contributing Editor, EContent Magazine
>
> Staff Writer, Daniweb.com
>
>
> email: <mailto:ronsmiller at ronsmiller.com <ronsmiller at ronsmiller.com>>
> ronsmiller at ronsmiller.com
>
> my blog: <http://byronmiller.typepad.com>http://byronmiller.typepad.com
>
> Daniweb Blog: <http://tinyurl.com/5hozlr>http://tinyurl.com/5hozlr
>
> web: <http://www.ronsmiller.com>http://www.ronsmiller.com
>
>
> Winner of the 2006 and 2007 Apex Award for Publication Excellence/Feature
> Writing
>
>
>
>
>
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-- 
William Sweet
Writer/Editor
Media Consulting
Public Relations

59 Lincoln Avenue
Northampton, MA 01060

phone: (413) 834-7896
fax: (610) 549-7007

email: williamsweet1 at gmail.com
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