Comments on: Rethinking Releases: Who\’s Your Audience? http://www.contentious.com/2006/01/12/rethinking-releases-whos-your-audience/ Amy Gahran's news and musings on how we communicate in the online age. Fri, 05 Sep 2008 12:31:28 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.6 By: Bad Language / 62 ways to improve your press releases http://www.contentious.com/2006/01/12/rethinking-releases-whos-your-audience/#comment-1204560 Bad Language / 62 ways to improve your press releases Tue, 07 Aug 2007 06:02:25 +0000 #comment-1204560 [...] as Google and the others. Optimise the content to make it as searchable as possible. (Hat tip to Amy Gahran for this [...] [...] as Google and the others. Optimise the content to make it as searchable as possible. (Hat tip to Amy Gahran for this [...]

]]> By: Kimber Smith http://www.contentious.com/2006/01/12/rethinking-releases-whos-your-audience/#comment-68784 Kimber Smith Wed, 05 Apr 2006 20:03:31 +0000 #comment-68784 I agree. Too many people still think PR means Press Release. Clients still want to hear that you'll issue x releases per month. I advise that manufacturing news and squirting ink is not only a waste of their time, it's a waste of the media's time, too. It's a hard battle to get clients to see it that way, but it's amazing how minds change after a failed release result and a successful pitch/one-to-one result. Some of this is dilution of what a real press release used to be (timely, factual, news-based) vs. what it is today (self-serving hype that no-one but employees are interested in), while some of it is just that people work differently today (every company should have a web site with information on principals, products, principles, investor information, customer information, etc.) Go to a wire service's web page. Check out the amount of manufactured or small news distributed to the media. If press releases were used solely to push real news to the media, as they used to be in the past, perhaps they'd still have a reason to exist. I agree.

Too many people still think PR means Press Release. Clients still want to hear that you’ll issue x releases per month. I advise that manufacturing news and squirting ink is not only a waste of their time, it’s a waste of the media’s time, too. It’s a hard battle to get clients to see it that way, but it’s amazing how minds change after a failed release result and a successful pitch/one-to-one result.

Some of this is dilution of what a real press release used to be (timely, factual, news-based) vs. what it is today (self-serving hype that no-one but employees are interested in), while some of it is just that people work differently today (every company should have a web site with information on principals, products, principles, investor information, customer information, etc.)

Go to a wire service’s web page. Check out the amount of manufactured or small news distributed to the media. If press releases were used solely to push real news to the media, as they used to be in the past, perhaps they’d still have a reason to exist.

]]> By: Paul Lewis http://www.contentious.com/2006/01/12/rethinking-releases-whos-your-audience/#comment-52667 Paul Lewis Sun, 15 Jan 2006 22:57:21 +0000 #comment-52667 These days, what with word-processing automation, the "fact sheet" that should be sent to seasoned journalists at major outlets can easily be the "outline" of a conversational release that could easily be printed word-for-word. Nobody's mentioned the "so what?" you discussed in your article about killing the press release as we know it. Regardless of your readership, it takes a clever, thoughtful p/r person to make their press release *newsworthy.* Given the fact that the general public, in addition to journalists, are overwhelmed with "news releases" these days, the most successful will be the ones that are easy and enjoyable to read, while giving the reader information that they'll be as interested in (or nearly so) as the writer is. These days, what with word-processing automation, the “fact sheet” that should be sent to seasoned journalists at major outlets can easily be the “outline” of a conversational release that could easily be printed word-for-word. Nobody’s mentioned the “so what?” you discussed in your article about killing the press release as we know it. Regardless of your readership, it takes a clever, thoughtful p/r person to make their press release *newsworthy.* Given the fact that the general public, in addition to journalists, are overwhelmed with “news releases” these days, the most successful will be the ones that are easy and enjoyable to read, while giving the reader information that they’ll be as interested in (or nearly so) as the writer is.

]]> By: Wes Thorp http://www.contentious.com/2006/01/12/rethinking-releases-whos-your-audience/#comment-52663 Wes Thorp Sun, 15 Jan 2006 21:53:09 +0000 #comment-52663 Amy--I really appreciate how your posts can make my neurons move about issues that are important and relevant to me, especially in the areas of the public conversation and the topic of press releases. My question is how this conversation can be tweaked to include the political arena, like the state legislature where I just retired from as a staffer. Prior to that I was a newspaper reporter. My state, Michigan, is facing some dramatic economic and social challenges and the state legislature and the governor's office is right in the middle. Our state's survival depends on that public conversation and all the little conversations that go into it. Now, there's a whole communication bureaucracy that's involved with each political caucus. Their mission is to grind out press releases. As a staffer, I could see their limited utility and as a reporter I never used them for more than a tip sheet to a story. Local newspapers and other media outlets give no more than a passing glance at legislative coverage. News consumers might get regurigated stuff staged and plastic news conferences, but not much more. And legislators send out packaged newsletters and that kind of stuff. Our lawmakers have templated websites that provide little in the way of conversation. As a media visionary and futurist, how do you see this all plugging into political communication? I'd love to hear your thoughts and those of your readers. WES Amy–I really appreciate how your posts can make my neurons move about issues that are important and relevant to me, especially in the areas of the public conversation and the topic of press releases.

My question is how this conversation can be tweaked to include the political arena, like the state legislature where I just retired from as a staffer. Prior to that I was a newspaper reporter.

My state, Michigan, is facing some dramatic economic and social challenges and the state legislature and the governor’s office is right in the middle. Our state’s survival depends on that public conversation and all the little conversations that go into it.

Now, there’s a whole communication bureaucracy that’s involved with each political caucus. Their mission is to grind out press releases. As a staffer, I could see their limited utility and as a reporter I never used them for more than a tip sheet to a story.

Local newspapers and other media outlets give no more than a passing glance at legislative coverage. News consumers might get regurigated stuff staged and plastic news conferences, but not much more.

And legislators send out packaged newsletters and that kind of stuff. Our lawmakers have templated websites that provide little in the way of conversation.

As a media visionary and futurist, how do you see this all plugging into political communication? I’d love to hear your thoughts and those of your readers.

WES

]]> By: Paloma Cruz http://www.contentious.com/2006/01/12/rethinking-releases-whos-your-audience/#comment-52000 Paloma Cruz Fri, 13 Jan 2006 04:52:55 +0000 #comment-52000 Working with nonprofits, I've found that smaller (community) newspapers will often run a press release word for word, if it's well-written. The trick is to write the release in such as way that it's "quotable" or print-ready. In other words, I write a news story, put the tag "press release" on it and send it to my distribution list. More times than not I will see it run in a small neighborhood paper a week or two later. Truthfully, I've found that major outlets also respond better to this kind of release. Mostly, I guess, because it's written with the news in mind, and not focusing on organizational language. Working with nonprofits, I’ve found that smaller (community) newspapers will often run a press release word for word, if it’s well-written. The trick is to write the release in such as way that it’s “quotable” or print-ready. In other words, I write a news story, put the tag “press release” on it and send it to my distribution list. More times than not I will see it run in a small neighborhood paper a week or two later.

Truthfully, I’ve found that major outlets also respond better to this kind of release. Mostly, I guess, because it’s written with the news in mind, and not focusing on organizational language.

]]> By: James Clark http://www.contentious.com/2006/01/12/rethinking-releases-whos-your-audience/#comment-51995 James Clark Fri, 13 Jan 2006 03:32:25 +0000 #comment-51995 Amy, very insightful. In my experience (and I use to own a PR Agency) the problem is most PR professionals look at press releases as ways to pitch stories and never think about what happens after an article is written. I've written, my own little rant about it at: http://www.room214.com/room2blog/ Amy, very insightful. In my experience (and I use to own a PR Agency) the problem is most PR professionals look at press releases as ways to pitch stories and never think about what happens after an article is written.

I’ve written, my own little rant about it at: http://www.room214.com/room2blog/

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