Should the press release die? Or should it just become a social media press release? Hey, a press release and social media are like peanut butter and chocolate folks. Are you going to pass on a Reese's?!
Um, who cares?!
OK, I understand there's a sh!t ton of money tied up in the distribution of press releases --from the agencies writing them and the blogs, conferences, workshops, e-books and teleseminars offering tips on how to write better press releases to the wire services and media databases helping to push them out (more than 2,000 each day on average I'm told).
The press release represents its own ecosystem of content and some of that content might even be newsworthy. Even the Bad Pitch blog recommends the topic as part of a balanced diet. But when the topic eclipses the industry discussion, is that balanced?
There are plenty of times the press release is a worthy topic of discussion. I'm not overlooking the obvious need to teach, practice and hone our craft. But the current and steady level of discussion around the press release I'm seeing in the industry is comparable to a group of world famous artists constantly talking about which type of frame is best for their paintings. It's well-intended, but it misses the point.
Rant, Party of One?
At the end of the day, if it's newsworthy, it doesn't matter what format it's in. Serve it up on toast...there are more than enough creative options. But the more the public relations industry talks about the press release, the more we have an answer as to why PR doesn't have a seat at the table.
The public relations industry needs to spend as much time on critical thinking, where we provide more value, as it does on the nitty gritty of the tactics. Maybe this rant is telling me the industry needs to spend more time on critical thinking. Perhaps it's the challenge of a discipline that must scale between thoughtful strategy and detail-oriented execution. But that's more of an opportunity than anything else.
The Impossible Dream uploaded by Sagesnow
Cross-Posted to Strategic Public Relations
Um, who cares?!
OK, I understand there's a sh!t ton of money tied up in the distribution of press releases --from the agencies writing them and the blogs, conferences, workshops, e-books and teleseminars offering tips on how to write better press releases to the wire services and media databases helping to push them out (more than 2,000 each day on average I'm told).
The press release represents its own ecosystem of content and some of that content might even be newsworthy. Even the Bad Pitch blog recommends the topic as part of a balanced diet. But when the topic eclipses the industry discussion, is that balanced?
There are plenty of times the press release is a worthy topic of discussion. I'm not overlooking the obvious need to teach, practice and hone our craft. But the current and steady level of discussion around the press release I'm seeing in the industry is comparable to a group of world famous artists constantly talking about which type of frame is best for their paintings. It's well-intended, but it misses the point.
Rant, Party of One?
At the end of the day, if it's newsworthy, it doesn't matter what format it's in. Serve it up on toast...there are more than enough creative options. But the more the public relations industry talks about the press release, the more we have an answer as to why PR doesn't have a seat at the table.
The public relations industry needs to spend as much time on critical thinking, where we provide more value, as it does on the nitty gritty of the tactics. Maybe this rant is telling me the industry needs to spend more time on critical thinking. Perhaps it's the challenge of a discipline that must scale between thoughtful strategy and detail-oriented execution. But that's more of an opportunity than anything else.
The Impossible Dream uploaded by Sagesnow
Cross-Posted to Strategic Public Relations
Great post that sees the forest instead of the trees. Todd Defren has talked about how PR is constantly needing to defend itself because there are so many crappy PR people out there. It's not the tactics. It's the people who are hired and paid to do them, and traditionally there has been a rather low bar of entry into PR. The PR industry needs to be dipping into a different kind of talent pool. We've always said: look for good writers/creatives, and look for good critical thinkers. That's why so many of our folks are MFAs. Glad to see the focus on critical thinking echoed here.
ReplyDeleteThis won't happen overnight. Even after all the hullabaloo about social media and online marketing, too many agencies are still stuck in the past.
The press release is just one of a growing number of tools that a lot of people aren't interested in learning.
Kevin, I'm late to comment but I agree the news (press) release is a victim of the times. Originally, it was mostly produced by PR people, many who were ex-journalists, and written in a format and AP style for easy use only by media or throw away if not news.
ReplyDeleteNow the problems are:
- the gatekeepers for good material are MIA
- any DIY with a keyboard can produce a BAD news release and SPAM media relentlessly
- the free and paid newswires encourage it for business reasons with little or no editing or oversight; saw one today with 3 bad spelling mistakes
- we're still trying to use the "old" news release form to talk to all other stakeholders and it's a poor vehicle to talk directly to consumers or other targets
Like bad pitches, bad news releases reflect unprofessional content or simply ignorance of the tools. Same with social media channels.
There's only one solution. Do it right or don't do it.