7 gripes about the press release—from someone who writes them

But nothing’s perfect. Here are seven gripes about press releases.

1. The misinformed perception they create for my chosen profession. When I tell people what I do for a living, they think my primary purpose is to write, edit, and hawk releases. If only it were that easy.

2. Their role—or lack thereof—in scoring coverage. Lots of folks think all you have to do to score media coverage is write a release and send it. Things are a tad more difficult in reality. Just a tad.

3. The rumors of their death. “New media people” have been proclaiming the “death” of the press release for a long time. Yet, everyday gazillions of are sent. Maybe these folks’ judgment is what’s dead.

4. The Fourth Estate’s view of them. Journalists, especially those who sit on those panels where they hate on PR people, usually say how much they despise them, but as soon as you speak to them about a news story they ask, “Do you have a press release?”