In contrast to many who claim the press release has outlived its value, we find this steadfast tool of PR professionals (www.searchenginewatch.com/3623806) continues to be a reliable means of delivering news for clients. When I founded Caryl Communications (www.caryl.com) some 25 years ago, I had no agency experience – just PR background in banking and insurance at the corporate level. To succeed, many business consultants advised me to “court” reporters and writers with lunches to expand my contacts which was not my style. A certified teacher with a B.A. in English, I chose instead to deliver real news to targeted media in tightly written releases, adhering to journalistic news style and the classic pyramid structure www.poynter.org/column.asp?id=52&aid=38693. It worked. The firm’s media contacts grew from reliable writing and a paramount sense of accountability to media.
Today is not that different – and our client news which appears consistently in hundreds of printed articles and Internet impressions each month is testament to the news release. While not all results stem from releases alone, they remain the backbone of every ongoing PR campaign we launch, with some new-media modifications to save reporters time and to achieve SEO as part of the process in our own abridged version of the social media template (www.shiftcomm.com/downloads/smprtemplate.pdf)
So based on our experience, with a modified style for an ever-changing media landscape, I believe if the writing is clean; the release is targeted, and the news is real, the press release will remain a viable communications tool for PR firms even as the entire news industry transitions through today’s unique challenges.
