Oops! I just killed the press release...

Tom,
How is this post any different than what you posted earlier? Essentially, it's the same.

The only point that everyone can agree on is:
"Media and PR professionals need to work together as partners in communicating a truthful and honest message."

Just as there are unethical journalists who'll plagerize others' work, yes, there are unethical media relations pros who'll lie and bend the truth.

It's not the format that needs to change. It's the talent and experience of the news release writers.

You seemed to be pretty scarred by some poor news releases you've received while with the "Financial Times" to blanket the entire PR and MR profession with your posts. Most in PR and MR know how to write a release.
-- Mike

Mike, Yes, the sentiment is the same but there is a big difference because I'm linking this all to ethical behaviour. And I'm encouraging client companies to ask PR companies what are they doing to adapt to the changing communications landscape, and you have to admit that a lot has changed in the past ten years....

Also, you can never say something just once, or twice, you have to keep saying what it is because not everybody reads everything I write. And the more times you say your message the more people will understand what you are saying. (This is also true for corporations BTW.)

I've found that people don't really hear what they read, they hear mostly what they think they have read. Which is why I like to say things in different ways--especially things that I think are important. But you can skip things if you've heard it all before :-)

Do PR pros really have an ETHICAL duty to communicate their client's message in the most effective format or is it more of a PROFESSIONAL duty? There's definitely a difference...at least in the traditional sense of the word "ethics."

Hi Tom. I think press releases will always remain a valuable communications tool, not just for the press but for analysts, customers and the industry. That said, I'm often surprised by the appalling quality of many press releases from firms who should know better. PR agencies also need to do a better job of applying the proper level of promotion to a given release so they're not wasting the time of the reporter or blogger. There are releases that should be sent to your top tier press and analyst targets backed by heavy followup, there are releases that should just be sent out to a select few as an F.Y.I., and there are some that should just run on the wire without promotion. In an ideal world, if a release is well written, properly targeted, and the promotion properly tiered, then the only stuff coming across a reporter's desk is germane to their interests. And although I think tagging is an excellent and necessary improvement, it wont't solve the press release spam problem. Only good PR practices among companies and their agencies can fix that. Because eventually, even the bad apples will spam the tags.

Dave S. Yes, ethical. Is it ethical to promise somebody that you are doing the best possible job but to know there is a better way of communicating and you don't?

Mark: The press release needs to change and adapt to a new world--that's all I'm saying. The PR community's response to my simple suggestions would make it seem as if I had suggested something about their mothers :-) I had no idea the press release was some sacred and unquestionable form. Mark, I can see that you get it, and that you need a variety of communications tools and formats but there are many others who want things to stay exactly the same because they don't understand what is going on in media... But they will understand eventually, with, or without my help.

Here is an interesting twist on this conversation -- is the intended audience of a press release primarily the press anymore? I was talking about this issue to a marketing friend and he observed that companies are increasingly writing press releases for bloggers and for the general public. Because so many "news" websites actually pick up press releases and present them equal to other content, a press release can reach as many people as a story written by a journalist. And bloggers often write something based on seeing a press release. So the press release is certainly not dead -- perhaps instead we should be talking about the ethics of how it is used.

Ted: News sites that just print a press release as is--won't be taken seriously. And you won't reach many readers that way because they are not that interesting to read. And as for the ethics of using press releases, it is not an issue of ethics, Press releases are supposed to be factual accounts of an event or announcement. The facts of a press release are not independently verified by a journalist they are assumed to be correct.