This Week in PR Takes - Week 14

Take of the Week:
Getting right to it, Dustin Siggins questioned whether or not the press release is actually dead, and backed it up with data and proof points. Personally, I have noted in conversations that press releases can either be the most important document, and they can also mean absolutely nothing. There are a ton of ways to announce news from corporate blogs to LinkedIn and other owned channels. I’ve also seen companies write a press release for their website, but not put it over the wire.

Personally, I believe that a press release at the bare minimum sends a signal to the importance of an announcement to a company. There is usually an accompanying blog post with deeper information, but having the announcement in a press release can signal that this is a major milestone or piece of news in that company’s journey. So yes, we can ask whether or not the press release is worthwhile in certain situations. In the end, it may just be “mostly dead” like Westley in the Princess Bride.

Chuckle of the Week

A word from Dazzle:
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The Rest of the Takes:

• Nick Huber with a take on journalist “friends”

• I’m in 100% agreement with Carly on her POV around trade publications

• Richard Laermer wrote about AI, deepfakes and the state of media relations

• Andrew Petro provided a nice little tip when scheduling interviews

• Should we publicly thank journalists when they write a story? Rozelle Laha penned some thoughts on this.

• Virginia Chamlee on the importance of Substacks, and how a “big PR firm” made a big no-no

• Agam Shah with some knowledge on message control vs. being a “journalist’s journalist”
  

Don’t forget to check out Dazzle.ai if you’re looking for a fast and easy way to find new journalists for a campaign. You can get free access for a month to their Professional plan using promo code: PRTAKES2025.

That’s it for this week’s takes, thank you as always for reading.
-Brian
https://www.linkedin.com/in/bkramer/