Do Press Releases Need a Facelift?

I recently read this blog post entitled “The Traditional Press Release is Dead!” It brings up a good point, and one I hadn’t thought of. Press releases are formatted the way they always have been, which is geared toward the media at newspapers.

The post says press releases for online distribution should be shorter. You, as a reader of online material, can appreciate articles and news releases that are short and to the point. No need to ramble. Do we need a new format altogether?

And then this post talks about how PRWeb, a distribution service I happen to use, is cracking down on releases it deems not acceptable. The release in question had more of a salesy approach that PRWeb didn’t approve of.

But it brings up the question: what is acceptable for a press release? We are rapidly moving away from the old standards of PR and media, so how can we continue to base our rules on the old school methods? Shouldn’t PRWeb be more flexible in what it accepts? Can we redefine what a press release is?

These are interesting questions, and ones that should provoke thought and conversation. What do you have to say?

-Susan

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