I’ve railed about the amount of money squandered by the PR industry in the name of the news release. Thanks to the internet commoditizing news announcements, I’m guessing that the media ignores a good 95 percent of the news releases flung over the fence. And out of those 5 percent that actually get a look, …more
Journalists do not want to regurgitate a news release that by definition sits in the public domain. If the news release encapsulates the complete story with anecdotes, texture and a touch of drama, you leave no room for a journalist to navigate. IBM’s recent announcement of a mainframe illustrates how good content – not great …more
Everyone left the news release for dead years ago. Then Enron imploded, Sarbanes-Oxley arrived and the need for public disclosure resurrected this humble servant. That’s why you saw Berkshire scooping up Business Wire some years ago. It was a form of “forget mining for gold, let’s sell the pans and sluice boxes.” But not even …more
The condemnation of jargon in news releases has gone on since the invention of the tool, with the latest salvo coming from Ben Worthen at The Journal. This is a tough one. You can articulate a rationale worthy of the Wiley College debate team, but a given company will still insist on inserting wonderful phrases like …more
Robert Scoble, the poster child for escaping corporate cubedom for the virtual pulpit, penned a post titled “What do the freaking tech bloggers want?” It’s a convincing view. A bit longwinded perhaps, but if “Scobleizer” is etched in your masthead, you get a pass to periodically pontificate. An earlier Scoble quasi-rant emphasized that through customers, not the PR function, is the …more
The typical news release offers less drama than watching Aunt Bee on a rerun of The Andy Griffith Show. For those under 50 not familiar with the sitcom just listening to the show’s theme song tells you all you need to know. Of course, I recognize that companies need to announce products and other types of …more
