According to recent poll of corporate communicators conducted by Ragan Communications and PollStream, 49% of today's professional communicators say they think press releases are "as useful as
ever," but a third of the respondents said the press release is "a necessary evil that won't go away soon."
A corollary paper by Lindsey Miller from Ragan pointed out that 45%
of respondents said If press releases are losing relevance, it's because of the growth of social media. Though, 23% and 24% respectively blamed the demand for a more trustworthy and/or engaging
information source and the decline of the newspaper and magazine industry.
According to the study, one of the main reasons for the decline of the press release, besides the recent explosion of
the use of social media in public relations is the perception that releases are less relevant in those venues. 64% of respondents who issue releases say they target them most often to print outlets,
while 23% send them to online news and financial sites.
The poll also found that many PR pros often forego writing a release unless it's for a specific reason or if they aren't
confident they can reach their audience any other way. 45% see the ability to target reporters and editors in more personalized, direct ways.
23% blame the waning interest in the press
releases on the demand for a more trustworthy and/or engaging information source and 24% blame it on the decline of the newspaper and magazine industry.
In the Lindsey Miller paper, she
quoted one respondent as saying "As news sources become more obviously biased and decrease in size and content, publics are turning to other sources of information," while another said
"...companies have become too self-protecting in their releases. Everything has been tossed into the legal CYA blender, and what comes back is bland and over-processed."
Vanessa Horwell, chief visibility officer for ThinkInk, said, in the Miller paper, "There may be good reason for a more direct approach. Most communicators surveyed send their press releases
to print sources, which means newspapers and other publications receive hundreds, perhaps thousands, of press releases per day. Some surveys estimate that from 55% to 97% of press releases sent to
media outlets are never acted upon."
According to the 2009 Edelman Trust Barometer, quoted in the Paper, consumer trust of news coverage on
the radio, television, Internet, and in newspapers ranked significantly higher than corporate communications such as press releases, a company's Web site, and social media. Communicators who
responded to the Ragan/PollStream survey trusted social media the most, followed by corporate communications, and company Web sites.
For additional information and follow-up, please visit Ragan here.