Your perspective from a reporter’s standpoint was interesting because not everyone understands how many emails/pitches they receive. The transition into the social media aspect was fantastic. The social media release should not be viewed as a “competitor” to the traditional release, but as a complimentary tool.

Great article, enjoyed the read.

Nick @shinng
http://www.marketwireblog.com
http://www.twitter.com/marketwire

Thanks for the recommendations. Here are a couple of writing books that I like:

“Why Business People Speak Like Idiots” by Brian Fugere, et al
“Self-Editing for Fiction Writers” by Renni Browne, et al (great for nonfiction, too)

Freddy

Is Pitch Engine your preferred press release distribution service? I’ve heard others recommend PRWeb and PRNewswire.

Of course, as important as the distribution mechanism is the writing. It doesn’t matter how the release gets there if it’s unreadable. (I recently spoofed this in an article you might enjoy: http://atomictango.com/2008/05/20/pressrelease/ .)

In my marketing class, I had my students rewrite an actual press release from Kraft put out by Edelman PR. It contained all the appropriate links, images, background info, etc., but it was so poorly written, my students thought I had made it up.

Bad PR releases, I think, are the reason many journalists no longer bother to read releases at all. As you noted, they just say “call me” instead.

– Freddy