Press Releases: Are they dead?

Are press releases dead?  Not at all. Press releases are not primary tool of communication anymore; they are simply channels through which information is conveyed. The reason press releases are not the primary in the field anymore has more to do with the web and how it allows people to communicate directly. Press releases do not generally get conversations started the way a blog does for example.  This is press releases generally do not include a way for the recipient of the message to respond. However, when press releases are published on the web, they become a different kind of channel, one that potentially invites a conversation with a wide public. This seems simple enough, but many old style PR people believe public relations to be simply putting out the press releases their clients want them to.  There also still some senior management who sees the function of PR as putting out press releases. This is a very outdated view of public relations.  In today's world, the role of public relations is to create understanding. In the complex world of today, there are many complex ideas.  Thus, it is the PR person’s task to disseminate these complex ideas in a way that makes people understand and want to contribute. What I see as the main problem with PR is that many times the PR function in an organization is focused on tactics, when public relations should be treated as management function.  Public relations is actually managing relationships with various publics...any public that can present obstacles to your being in business. In today’s world, this is complicated somewhat by the fact that all of these publics are now able to talk to each other. Clearly, then public relations must be taken seriously as a management function. (Picture is from http://www.mbda.gov/?section_id=12&bucket_id=844)