Verbatim Press Release

Does it make me a "bottom feeder"?

[spaceylacie]

I was searching WebmasterWorld earlier today through Google about the use of press releases. A few people seemed to have the opinion that using a press release "as is" is equivalent to being a "bottom feeder". I publish a newsletter in my niche with many 1000s of subscribers and receive press releases from some related companies and others I have to hunt down or ask for a copy of their press releases.

If I have related comments about a press release, I will write an article about it in my own words and just reference the press release... but sometimes I just want my readers to be able to view the press release, as is. Is there something wrong with this? Maybe I misunderstood what I read.

It's the email newsletter for a web site so I'm not worried about pages getting indexed/duplicate content.

[justawriter]

Basically anyone who suggests that using a press release verbatim somehow qualifies you as a 'bottom feeder' has no clue.

Even highly reputable newspapers and magazines frequently publish press releases verbatim so if it's good enough for them it certainly is good enough for you.

Of course you don't have to publish a press release verbatim if you don't want to. The understanding with press releases is that the user can use the whole release or just small parts and you can even write your own piece and incorporate the press release into it.

[stapel]

Press releases are intended to generate publicity, and to generate that publicity in a manner and a direction preferred by the agency furnishing that release.

I would think that the agency would actually prefer that you present the release "verbatim".

Eliz.

[hunderdown]

I've noticed that a lot of the "news" articles on, say, the Yahoo Business News page are basically press releases.

If it's of interest to your visitors, and not the only content you have, why not?

[Harry]

From a journalism school perspective, this is wrong and considered lazy. But paractically, reporters, often find it easier to copy down a press release, tweak a few words in there and post it as news for their readers/ viewers.

Some reporters use press release stuff more than others. It also depends on the industry. Anything with product announcements is usually weighted in the vavour of the pr firm and its cutomers because they have all the information. An investigative reporter or someone who wants to dig further will often be limited with the official provided info.

Also, remember that papers and tv also rely on newswire agencies which write one news for everybody and they subscribe to such services and receive the same wording that their competitors do.

There is more value for your readers and the reputation of your publication to use original material and dig you stories yourselves, but it takes more work and money. But then, you're aiming for a better audience which might mean better return on investment. In terms of search engines, this is a good return usually.