Forum Moderators: not2easy
Then there is this big organization (with rights to that particular league/sport) that issues press releases i would like to feature on my site, well written objective ones. Right at the bottom of the page it has a copyright mark, and in the terms of use for the site they state no content may be used.. bla bla.. so i shoot them an e-mail asking if they can put me on their mailing list for press releases, twice, no answer.. i don't have a press card, i'm not a journalist.
So what do i do? "everyone" else is using their releases both in mags, and online publications. Can i just take it, and use it? can anyone here tell me a little something about press releases in general? why is it some organizations are so picky about media cards, and ID card verification? i thought the whole purpose was to get attention, so are press releases up for grabs, even if you get them from another site in between?
I really don't want to get sued or anything, thats why i'm asking, i guess there are some media professionals in here who can answer this for me.. i don't want to hire a journalist just to sit around cutting and pasting content.
With that disclaimer out of the way, I think contacting the firm issuing the releases was a good thing. It's certainly a show of good faith. Perhaps your request didn't sound particularly serious to them - obviously, they are hoping to get coverage from established publications, and your contact may not have sounded promising.
Here's one thought: an approach like, "Hi, I'm Jackti, Senior Editor for WidgetWorld.com. Our site provides in-depth coverage of the widget market, and gets _____ visitors a month. I'm interested in being added to your press release distribution list..." will almost certainly be successful. (Maybe you are on the list already and they haven't sent anything out lately.)
Press releases are intended for use by a variety of media and news outlets. Hence, to put a news story based on a press release on a web site should be no problem. Where things might get dicey is if your site isn't a general information site, i.e., if you are promoting other products, etc. If the company issuing the release feels their content is being copied verbatim to promote someone else's product, they might have a problem.
My advice would be:
1) If you use the releases, do so in a way that is positive and accurate, i.e., doesn't reflect negatively on the issuing firm in any way or promote competitive products.
2) Do some minor rewriting, particularly headlines and intros. Even if you incorporate chunks of the releases verbatim in your stories, that should be fair use considering the intent of the release. Rewriting lets you work in your target keywords, too.
3) Include either a link or contact information for the issuing firm. With this free publicity, they'd be foolish to argue with you.
In general, firms issue press releases hoping that the information will get wide exposure. The closer this exposure is to the original, the better - after all, their copy has their preferred spin on the topic. The biggest complaint PR people have is that editors rewrite the information and end up getting it wrong. So if you keep to the points outlined above, it's unlikely that anyone will hassle you. In general, too, it's likely that a firm that did have a problem with your using its releases would simply ask you to remove them rather than suing you for damages.
But I have found that copying it, with very, very clear statements that this is copied off xyz.com and that the original can be found <as a link>here</link>, and repeated their own copyright information at the bottom, is just (barely) OK. I have a site where I needed to do just this. Every time I copied content, I emailed the owner with a link saying what I had done and where it was, and that if he didn't want me to do this, please to let me know.
He finally contacted me (about a year later) and we were able to work out terms most amicably.
Press releases are a unique case, though, as they are specifically intended to disseminate news about a firm. There is an implicit expectation that their content will be used or even reprinted by others. Some publications might use the content as a story idea, while others might print the release exactly as distributed.
As long as the press release content is used in the manner intended, it's very unlikely that the copyright holder will complain. If the releases are being used as shovelware on an affiliate site, or are somehow used to promote someone else's product, then all bets are off and it would be wise to not reproduce them without permission.
thanks again
But make sure you respect embargoes and other such things.
