What I learned from working both sides of the press release process

I used to produce about two news stories a day under strict deadlines set by the newsroom. Overwhelmed is fair to say, but the pace was invigorating because of my daily reporting tasks for larger enterprise stories and finding a daily news story to publish.

One tool that made life a little easier for journalists like myself covering daily news stories is arguably one of the most overlooked: the press release.

Now that I’m on the other side of the press release process, I can confidently say from experience that many journalists still find the traditional news release useful.

Covering news as a journalist for more than a decade, I can remember receiving dozens of media pitches - often in the form of a press release - in my email inbox each week.

Some were actually about the beat I covered at the time, which was state politics.

A communications staffer from a state lawmaker’s office would send a release about a representative or senator pushing a legislative initiative. Or our group of reporters at States Newsroom‘s Florida Phoenix would get written statements from lawmakers after a bill passed a chamber, giving praise for their colleagues’ support.

And in a lot of cases, when a bill didn’t pass, they’d send statements expressing their frustrations with the opposite political party that pushed it through.

We needed multiple voices and perspectives in our stories on politics, so we often pulled their quotes straight from those releases. If not, I can remember calling press secretaries to see if they could coordinate a phone or in‑person interview with a lawmaker.

Where press releases proved their value

Now that I’m working for the parent company of press release distribution platform EIN Presswire, I’ve gained an appreciation for both the journalist and the organizations and brands pushing their news.

To frankly put it, I admire the hustle of communications professionals sending releases on behalf of their clients. You get rejected. You get ghosted. But you also get news stories out of it, from an editor or reporter who finds your information relevant to their readers or viewers.

The pitches that received attention during my time covering politics in Florida were the ones with useful data and reports tied to issues affecting Floridians, such as Medicaid cuts or a breakdown of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ state budget proposal.

We’d hyperlink the webpages of those reports in our stories while giving attribution to the organization providing the information. That’s usually considered a win for the communications team.

From the distribution standpoint, our EIN Presswire team sends clients’ releases to massive distribution channels. Roughly more than 3,000 releases are sent each week.

It made me realize there’s no shortage of newsworthy content for the media to consider that can come from press releases. Even if a newsroom doesn’t feel it’s a story worth pursuing, journalists can still gain a good source for expert comments or background information related to their reporting.

And I see why communicators use distribution platforms, since EIN Presswire and similar services have media directories the average joe doesn’t have access to.

People sending news through these specialized services are using a strategic way to reach a ton of digital publications with the click of a button rather than Google searching hundreds of outlets. They often see their news published in multiple places.

At the same time, I see why some journalists ignore media pitches. I’ve noticed plenty of pitches get ignored because folks don’t do their homework on the outlet or the reporter’s beat. Some don’t include contact info. Some bury the most interesting detail halfway down the release. Journalists don’t have time to dig for the good stuff.

A scenario I often encountered was a press release about an advocacy group calling on lawmakers to reject a certain proposal. It should explain at the top why the group opposes it and how the proposal would impact people, including any relevant data points if available.

I was also pleasantly surprised to find out that even local news outlets go to newswires for stories. When I interviewed a former editor of a local newspaper, she told me she’d grabbed a few stories to run in her paper that came from distribution platforms. I didn’t expect that.

It doesn’t end there for the future of news. There should be a clear understanding and mutual respect between journalists and the comms person sending them news, especially as artificial intelligence plays a bigger role in both fields. Because, in different ways, both need each other.

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