Press Releases Are Not A PR Strategy
By: Jayse Nelson
This title may be shocking for some of you reading this because for the past four years of college we have been taught, as a Public Relations student, that press releases ARE a PR Strategy. The author of this text, Linda B. VandeVrede, takes a different approach to PR, one that does not focus on using press releases as the main PR strategy.
Throughout the book, VandeVrede shared different communication approaches that have proven to be successful for many companies. She covers everything from hiring a PR professional to writing a blog. The communication approaches she discusses in each chapter are all ethical and, “…do not involve spin, manipulation, or questionable an unethical practices.” She even included the PRSA code of ethics in the Appendix of the book.
What the author means by her title is that press releases should not be used as the official PR strategy. It should be used according to necessity and newsworthiness of the story. Press releases should be apart of PR strategy, but not THE PR strategy. In addition, VandeVrede notes the Webster’s New World Dictionary definition, “A statement or story prepared for release to the news media.” She states that press releases are too often a sales pitch intended for a consumer audience rather than a publication for news media. This is a valuable lesson we all must learn.
VandeVrede concludes her book by discussing the importance of working within an ethical framework. The PRSA code of ethics was updated in 2000 to include examples of unethical behavior. The author suggests that the reader review these examples and the code of ethics. She suggests the golden rule as one of the ethical frameworks that can guide a company, “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.”
