The age of social media in which we've found ourselves has changed the art of pitching even more. Instead of emails, reporters are looking to their Twitter timelines for information and potential stories. How can press releases possibly compete with 140 character pitches? They probably can't.
Okay, so maybe that's a little extreme. However, I think that there is something to say about the effectiveness of press releases. PR professionals might be too quick to resort to the traditional press release in times where a simple pitch email with no attachment or a quick tweet (120 characters to leave room for response) might do just as well.
We all know how frustrating it is for a reporter to disregard a carefully thought out pitch and release, and I think it would be more beneficial to simply send the pitch and not attach the press release. If they want details, they'll reach out. The email size will be smaller without the attachment so maybe they'll be more likely to open it! I'm not afraid to admit this might be too simplistic of a media relations viewpoint.
What are your thoughts? Is the press release here to stay or will it soon go the way of snail mail?
