Why the press release is very much alive

The press release is still the most important part of a PR campaign. It generates the most coverage of any of the tactics at the PR person’s disposal and its an essential part of any news-based media pitches. If you are working on generating coverage that uses a news, rather than features, archetype, you need a press release.

So, why do so many people say its dead so often? Well, the main reason is they just want attention. There are others, often on the fringes of the wide church we call PR, who are simply not very good at writing them. And one thing that is definitely dead is the bad press release.

The technical, technology and scientific media relies on structure to communicate complex announcements. The press release gives shape to information that needs to be clear from the start

Journalists have never had time to read every line of a press release in detail. They move quickly, scanning for headlines that stand out and looking for clear signals that a story is worth pursuing. A release that understands this doesn’t rely on format alone. It brings the most important information to the surface early and trims anything that distracts from the message to ultimately make it easier for the journalist to shape the story in a way that suits their audience.

Getting the basics right

At the same time, a press release now serves purposes that reach beyond media coverage. It might support a wider content strategy or act as the basis for a web update that keeps messaging consistent. Internal teams often use it to stay aligned when something new needs to be communicated quickly. It also gives stakeholders a fixed point of reference, especially in moments where clarity is more valuable than volume. In that sense, the format has become a tool that moves easily between audiences.

The basics still matter. When a press release relies on vague statements or slips into dense, technical jargon, it risks losing its audience before the message has even started to land. Readers won’t wait for clarity to arrive later. That’s why the writing needs to lead with a clear explanation of what’s happened and why it matters.

Quotes that simply express excitement or claim market leadership tend to weaken the message rather than strengthen it. A stronger approach focuses on plain, confident language that respects the reader’s time and supports the story with relevant detail.

Can you trust AI to write your press release?

When you are using AI to help draft a press release, you should do two things. First, remember that many journalists will use an AI checker to establish the extent to which your press release contains AI produced content. Second, look beyond the basics of ChatGPT and Gemini and test a variety of tools.

PR industry alumni, Andrew Bruce Smith explains that “TextFX can help press release writers generate fresh ideas, craft compelling narratives, and present information in innovative ways. Where capturing an audience's attention is paramount, the ability to introduce unexpected and imaginative elements into a press release is worth considering.”

Presentation shapes how a release performs once it reaches someone’s screen. A clear layout makes it easier to absorb information at pace, while a single image that adds context can improve both visibility and pickup.

From functional to usable

Including the contact details of someone who understands the subject will give journalists a natural next step, increasing the likelihood of a response. These are simple steps, but together they help shift the press release from something functional, to something usable.

Communicating technical news often involves distilling complexity into something that holds its shape under pressure — a press release offers a format that does just that. It brings a degree of order to subjects that resist simplification, which makes it easier to share across teams, media or markets. The challenge lies in using that format well, not relying on it to do the job alone.

The value of the press release remains but it no longer needs to carry an entire campaign on its own to prove its worth. When written with clarity and used in the right context, a press release creates opportunities for visibility and gives shape to messages that need to land cleanly in a way no other tactic can do. It remains a trusted format in industries that rely on precision, and when handled well, it continues to do exactly what it was designed to do.

Richard Stone, founder of technical PR agency Stone Junction.

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