From MarketingProfs.com, public relations expert Sally Saville Hodge writes:

These days, we write fewer and fewer press releases—most are the obligatory personnel announcements, with the periodic feature release sprinkled in between. We just don’t see them as being as important a tool for PR as they once were….

Think about it. As a society, we’ve gone from the era of mass production, mass merchandising and mass marketing to one where customization is king.

In this environment, press releases are to PR professionals what the 30-second television commercial is becoming to the advertising industry. As far as most reporters and editors are concerned, they are overproduced, they lack differentiation, they generally aren’t relevant and the vast majority just aren’t worthy of coverage.