We wrote the press release for the reader, not the editor

We wrote the press release for the reader, not the editor
The press release is supposedly dead. Ours just had the wrong job. The setup: a healthcare client whose releases read like internal memos — quote from the CEO, boilerplate, nobody bit.
The angle was to rebuild the release as a source document — a self-contained reference page a journalist could pull facts, context, and a chart from without a single follow-up call. Not an announcement, a research brief disguised as a release.
The pitch pointed straight at it: "Everything's in here — the data, the methodology, a quote, and a downloadable chart. No call needed unless you want one." Time-starved reporters love a release that does their homework.
Result: the release earned 27 referring domains, far above the client's norm, because writers could publish straight from it. Several pieces quoted it nearly verbatim, and the methodology section got cited independently as a reference. Time-to-publish for journalists dropped — and faster journalists mean more placements.
A health reporter said: "This is the first press release in years I could file from without emailing anyone back."
Lesson: The press release isn't dead — the lazy one is. Build it as a complete, citable source document and a busy journalist can publish from it directly, which is exactly when releases still win links.