| Since the 1850s the news release has served as the foundation for public relations programs and has generally been considered as the most effective tactic used in public relations to get information and messages to the public. Today, through Internet and World Wide Web distribution, the news release has become a direct-to-consumer model of communications for public relations without the traditional gatekeeper function. The two key aspects of the news release are content, the information contained in the release, and release format, how the information is presented in the release. Over the years specific news release formats have been developed for various mass media to ensure that the news release was formatted for the medium receiving the information and remained as an effective and efficient tool to generate positive publicity. However, the newest mass media, the Internet and World Wide Web, have changed mass communication from a sender-based model to a receiver-based model which requires a different approach for public relations writing that includes the formatting and distribution of electronic news releases. A content analysis of 100 corporate electronic news releases examined current news release format and found that the current corporate electronic news release format is underutilizing the capabilities of new Internet, World Wide Web, and computer technology. The study shows that corporate electronic news releases posted on corporate World Wide Web pages are an electronic version of traditional print public relations material and are not being formatted and structured to fit the qualities and advantages of the electronic medium. |
