Are press releases copyrighted?

princessvessna · Feb 14, 2009

I was just curious since I have discovered that this one person, for their blog posts, usually just just pastes an entire press release, with no words of their own. There is a link at the bottom identifying it as a press release. But...is that really writing at all? Am I missing something?

veinglory · Feb 14, 2009

People release PRs because they want people to distribute them. I don't think there is anything that requires a blog to be original content.

princessvessna · Feb 14, 2009

veinglory said:
People release PRs because they want people to distribute them. I don't think there is anything that requires a blog to be original content.

Ok...it just didn't seem fair because I actually bother to write at least part of each post I make. *Shrug*. At least I have personality

Kathleen42 · Feb 14, 2009

veinglory said:
People release PRs because they want people to distribute them. I don't think there is anything that requires a blog to be original content.

I'm with veinglory on this one. As far as I'm concerned, once my company releases a press release, it's open season.

(It may, however, be a bit lazy to simply re-post press release after press release and I wouldn't think it a terribly good strategy for developing and maintaining a readership base)

Thrillride · Feb 14, 2009

Nessa...Just chased you down lol!

I saw that some headlines on Examiner are taken directly from the Associated Press as well. Also, at the bottom it says the work is owned by the Associated press and cannot be copied or distributed.

That being said, I think I remember that Examiner has the ins with AP because we can get free photos from them as writers for Examiner.

So, yes, some of us work harder.

Gotta go - I'm hiding!

katiemac · Feb 14, 2009

I had one of my press releases redistributed and essentially copy/pasted all over the web, because it was a popular announcement. Most successful press releases have newsworthy angles and written in the traditional upside-down triangle format. It's done that way so they can be printed without anyone needing to change it, or if it does need a change, the editor can lop off the ending. If an newspaper likes the story but doesn't have time to write the story--voila, it's already written. Think of it like a syndicated article--they want distribution, so they make it as easy as possible for the releases to be.

As far as your fellow blogger goes, it's no different if he or she is just pasting a newspaper article (although ideally they'd also be posting a link with it and giving credit). It's sometimes hard to give credit to press releases since they're distributed author-less.

Kathleen42 · Feb 14, 2009

Thrillride said:
Nessa...Just chased you down lol!

I saw that some headlines on Examiner are taken directly from the Associated Press as well. Also, at the bottom it says the work is owned by the Associated press and cannot be copied or distributed.

That being said, I think I remember that Examiner has the ins with AP because we can get free photos from them as writers for Examiner.

So, yes, some of us work harder.

Gotta go - I'm hiding!

Associated Press is a bit different (I believe). My assumption is that they write content and articles which other news outlets can run for a fee. These are usually articles and are different from standard press releases.

A press release is usually written by a company and then flung far and wide (sometimes using a distribution service). The intention for the press release is to generate enough interest to run the item as a story - either using text from the press release or being used as a starting point for an article.

The authors of press releases (unlike journalists) do not usually expect credit and are not (in my experience) cited.

katiemac · Feb 14, 2009

The authors of press releases (unlike journalists) do not usually expect credit and are not (in my experience) cited.

Right, no credit. Generally press releases go out from the company with a tag like "For more info, contact XYZ." Depending on the company, this might be the person who wrote the actual release. But that's strictly for reporter use who might be interested in expanding the piece, and that contact info and name gets lopped off before it's redistributed.

veinglory · Feb 14, 2009

Associated Press sell their content, that is how they make money. When bloggers reuse AP material outside of fair use/excerpts without paying they tend to hear from APs lawyers.

Thrillride · Feb 14, 2009

*nodding over here* Right...right. Yes, Examiner buys the goods from AP...I remember them saying that.
Well, at least national news. We write the other goods! *grin*

benbradley · Feb 14, 2009

Like anythng "written in a tangible form," press releases ARE copyrighted. It appears those who publish such releases give implied permission to copy as widely as one likes, as long as the content remains essentially the same.

The company keeps copyright so they can say "this or portions may be freely copied WITHOUT CHANGES, and keeping attribution." Changing it around to say something other than what the original says, while still implying it's the original press release, might get the attention of the company that published it, and they won't be happy.

princessvessna said:
Ok...it just didn't seem fair because I actually bother to write at least part of each post I make. *Shrug*. At least I have personality

Does this blogger at least add appropriate keywords in the keyword field? It'd be silly not to do that.

But I could see where such a blog could be useful, it might have all the press releases from all the companies within an industry. it sounds like this one might do just that.

princessvessna · Feb 14, 2009

benbradley said:
Like anythng "written in a tangible form," press releases ARE copyrighted. It appears those who publish such releases give implied permission to copy as widely as one likes, as long as the content remains essentially the same.

The company keeps copyright so they can say "this or portions may be freely copied WITHOUT CHANGES, and keeping attribution." Changing it around to say something other than what the original says, while still implying it's the original press release, might get the attention of the company that published it, and they won't be happy.

Does this blogger at least add appropriate keywords in the keyword field? It'd be silly not to do that.

But I could see where such a blog could be useful, it might have all the press releases from all the companies within an industry. it sounds like this one might do just that.

Yeah, they use some keywords. I guess I also just think it's a teency bit misleading...our Examiner posts say they are "by" us. And then you read it, and at the very end it has a link to the press release and saying who it was issued by.
*shrug* Oh well, I'll just stay off in my own little world where I may not make as many posts, but I have a weird/silly science thing going on, which may appeal to people.

CatMuse33 · Feb 15, 2009

Press releases are written to be distributed in that way. She's not doing anything wrong and, in fact, a good blend of releases and original content can help bring traffic to the site. It permits the blogger to put up twice as many posts without double the work--and as long as the blogger still provides unique content regularly, I don't see it as a problem.
Vessna, if you can't post as often as you'd like, you may try it!

KEllis · Feb 15, 2009

It depends on if the blog network (or whoever is running the site) permits it too. A b5media, we don't allow our bloggers to just re-post press releases because we want original content.

-Kori

RamJay · Feb 15, 2009

It would be bad if said blogger put his or her name on it and calls it his or her own. But if it's indicated as a press release, then it should be OK. As many have said on here, people who put out press releases want that info to get to the masses, so they don't care. That said, I would think most writers wouldn't want to use a press release and nothing but, especially because most are crap. (No offense to those who write press releases and good releases do exist.) I've spent many hours of my professional life re-writing releases to make them suitable for print.

June Casagrande · Feb 19, 2009

Reprinting press releases is not a disservice to the press-release issuer. It's a disservice to the reader. It gives a vested interest complete control over content.

Responsible news sources (even bloggers) act as unbiased news gatherers to filter the information and take responsibility for the angle and content.

So, no, that's not really writing. It's not reporting, either. Writing and reporting mean taking the information and making it "your own" -- something that your reader knows is coming through their trusted information filter: you.

Are press releases copyrighted?

princessvessna

Garden Geek Extraordinaire

veinglory

volitare nequeo

princessvessna

Garden Geek Extraordinaire

Kathleen42

crushing on fictional characters

Thrillride

A Suburban Farmer

katiemac

Five by Five

Kathleen42

crushing on fictional characters

katiemac

Five by Five

veinglory

volitare nequeo

Thrillride

A Suburban Farmer

benbradley

It's a doggy dog world

princessvessna

Garden Geek Extraordinaire

CatMuse33

Just hitting send

KEllis

RamJay

June Casagrande