This article from Ragan.com definitely caught my eye. As the title says, it addresses words and phrases that have outlived their PR usefulness.
Although you might think that writer Andy Beaupre is going to tell you what words not to use in a press release (do we really need to hear about open, interoperable, scalable solutions anymore?) that's not the topic. Instead, he talks more about the business of PR and things that have become obsolete.
One good example is the media tour. While they still go on occasionally, for the most part they're a thing of the past. Andy points out that writers are pressed for time. I think even more important is that they're no longer concentrated in a small area anymore. The people you need to influence may be spread out all over the country, making a tour rather inconvenient.
Another good one is the press kit. I imagine the old school types still push to make up press kits. But for the most part, all that info (and more) should be available on your Web site. I agree with Andy -- save the trees.
One final blast from the past is the idea that you release news in layers. First you brief the publications with two or three month lead times, then one month, then weekly, and finally the dailies. That's how we did it when I first started at Tech Image 10 years ago. Well, everyone is daily now. That also means that the old Tech Image rule of not calling tech reporters on Thursday mornings because they were filing stories is out the window too. They are working on stories all the time to feed the beast that is the Internet. There's no time that's better (or worse) to call anymore.
Give the article a good read, especially if you've been around the business for a while. It's quite a flashback.
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