>Lots. When I got into the journalism racket, I was really surprised to
>learn how big a part publicists play in it. A lot of what newspapers and
>magazines write is either inspired by or paraphrased from press releases.
>Lots of people you hear on the radio or see on TV are there because
>publicists were chatting up the producers. Part of the problem is time -
>journalists and producers often don't have lots of it, but they have lots
>of time (in broadcast) and space (in print) to fill. So if some news item
>or interviewee is dropped in your lap, it solves both problems. Press kits
>for books now regularly include lists of questions that interviewers might
>ask (in case the producer - rarely the host! - is too busy to read the
>press release itself).
>
>KC paid the PR Newswire to distribute that, but the didn't pay the
>newspapers to repeat it.
>
>Doug
heck. i thought it was just the IT world. it's really transparent there, if you ask me. all you have to do to see this is pick some IT product that's got a sophisticated looking sleek website. look at the press room section -- they unabashedly list them there. type in a search of title in google or altavista and watch the tons of "articles" that pop up as news on various news sites. then do some keywords from the "article" and see how many more you can find where the press release has been re-written.
i think Bruce Schneier's a pretty ace cryptography expert. but man, the partnership he made with Lloyd's of London is an excellent example of this, as is his attempt to get Counterpane, his infosec firm, in the news *everywhere*.
another interesting study of the strange twists and turns of public relations/media is a book called _Claims to Fame_ by Joshua Gamson-- about Hollywood celebrity and how stars are created, produced, maintained.
kelley