A Tip

Sometimes - particularly when they're on a tight deadline - reporters rely on press releases a lot more than they like. A story breaks, it deals with a complicated issue and there simply isn't the time to track real people down. Taking quotes from a prepared statement isn't something journalists like to do but on occasion, it's a necessary evil.

On the other hand, while this sort of situation is more common than we like, here's a tip for all you PR people out there. It is never a good idea to tell a journalist to simply "cut and paste" from your release. Yes, yes, yes. I know you spent all that time crafting those beautiful, pithy quotes but trust me. We're easy but we're not that easy.