This article is well worth the read, particularly as it mentions how PR Agencies must look beyond traditional media relations and more toward engagement models. While I don't agree that the tactic of reaching out to newspapers, magazines and television stations is at all dead (even though giving them press releases is), this article clearly and accurately discusses how a multi-pronged approach to getting the news out is essential. I also submit that PR professionals need to look less at pushing news and more toward facilitating conversations with influencers - such as journalists, industry associations and other credible outlets - and their clients.

As Media Market Shrinks, PR Passes Up Reporters, Pitches Directly to Consumers Best Buy, MasterCard Among Those Creating Their Own Content By Michael Bush Published: October 26, 2009 NEW YORK (AdAge.com) -- At a time when earned media is so highly sought after by marketers due to its (relative) low cost and the credibility with consumers, brands that rely on it are faced with the growing challenge of finding news outlets for their messages. As the body count of magazines and daily newspapers continues to rise and the once-robust news and feature holes of surviving publications shrink along with reporting staffs, some marketers have given up on the traditional path to media coverage: pitching journalists. According to the website Paper Cuts, which tracks layoffs and buyouts at U.S. newspapers, nearly 30,000 reporters have left the industry since the beginning of 2008. So instead of pitching their stories to reporters, a growing number of marketers are directly engaging consumers through original content they and their agencies are creating. Read the rest of the article here.