The term “press release” bothers me.

Historically, I’m told, “press release” referred to the targeting of news to newspapers, while “news release” encompasses all forms of media. I know it’s the perpetually idealistic (read: hard-headed) journalism student in me, but in my mind, a press release implies that the issuer is just out to get “ink,” news value be damned. I prefer the term “news release” because it conveys the loftier goal of providing information that is genuinely valuable to the intended audience.

You’ll be happy to know I’m not as much of a stickler on this issue anymore. I guess I’ve softened a bit, and using the term “press release” is not as angst-ridden for me as it used to be.

A trivial point? Perhaps. But semantics aside, I always keep in mind the higher purpose of a release so I’m sure to serve my clients well. That means constantly asking, “What’s the news?”

We live in a world teeming with information and countless channels for delivering it. The cliché of “cutting through the clutter” was never more accurate than it is today because there really is much more clutter than ever before. And cutting through it is getting ever tougher with each new blog, Twitter and Facebook.

Add to the mix the fact that many people can now read releases verbatim via online news databases that grab, cut and paste the releases directly from newswire feeds. It can be easy to fall into the trap of relying on such regurgitation and writing releases only for prospective customers (not to mention the SEO gods), forgetting authentic news value altogether.

Telling the client’s story well is one part of my job. But perhaps an even more important duty is to help identify, package and deliver the message in a way that truly serves the information needs of the target audience.

How do you define what’s news release-worthy?

The endless string of newspaper collapses is threatening to throw me into a depression.

The Rocky Mountain News published its last issue two weeks ago. Both the San Francisco Chronicle and Seattle Post-Intelligencer may close. Earlier this winter the four parent companies of The Chicago Tribune, The LA Times, The Minneapolis Star Tribune, The Philadelphia Inquirer, The Philadelphia Daily News and The New Haven Register said they’d be filing for bankruptcy.

As entrenched in new technologies as I am (social media is part of nearly every campaign we create, I’m facebook obsessed, and my iPhone’s become an appendage), I must confess: I’m a gal with a four paper-a-day habit. I love the physical experience of reading the newspapers – seeing the information laid out, sorting through sections. Clearly this proclivity may soon be nothing but nostalgia.

I’m an optimist though, and the reality is I’m much more concerned about the news itself than the paper it’s printed on, so Larry Kramer’s article in The Daily Beast intrigued me.

Kramer argues that the news industry – not the newspaper industry – is viable if the producers of news would listen to their customers and give them what they want.

“And guess what, they want news” – whether it be via “television, newspapers, BlackBerries, cellphones, magazines or web.”

Kramer sees a window of opportunity, “Consumers are just learning all the new ways they can get news and are still figuring out what works best for them. There is still time for those of us in the news industry to work with them and find out at the same time.”

This squares with what our clients at Context-Based Research Group found when they conducted an anthropological study of people’s news consumption habits on behalf of the Consumers are struggling with news fatigue. Interestingly, the research also revealed that they’re yearning for in-depth stories.

Kramer’s article which, interestingly, ultimately endorses a model that resembles a wire-service approach – divorcing news gatherers from news outlets – appealed to me because it takes an action-oriented tone and suggests there’s something that may be done before it’s too late. His call for newspapers to stop doing the Sisyphean task of selling something to people that they refuse to buy sounds right, even to this newspaper addict.

Regardless of what the new model is exactly, it’s clear that finding a new incarnation and proactively implementing it is imperative for us all – news consumers, producers, and communicators alike.