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?

During the dot-com boom, the practice of public relations rose to a new level of importance among those in the C-suite. Creating broad awareness of a business model could lead to an IPO, which could lead to fame and fortune. While the “idea now, revenue later” time period lasted a few short years, the role of public relations was permanently elevated as was the press release itself. I remember sitting around conference room tables with executives from companies of all shapes and sizes talking about how to position upcoming announcements in order to maximize their impact. When strategizing in the early stages, clients were typically more aggressive about what they wanted to say. But, when they saw their thoughts represented in an actual release, it almost always served as a wake-up call. It occurred to me during that time that disseminating a press release is a lot like mailing wedding invitations. Once you drop them into the mailbox, you are telling the world you’re getting married. Once your release hits a wire, you’ve told the world that the company has done a deal, received funding, been acquired, etc. The new reality a press release heralds can be daunting. Simply put, a company needs to be absolutely certain it can live up to the release.

I learned a valuable lesson several years ago when a colleague of mine issued a release that was not as transparent as it should have been. A client, whose stock was trading at less than $2 a share, asked him to write and distribute a release stating that an article featuring their technology was coming out in Barron’s the next day. I can’t imagine any circumstance where we’d recommend issuing a news release about an imminent article, but this situation was particularly problematic because the “article” was actually a paid advertorial. My colleague questioned the ethics of the release, but the client insisted on distribution prior to market close, which gave him less than an hour to move. Not surprisingly, the release generated significant interest in the company, doubling its stock price in a matter of minutes. Of course, such a dramatic rise in value was a red flag to the SEC and led to a full-blown investigation that exposed the client and our firm to negative publicity.

As public relations professionals, we are in the business of building our clients up and making sure their target audiences hear their stories. But it is also our responsibility to ensure the information disseminated on their behalf is accurate and not misleading in any way, particularly if the company is publicly traded. After all, no one enjoys calling off a wedding.