ROTFLMAO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
You believe that there is a common reasoning between sending out threating letters and sending out press releases?!
That is absolutely preposterous. It's CRAZY!
You might send press releases to small newspapers for the reason you give, but threats are nearly ALWAYS sent to newspapers you want to threaten., OR you send them to the newspapers which have the widest circulation in the area concerned IF the threat is not against the newspaper.
If it is "typical" for someone to send threats to small newspapers scattered around the U.S., why don't you name a few past instances. It should be easy.
The fact that these letters were sent to smaller newspapers scattered around the country is what makes this a UNIQUE situation. You have to ask: WHY did he do that? And how did he pick the newspapers?
Forgetting about the press release angle, and thinking just about threats for a bit, it DOES seem like the culprit could have been concerned that his threats would just be thrown out by large newspapers the way some of the anthrax letters were.
That's an interesting idea to explore. He didn't want his threats to be thrown out, so he sent them to small newspapers?
I would think that these days almost all threats are taken seriously -- particularly by LARGE newspapers.
Reportedly, several letters were sent to WEEKLY newspapers in Queens, on Long Island where the letters were mailed.
If there hadn't been an attempt to connect threats to press releases, I would have reacted differently. I apologize for laughing my head off. It was because of the way the suggestion was phrased.
But I still have to wonder how the guy picked the newspapers? It doesn't seem to be just a random sampling. There seems to be a geographical pattern to the newspapers he chose. It can't be just a coincidence that he picked Peoria, Fort Wayne and Bayonne, which are all at about the same latitude. It can't be a coincidence that he picked Corpus Christ, Seattle and Newark, which are at the far ends of the country.
But your suggestion is interesting to think about.