Half the articles they pick up from their news partners are nothing more than rewritten press releases. I can’t tell you how many times over the years I’ve sent out press releases and never got a call from any news outlet I sent it to, yet lo and behold there was a story on the air or in the paper about that press release. With a byline from the reporter at the local paper.
Personally it didn’t bother me because I issued a press release for publicity and I got it. What really irks me though is when they write a story from a press release on a subject they know nothing about and don’t contact the person responsibile or contact someone with an opposing view.
That habit of ine drove one “news director” I had absolutely nuts. He was a “rip n’ read” type and I was more interested in facts.
We used to issue press releases when I worked with a local charitable organization because we knew the press would use the material, generally without rewriting it.
It was cheap insurance against being horribly misquoted or having facts garbled by a new reporter in a local market, especially with a paper which was notorious for getting things mixed up.
They liked us because we made them look better (more accurate), and it worked for us.