The FDA, as I understand it, is planning to let food producers sell genetically altered food for humans and pets. Trouble is, the salmon will grow at an accelerated pace, some fish and animals will have drugs in them, some will have bacteria resistant DNA from other animals put inside them, etc.

Scares me—not for myself but for others. I am a vegetarian. We do not know the future effects on humans and animals when this scary business is carried out.

I got this info from the Denver Post, but I am sure it is in a lot of major newspapers.

Yeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee Gads!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Thanks for the response. I’m hyper aware of the annoying factor and try to avoid it and use methods you’ve described, as well as being very specific about my target audiences.

Thanks!

Another PR person had taken the trouble to try to arrange an interview for me at a specific time during an event I’d be at with her client, rather than just saying “stop by the booth.”

Both of those were things I was actually interested in, or those touches wouldn’t have worked, but they certainly made them stand out from the crowd.

Like Gina, I do read releases and now and then I follow up on them, but it takes a lot to cut through the static.

We’re always looking for great stuff to write about, and an e-mailed media release is a great way to let us know if there’s something we need to be sharing with our readers.

So yes, there’s nothing wrong with a media release. But you can’t kid a kidder, and the over-the-top nonsense gets an eye-roll and a quick delete.

I get hundreds and sometimes thousands of e-mails a day, by the way. I would guess that’s pretty typical for syndicated columnist with best-selling books. The amount I have to spend on any e-mail is pretty limited.

Doing some research and pinpointing your media releases is smart stuff, and I commend you for it. It’s not uncommon for us to get six identical releases to our main PetConnection.com e-mail box — and for half the names in the address field to be spelled wrong. Variations on Christie’s first name are most common (Kristie, Christy, Christine), and I can fully understand spelling “Spadafori” wrong.

But Dr. Marty Becker? Geez, that’s a gimmee, it’s so easy to spell.

First of all, I am VERY glad to not have to push products made in China. I am not capable of working for anything I don’t believe in, to a fault sometimes (financially, that is).

But here’s the deal, what about for companies that ARE selling good things? Do you hate those releases as well?

I have limited my press releases, tried to send them only to places where I have a contact or personally know someone, get them in the right hands, etc., because I know that otherwise they won’t be read.

But the thing is, small companies that are doing the right things do not have the giganto budgets of those box stores and they rely on the “kindness” of the media and others to survive. Morals are great, but they don’t pay the bills. That’s why there are things like the press release. Of course, there are a ton of crappy product pushers that use them as well and I don’t envy you for having to receive them.

Just so you know, I’ve never sent you a press release, and won’t, but you know what I mean? It’s just part of being “the media.” The little guys have to rely on some help now and again because there is a sea of crap out there and that’s why it’s so hard to fight against those products and the stores that carry them. I hate that even little boutiques still carry all the stuff that’s made in China. There are a few of us out there who don’t do it and we don’t want to be lumped in with the rest.

phew. sorry. who knew I had so much to say about press releases?!