What is — and is not — newsworthy in a press release?

Don’t mistake a press release for an advertisement, PR pro Shannon Cherry advised. “If your business has received a certification, taken on a new senior executive, introduced a new product or service … an award, is sponsoring an event, etc. — this is news,” she blogged. “What’s not news (and I see a lot of these days, especially online) are releases with topics along the lines of ‘XYZ Company Widgets Are Great!’ Avoid this at all costs. This makes your news relea…