ENVIRONMENT OF CONFIDENCE - DAILY NEWSPAPER USE OF PRESS RELEASES

This study tracks the placement in the daily newspapers of the press releases produced by the public information office of a major state agency. The office's efforts resulted in a significantly higher placement rate than that revealed in previous research, indicating that the staff had created an environment of confidence around its relationship with the media. Among the factors associated with successful placement were the timeliness of the material, targeted distribution of releases and wire service pick-up. Lynne Masel Walters is an Associate Professor in the Department of Journalism at Texas A&M University. Timothy N. Walters is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Communication at Stephen F. Austin State University.