Press Releases and the Next Generation of PR

As the role of the press release continues to evolve, some communications companies are using it less as a static distribution tool and more as a way to prepare early-career professionals for how visibility, credibility and discovery really work today.

One recent initiative from Newsmatics, the parent company of EIN Presswire, reflects that shift. The company is working with public relations students to explore how press releases function across earned media, search and emerging AI platforms.

The effort builds on Newsmatics’ existing relationships with universities, including Georgetown University and Masaryk University, and extends into student-run public relations firms affiliated with the Public Relations Student Society of America (PRSSA). Rather than focusing narrowly on pitching journalists, participating students are being asked to think more broadly about how press releases support storytelling, discoverability and long-term visibility.

Student teams are creating original content that demonstrates how releases can influence results across multiple channels, including media coverage, search results and AI-driven information systems. The work reflects how younger communicators increasingly view press releases as a strategic input into larger communications ecosystems, not a standalone tactic.

For students, the experience offers exposure to professional-grade tools and a clearer view of how their work performs beyond the classroom. For the industry, it provides insight into how the next generation is reinterpreting foundational PR tools at a time when information flows are shaped as much by algorithms and data platforms as by traditional media.

Company executives involved in the initiative see it as part of a broader effort to better connect academic training with current communications practice. They point out that press releases now play a role in how organizations are indexed, surfaced and understood across media, search and AI environments.

At a moment when communicators are rethinking everything from measurement to message control, initiatives like this raise a larger question for the profession: how the tools PR was built on are being adapted by those who will define its future.

PRSSA chapters and student-led agencies interested in learning more can request information through Newsmatics’ student outreach team