Just to prove there’s an abundance of viewpoints on the future of the press release, I’d like to point you to David Meerman Scott‘s opinion. Scott, author of “Cashing In With Content: How Innovative Marketers Use Digital Information to Turn Browsers Into Buyers,” writes in MarketingProfs.com that the future of press releases will require precisely the behavior that has led Amy Gahran and others to insist that the press release is dead.

Let’s review: Amy says most press releases contain no news, are badly written, and drive reporters insane. Reporters consequently hate them, resulting in few getting the ink they were designed to produce. In the world of blogs and other social media, there are better ways to get your news out. Hence, press releases are relics of a bygone era.

Not so, says Scott. He starts by explaining the good old days when press releases were aimed solely at the press.

Today, savvy marketing professionals use press releases to reach buyers directly. Many marketing and PR people understand that press releases sent over the wires appear in near real time on services like Google News. But very few understand the implication that they must dramatically alter their press-release strategy if they are to maximize the effectiveness of the press release as a channel for directly communicating with consumers.

Scott suggests the new rules for press releases include this gem that should drive Amy up a wall: “Don’t just send press releases when ‘big news’ is happening;  find good reasons to send them all the time..”

I understand where Scott is coming from, but it’s exactly the kind of press release he’s advocating that lends itself better to new media. The press releases I advocate are the ones with real news that reporters and editors still want to get, the ones that become the official statement of record that reporters love to be able to search for and find in online media newsrooms.

Still, it’s interesting to get a point of view that’s diametrically opposed to the “press-release-is-dead” meme that Amy started. What it tells me is that, bankrupt or not, the press release isn’t going anywhere soon—not if advisors like Scott are wielding any influence at all over their clients.

One more note on press releases: Silicon Valley Watcher’s Tom Foremski headlined an item on Monday, “Die! Press Release! Die! Die! Die!” I wanted to ask him what he really thought. I hate it when people sugar-coat their opinions.

Press releases are nearly useless. They typically start with a tremendous amount of top-spin, they contain pat-on-the-back phrases and meaningless quotes. Often they will contain quotes from C-level executives praising their customer focus. They often contain praise from analysts, (who are almost always paid or have a customer relationship.) And so on…

Foremski (another individual I’m planning to see at the New Communications Forum this week) suggests that press releases should be deconstructed into sections and tagged to writers, editors, and publishers can “pre-assemble some of the news stories and make the information useful.” Nifty idea. Getting every company and agency to agree on a standard, on the other hand…

Details on his proposal are here.

So much hand-wringing over the poor, beseiged press release.