Good points

> If you don't like "self-serving" press releases, I have to ask
> what is a non-self-serving press release?

I would claim it's one that actually has some tiny chance of being picked up by legitimate press. For a product or service that might find a market by using paid advertising, not have their business model depend solely on free channels. Or one where the one writing the release truly doesn't benefit directly from the publicity, and honestly wants more people to discover the availability of something, like charity.

> The whole purpose of press releases is an attemp to get some kind of press
> coverage for the person or organization who is putting them out.

Not always. I think sometimes, the sole purpose is to get picked up in search engines and gain legitimacy by smoke and mirrors. For instance, I don't believe any legitimate press is going to republish this kind of HYIP flapdoodle:

http://www.prweb.com/releases/2005/12/prweb317280.htm

"The Best & Hotest Money Making Program on the Internet; Read the Forum for Testimonials and Rating by Members

Earn 12% daily x 12 days on your membership fee just viewing 12 websites everyday. At the end of 12 days you will be paid 144% of your membership fee. To continue earning, repeat the process and you keep earning.Earn 12% of membership fee of your referrals, and as long as your referrals repeats the cycle you will continue to earn

(PRWEB) December 3, 2005 -- Earn 12% daily x 12 days on your membership fee just viewing 12 websites(25sec per site)or just 5 minutes daily.At the end of 12 days you will be paid 144% of your membership fee.To continue earning, repeat the process and you keep earning,earning & earning.

Earn 12% commission of membership fee of your referrals, and as long as your referrals repeats the cycle every 12 days you will continue to earn.

Earning from membership:
You buy membership at US$1,000 level. You perform your due deligence. You will be paid US$1,440 at the end of 12 days. This amount is inclusive of your membership fee. You have earned for yourself US$440 in just 12 days."

What was this one for? 12DailyPro - defunct Ponzi scam.

> If the
> organization is a business, that would be for business purposes, to get
> publicity for the business, etc.. If the organization is a non-profit,
> that would be to help with fund-raising, attract members, advance the
> organization's agenda, or simply attract publicity for the organization.

And if the business is a scam, to wrap itself in the cloak of appearing to be legitimate by using the press release process to impress the sheep/victims. Or by calling themselves expert/successful/masters of something without independently-verifiable evidence or testimonials.

> You can't write press releases, about things that you are not connected
> to, or involved with at all. So a 100% altruistic press release simply
> isn't possible. By definition, a press release is self-serving, even if
> it's just ego-massage for the person doing the press release.

True - or as part of the operation of a scam.

> Doubt me? Please show me a single example, with URL, of a non-self-serving
> press release?

Charity announcements spring to mind:
http://www.prweb.com/releases/2006/03/prweb353372.htm

But you're right, the charity benefits in some way by being able to distribute its aid and perhaps attract more donations.

This one comes close, but the profit motive behind it is easy to spot:
http://www.prweb.com/releases/2006/02/prweb349466.htm

> As for "fakey-fakey awards", all awards are invented by
> somebody. They don't exist independent of the inventor. They don't exist
> independent of the inventor's agenda and criteria for choosing recipients.
> Of course, some awards are more respected by others, but all advance
> somebody's business or somebody's agenda - in the latter case that's
> whatever they consider merit-worthy in the value system that they are
> promoting. In that sense, all awards are fakey-fakey, they are all a
> construct of somebody's imagination. Even the Nobel Prizes !

Actually, I thought the motivation behind the Nobel Prize was his guilty feeling about contributing to the technology of war. :-)

I guess I'm guilty of denigrating certain awards if they're for categories of things that I personally don't consider award-worthy. For instance, I would mock an award for the "Smelliest dog-doo of the Week", but would welcome announcement of an award for the most "Upstanding and Honest Car Dealership in the State", unless the latter award was given out by an association of car dealers and not consumers.