Why editors delete our press releases (hint: we make stupid mistakes)

Your hard work on that press release just went bye-bye with the click of the delete button. You know what’s the saddest about this? I don’t even know what I deleted. There was no information, other than your name and contact info in the body of the e-mail. You expected me to open an attachment to find out what you’re pitching. I don’t have time to open the attachment. Delete.

I’m not making this up. This morning, during a rush on the news desk, I deleted four of these e-mails. These e-mails didn’t even have subject lines to help me understand what the e-mails were about. Delete.

I have said it before. I say it again. The news desk receives hundreds of e-mails per day. Most of it I consider to be spam. It’s not the kind of spam you may receive in your personal e-mail, but random statements on situations not related to the Denver market like, nationwide e-mail blasts on feeds; or stories that we would never air; or political slam-downs from various campaigns around the country. Around a dozen of us in the newsroom are on this e-mail list, but not a single one of us has the time to actually monitor the e-mail constantly.

Essential information

When the newsroom is buzzing and there’s no down time, I scan the e-mails when I can. I look at: