Even as social media widens its reach, communicators see a future for the old standby????Despite continued reports of newspapers failing and social media growing, communicators say press releases are as useful as ever, especially for targeting print outlets. A recent poll of corporate communicators conducted by Ragan Communications and PollStream found 49 percent of the poll???s 401 respondents believe press releases are ???as useful as ever.???

Another 33 percent said they???re a necessary evil that won???t go away soon, in part because of SEC notification rules. An overwhelming 64 percent said they target their press releases most often to print outlets, and 23 percent listed online news and financial sites as well.If press releases are losing relevance, it???s because of the growth of social media, said 45 percent of respondents. Though, 23 percent and 24 percent respectively blamed the demand for a more trustworthy and/or engaging information source and the decline of the newspaper and magazine industry.

Lauren Fernandez, marketing coordinator at American Mensa, still believes in the power of the press release and the importance of directing the message and the medium to the audience. You???re not going to have much success tweeting a reporter who prefers press releases via fax nor contacting a 65-year-old-plus audience via Facebook.

via Ragan??Poll: Don???t trash press releases yet .