A roundup of the press releases sent via PR Newswire that received the most attention over the past year.
NEW YORK, Jan. 3, 2025 -- As we kick off a new year at PR Newswire, our team is recapping some of the major stories from 2024 that caught readers' attention. Hundreds of thousands of press releases were distributed last year and the team has kept tabs on the top stories each week.
The press releases sent via PR Newswire – and how they perform – say a lot about what news audiences want to know about and the subjects they gravitate toward.
The following releases were some of the most-read on prnewswire.com over the past 12 months, and the topics vary widely – from product recalls to company restructurings, product launches, partnerships and market reports.
Click on the press release headlines to access the full story and accompanying multimedia assets that are available for download.
- Spectrum Announces Unprecedented Customer Commitment, Free Internet Speed Lifts and New Bundled Pricing (Sept. 16)
- MOHELA Sets Record for Processing Highest Amount of Student Loan Forgiveness in Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) Program History (July 10)
- Rodan + Fields Announces New Path to Growth (July 15)
- Rizo-López Foods, Inc. Voluntarily Recalls Dairy Products Because of Possible Health Risk (Feb. 5)
- Southwest Airlines Offers Rapid Rewards Members Limited-Time Promotion to Accelerate to A-List or A-List Preferred Tier Status (Aug. 28)
- Crown Royal Launches Highly Anticipated Flavor Innovation Crown Royal Blackberry Flavored Whisky (March 13)
- Welcome to WcDonald's: McDonald's Brings Anime Fans' Favorite Fictional Restaurant to Life (Feb. 21)
- Sony Electronics Announces Continued Partnership with SQUARE ENIX® on critically acclaimed FINAL FANTASY™ VII remake project, FINAL FANTASY® VII REBIRTH (Jan. 22)
- Big Lots Agrees to Strategic Transaction to Facilitate Preservation of Brand, Hundreds of Stores and Thousands of Jobs (Dec. 27)
- Artprice by Artmarket.com: 28th annual report - The Art Market in 2023. A new record number of artworks sold at auction. Biggest national marketplace: the USA. Female artists showed spectacular growth (March 7)
- Little Caesars to Launch Crazy Puffs®: Pocket-Sized Pieces of Pizza Bliss! (March 8)
- KFC® Introduces New "Taste of KFC Deals" - A Value Menu with Real Value - Starting at Just $4.99 (April 8)
- U.S. News Releases 2025 Best Colleges Rankings (Sept. 24)
- Pi Network Surpasses 12M KYC'd Global Users and Announces New Product Updates as Open Mainnet Progress Continues (June 28)
- Orangetheory Fitness and Self Esteem Brands Announce Intent to Merge as Equals, Creating a New Company Representing One of the Largest Footprints of Fitness, Health and Wellness Services (Feb. 29)
The Takeaways
Despite the varying topics, we noticed a few recurring trends pop up across the most-read releases:
- Multimedia has lasting value: Every press release in the top 15 includes some form of multimedia, whether it be a photo, logo, video or a combination. It's a practice we've been stressing to PR and comms teams for years, and one that continues to prove its worth.
- Answer the "So what?" up front: Despite some longer headlines in the top 15, these companies don't leave any question as to what the news is about. Readers get a clear idea of what they're clicking into and how it may impact them, even if the headline is cut off in search engine results.
- Strong formatting is key: Nearly all the top releases utilize formatting like bullets, bolding, pull quotes and clear calls-to-action to help readers and journalists pick out key details and know where to go next. For longer releases, this kind of formatting is vital to keeping readers on the page.
- "Newsworthiness" can mean many things: Wondering if a company update warrants a press release? This top 15 list should leave no doubt that good reasons to send a press release run the gamut. From the more traditional press releases, like acquisition announcements, to quirky product launches and survey/poll data, there's an argument to be made for sharing each one with your target audience.
To learn more about press release best practices and how you can implement them in 2025, download PR Newswire's Definitive Guide to Crafting an Engaging Press Release.
Helping Journalists Stay Up to Date on Industry News
These are just a few of the year's big press releases that consumers and the media should know about. To be notified of releases relevant to their coverage area, journalists can set up a custom newsfeed with PR Newswire for Journalists.
Once they're signed up, reporters, bloggers, and freelancers have access to the following free features:
- Customization: Users can create customized newsfeeds that will deliver relevant news right to their inbox. Newsfeed results can be targeted by keywords, industry, subject, geography, and more.
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