We at KTVZ try to always point folks to the newsroom general email address for news releases etc. (stories@ktvz.com).

Because it just makes sense – people come and go, are off that day, etc., and your great info or release may end up sitting for days, weeks or months.

Personal relationships with reporters, editors, producers, news directors – great! But general news releases should always go to the general mailbox usually pointed to on the “About Us” or “Contact Us” pages.

But you know how databases are. Just got a release to the stories email address, that begins “Hi Lee,” — well, Lee is still with us, our great evening co-anchor, but he hasn’t been news director for quite a while.

In the subject line, too: “Lee, can we count on your end of year support?”

We still get many releases, especially from national organizations that have a salutation to long-gone staff members. It’s no huge deal, but it does make one think, for at least a second – “Don’t you prune/update your database at LEAST every year or 3?

Oh, now I see! At the bottom, in small type, it says: “To update your email address, change your name or address, or to stop receiving emails from xxx, please click here.”

So maybe, many moons ago, Lee did sign us up for something – or the sender just called or wrote or looked up who our news director was back then, and now expects the recipient to do the updating?

Uh, no. My guess is, 99% of recipients of such mass mailings just leave it be, some even getting a chuckle at the shout-out to long-gone ex-colleagues.

It becomes pretty obvious pretty quick when you don’t keep things up to date on the sender end. Better to safely leave out the personable salutations if you can’t keep those lists updated, for whatever reason.