According to the PESO model, which type of media would a press release generally fall under?

A press release generally falls under the category of earned media within the PESO model. This is because a press release is typically distributed to journalists and media outlets with the hope that they will find the content newsworthy enough to publish or report on. When a story from a press release is picked up and covered by media, the coverage becomes "earned" because the organization did not pay for it or directly control the messaging; rather, they successfully engaged the interest of the media.

Earned media is valuable because it adds credibility to the organization due to external validation from trusted news sources. This contrasts with owned media, which consists of content created and controlled by the organization, such as its website or social media accounts, and paid media, which involves purchasing advertising space. Shared media refers to content that is shared across social networks, which also doesn't apply directly to press releases. The essence of a press release lies in its ability to generate media coverage organically, thus categorizing it as earned media.