A roundup of the press releases sent via PR Newswire that received the most attention over the past year.

NEW YORK, Jan. 9, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- As we kick off a new year at PR Newswire, our team is recapping some of the major stories from 2025 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 annual rankings to product launches, acquisitions and new partnerships.

Click on the press release headlines to access the full story and accompanying multimedia assets that are available for download.

1. U.S. News Announces 2026 Best Colleges Rankings (Sept. 23)
2. Pakistan Dispatches First-Ever Shipment of Rare Earth and Critical Minerals to United States Under Landmark $500M Agreement (Oct. 2)
3. Novo Nordisk introduces NovoCare® Pharmacy, lowering cost of all doses of FDA-approved Wegovy® (semaglutide) to $499 per month and offering easy home delivery for cash-paying patients (March 5)
4. Subaru Announces Global Debut of All-New 2026 Outback at 2025 New York International Auto Show (April 9)
5. TIME Reveals the 2025 TIME100 List of the 100 Most Influential People in the World (April 16)
6. Big Lots Closes Sale to Gordon Brothers Retail Partners (Jan. 3)
7. Momentum Biotechnologies Announces Acquisition of OmicScouts (March 5)
8. Sony Electronics Announces the World's Smallest and Lightest Miniature Precision LiDAR Depth Sensor (April 11)
9. Scouting America Statement on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit Decision (May 13)
10. Red Lobster® Declares This Year's Lobsterfest® the GLOAT: The Greatest Lobsterfest of All Time (Feb. 11)
11. Mob Entertainment Signs Multi-Year Licensing Deal with Toy Giant McFarlane, Bringing Poppy Playtime Toys and Collectibles to Fans Worldwide (May 20)
12. The Michaels Companies, Inc. Acquires JOANN® Intellectual Property and Private Label Brands (June 5)
13. John Deere Announces Collaboration with Dovetail Workwear to Empower Women in Agriculture (April 2)
14. Jersey Mike's Subs Raises Record-Breaking $30 Million in March for Local Charities (April 10)
15. Compass Announces Combination with Anywhere Real Estate in All-Stock Transaction (Sept. 22)
16. International Paper Announces Strategic Changes (Aug. 21)
17. Rare High End Michael Jordan Basketball Cards Discovered in Arizona Shoe Boxes After Two Decades (Jan. 14)
18. Drink Up, Collect 'Em All - Whataburger Releases Limited-Edition Commemorative Cups (June 10)
19. The Hershey Company Delivers Holiday Magic with New Treats and Timeless Favorites (Nov. 6)
20. Mr. Cooper, America's Largest Servicer, Joins Rocket, the Nation's Largest Lender (March 31)

What Worked

Despite the varying topics, the press release experts at PR Newswire noticed a few recurring trends pop up across the most-read releases:

• Multimedia has lasting value: Nearly every press release in the top 20 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 value. PR Newswire data finds that press releases that include an image receive 2x the engagement of a text-only release, and engagement jumps to 6x for announcements with multiple images.
• Answer the "So what?" up front: Despite a few longer headlines, these companies don't leave any question as to what the news is about. Readers, journalists and AI crawlers get a clear idea of what the story is and how the news may impact them before even clicking into the release.
• Strong formatting is key: Most of 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. A strong, easy-to-scan structure is also increasingly important in the age of AI search. A clean, purposeful press release format helps LLM crawlers understand the content on the page, increasing the chances of a brand's content being cited in relevant query results.
• "Newsworthiness" can mean many things: Wondering if a company update warrants a press release? This release list should leave no doubt that there are a number of reasons to send a press release. From the more traditional releases, like acquisition and personnel announcements, to new partnerships, philanthropy news 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 2026, 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 last year's big press releases that consumers and the media should know about. To be notified of releases relevant to their coverage area in 2026, journalists can set up a free custom newsfeed with PR Newswire for Journalists.

Once they're signed up, reporters, bloggers, and freelancers have access to the following 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.
• Photos and Videos: Thousands of multimedia assets are available to download and include in a journalist or blogger's next story.
• Subject Matter Experts: Journalists will have access to ProfNet, a database of industry experts to connect with as sources or for quotes in their articles.
• Related Resources: Our journalist- and blogger-focused blog, Beyond Bylines, features regular media news roundups, writing tips, upcoming events and more.

About PR Newswire

PR Newswire is the industry's leading press release distribution partner with an unparalleled global reach of more than 440,000 newsrooms, websites, direct feeds, journalists and influencers and is available in more than 170 countries and 40 languages. From our award-winning Content Services offerings, integrated media newsroom and microsite products, Investor Relations suite of services, paid placement and social sharing tools, PR Newswire has a comprehensive catalog of solutions to solve the modern-day challenges PR and communications teams face. For 70 years, PR Newswire has been the preferred destination for brands to share their most important news stories across the world.

For questions, contact the team at media.relations@cision.com.

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