A first? Dow Jones trumpets Greece exclusive

In a statement distributed early this afternoon over PRNewswire, the company brags that on March 18, "Dow Jones Newswires released exclusive news that Greece may seek financial aid from the International Monetary Fund. Following the news the euro quickly tumbled by 0.4% against the U.S. dollar, and assets as varied as the pound, the Australian and Singapore dollars and shares in Japanese exporters all declined with suggestion of a possible jolt to the stability of the entire European Monetary Union and the prospect that the euro zone might not be able to handle its first debt crisis."

The statement continues: "Nearly an hour later, rival news organization Bloomberg, as well as Greek media, picked up the Dow Jones story. Reuters was two hours behind. The Dow Jones story was discussed in a flurry of analysts' research reports in Asia and Europe."

Question: Is this a new tactic, spotlighting hot news stories via press releases?

Please post your replies in the comments section, below. To e-mail confidentially, write jimhopkins[at]gmail[dot-com]; see Tipsters Anonymous Policy in the rail, upper right.