LOL
the curse of the internet! gotta take the good with the bad. press releases might be self promotion for the researcher and institution but i'd rather see their findings sooner than later rather than wait for a monthly/quarterly journal option or conference as they would have had to pre-internet.
not sure if they are directed towards laypeople or parkies but more towards informing colleagues in the field, drug companies, grad students looking for a position?, researchers looking for a job, donors?