My question: Is it okay to copy/paste a press release to your website?

Reason: Another journalist and I submitted similar stories to N4G.com. His story beat mine by 3 minutes because he copy and pasted the press release and I wrote a news article around the information given in the press release. His story will probably get approved onto N4G.com and mine won't. 

This is frustrating to me because it feels like cheap journalism to me just to copy and paste. Press releases are meant to be well prepared information about a game but I believe whomever puts the press release together uses certain phrases and words that they want you to use. If everyone just copy and pasted, all the articles would be the same

Thoughts?

I doubt you'll find anyone here that will disagree with you. We're writers, as such we should well... write.

I think it's fine so long as the person has their own content written withing the post (not just five words), or just copies and pastes certain parts. But copying and pasting an entire presser is lazy. Honestly, when I go to a site, I don't just want the news, I want to hear the writers voice.

Though you can blame N4G for allowing such a system to exist. The need to be first in everything results to such things happening.

N4G can be a pain sometimes

Copying and pasting your own work is one thing. Copying and pasting the work of someone else without their approval is plagiarism and illegal. Did he copy and paste his own work?

He copy and pasted the press release word for word which technically I believe is not illegal because the company is putting out the message that they want. If you use their words, the better for them because they are the ones who worded it exactly the way they wanted to. But @Chris Almeda said it best, its just lazy.

In case you're interested. His story got approved, is at about 100° right now. Mine although technically hasn't failed, is already being reported so it probably will soon.

It's just part of the learning process. I appreciate the comments.

Well if you want to get anything approved on N4G you need to give them something new and fresh.

I have to say I dislike using N4G ... I've gotten to a point on my site where I don't need to, but it's taken a year since go live. We *never* take the press release and copy and paste for use as news, features aside from getting a quote but we cite it, @Chris is right, it's lazy and uninteresting. We use the press releases as the "Game Description" part of our game directory/database, however it's not news nor would I class it as reporting for the site ... it's merely filler details for our searchable database i.e. it never hits the front page.

Alex, have you tried filing a report on it? Letting other contributors know that he/she straight up jacked a press release will slow the rate at which others will approve it. Just may buy you the time to get your story approved first.

EDIT:  Oops sorry, just read that it had already been approved.  Sorry mate, bit of bad luck there.  However, just wanted to let you know that there is a bit of karma to all of this.  I write my company's releases, and I am rather amused when people re-post it as original news.  I become even more amused when they do this and add their own byline.  I reward such people by politely declining to have any deep or meaningful interactions with them.  Meanwhile, the guy that took the time to craft a news item culled from our release (and other info in our press kit) is getting a deluxe review unit shipped out today - along with my thanks.