In my opinion the spamming is the least of the problems. I can’t expect every overworked PR person to know exactly what every reporter is interested in and pitch with laser precision every time. So filtering through crap is part of my job as a reporter — whether that crap comes from press releases, the Google blog, or PR pitches. The bigger problem is PR agencies that are deceptive or meddling or untrustworthy: They give you a story under embargo but forget to mention that X Favored Publication will somehow “accidentally” publish it two hours earlier, or the day before. Or they give you a small story, but don’t mention the really big story they’re holding for someone special. Or they give you a story and connect you with a source, but won’t get out of the way so you can actually interview the source.