I have several press releases that I'd like to use for distribution, but I'd also like to host the articles on my site. Is there a way to do this without having to worry about duplication? Can someone please shed some light on this?
Simple answer, don't do it. Unique content is your best weapon when ranking in search results. I never use article submission or press release sites to build backlinks. You'll find that having unique quality content is the best way to rank in search results; yes even beyond backlinks. If you choose to still follow this method of backlink building you'll have to write two completely different articles.
If you are going to put articles in your own site, then I suggest you don't submit them to any other site, like "ssandecki" said. Anyway, if its possible, submit a summary of the article to article directories, with a backlink to the original article.
Thanks. I guess this would be the best route to take considering that the guy upstairs really wants the articles hosted on our site. Thanks for the replies.
Article submission can be a good way of building (mostly weak) backlinks. Duplicate content will weaken the effect but one copy out of the duplicated set will count.
I have no problem with the duplicate articles. Make sure the articles that original which written by you. Google and other search engines usually pick one of them as a top ranking for particular keywords.