I wouldnt worry too much about PR, its pretty meaningless as to a website's worth, capabilities etc.

You should be concentrating on getting traffic to the site, as its very important, especially in the early/start-up stages. Trouble is, its a recession, and you're up against established websites/companies that have done this for years and really know what their doing.

But traffic is what you want to get the word out. Word of mouth is so crucial.