You target various audiences separately with your PR. Techcrunch, while terrible for acquiring users in most categories, is great - probably a must - for raising funding and hiring.
The only thing it could _potentially_ help is valuation, but any good investor would negotiate that perk away anyway.
What a feature by TC is saying, this startup is interesting enough that TC wrote about them. It is a sort of a filter, much like YC is one.
Being written about on TechCrunch can also help create a sense of urgency with the investors you are already talking to, because now there is potentially more people interested.