How to give "an exclusive" to a reporter

Forthright team member Niki is standing opposite Forthright team member Lauren. Niki is facing the camera while smiling at Lauren. Niki is wearing a pink sleeveless dress while holding a notebook and pen. Lauren is sitting and staring back at Niki.

Written by niki juhasz

Today, we’re tackling one of the most elusive and confusing parts of media relations: the exclusive.

what is an exclusive?

Simply put, an exclusive is when you offer a story to one single reporter, and promise that you won’t share the story with anyone else until after your chosen reporter shares the news first.

Let’s break that down.

1️⃣ First, an important part of an exclusive is “one single reporter.” (No, I’m not talking about their relationship status, I’m talking about the fact that there is only one of them.)

An exclusive means that you are EXCLUSIVELY offering a reporter a story – and offering it to only them.

Katie shared that when she was an in-house communications director, one of her teammates didn’t quite understand the “only one reporter” part and thought that you could offer exclusives to a few different reporters at once to see who took the story first. NOPE. That’s a fast way to burn a bridge and make a reporter very grumpy.

2️⃣ The next part, “not going to share the story with anyone else,” is key. When you offer a reporter an exclusive, you need to be ready to commit to sharing your story with that one reporter, and no one else. (Okay, now I’m talking about your working relationship status – you’re committed and exclusive when you work with a reporter on an exclusive!)

3️⃣ Third important part is “until after your chosen reporter gets to share the news first.” That means they get full dibs on breaking the news, and you are making an agreement with them that they get to share it with the world first. That means you can’t put the news out on your own platforms until the reporter does.

When should you offer an exclusive?

One scenario when I like to offer exclusives is when I have a great story – one that is maybe just a little complicated – and I know which reporter is the right fit to share it.

For example, a few years ago when Katie and I were working with a foster care organization, we had a scoop about a high-profile court case. We knew we wanted a specific reporter at the Washington Post to write about it because we trusted her to do the family justice, to tell the whole story in a fair and balanced way, and treat our people with compassion and respect.

We knew if we blasted the story out to too many journalists at once, we risked losing the narrative, and we wouldn’t get to tell the story the way it deserved to be told. If we offered it as an exclusive, the reporter would have enough time to do her background work, interview multiple people and tell a complete story. However, if it broke in public, everyone would be rushing on deadline to break the news.

Another time you may want to offer an exclusive is if your story isn’t that great (it still needs to be newsworthy!). In other words, when the story is interesting, but not super hot and not a slam dunk.

Offering an exclusive in that case gives you a better chance to get your story told. It’s like a little bonus that nudges the reporter.

how do you offer an exclusive?

Well, first you have to get your ducks in a row.

Gather all your information so you have a full package for the reporter. Make sure you have your 5 W’s and your H, and that whoever you’re offering as your interviews are prepped and media trained.
Research different reporters and decide which one is the right reporter to tell your story. When we work with clients on media relations, we always make sure we have a few backup options, too!
Write a tight pitch. No fluff, just four or five sentences to get them intrigued and tell them what you’ve got for them. Remember: once they’re interested, you can share a ton more info, so don’t go out of the gate with a huge email; you’ll lose the reporter and they’ll get bored.
Make sure you write it to the reporter personally and that you put “I want to offer you an exclusive” in the first sentence. Also use “EXCLUSIVE: [fill in your info here]” as your subject line so it stands out in the reporter’s inbox.
Include a time frame/deadline when you need to hear back from them before you take the story to another reporter. If your story is breaking news, you can offer a few hours – but typically try to offer about 48 hours if you can. This way, you aren’t stuck waiting forever, and it’s clear that if they miss your deadline you’re not obligated to them any longer.
- For example, you might say, “I want to offer this to you as an exclusive, but if I don’t hear back from you by Tuesday, 9/8 at 10:30 a.m. ET, I’m going to offer this story to someone else.”
- Then, if you state your deadline and don’t hear back quickly, feel free to ping them 24 hours in advance before you move on. Say, “my deadline is 10:30 a.m. tomorrow – are you interested? If not, I’ll be moving on to another reporter.” Still haven’t heard back? Move on to your second choice reporter. Your story deserves to be told!