Pitching Reporters with Success
WRITTEN BY NIKI JUHASZ
My freshman year of college, I took my first journalism course. Our professor, a feisty former reporter, started out the class by telling us that if he ever hears of one of his students using the “spray and pray” method in our media relations activities, he will hunt us down himself.
He was talking about the “easiest” way to get news to journalists — taking a press release and sending it to a huge (often random) list of reporters, hoping one is interested.
We’ll let you in on a secret. Reporters REALLY hate those emails. Imagine being a journalist who writes exclusively about education in Raleigh and receiving a story idea about DC’s foster care crisis. Are you going to open an email from the person who sent it to you ever again? No!
That’s why smart communicators are moving away from press releases and using pitches — short emails that are tailored to specific reporters about specific topics — instead.
Instead of sending a generic message to 100 news outlets, consider sending a personal message to three reporters who write about the topic you want covered in the news.
So what’s the real difference between a pitch and a press release in a reporter’s inbox? Take a look at the two email intros below and tell us which you would rather respond to!
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Choose the Better Email
Hi Martin! I loved your story about how we can protect baby ducks on DC’s streets. Our executive director, Newt Scamander, has worked in animal conservation all his life. He’s working with councilmember David Grosso to introduce legislation about this topic at next Tuesday’s hearing. He would love to share the details with you before anyone else. How about a quick call between 1 and 4 p.m. tomorrow?
OR
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE—DC executive director works with councilmember on animal conservation bill. The legislation will be introduced at next week’s council hearing.
Personalization is King—Even in Media Relations
One of intros is significantly more intriguing than the other, right? In today’s era of personalization, the key to strong media relations is building relationships with individual reporters. Like in the example above, show them you know what they write about and what they would find interesting! Ensure that you are a helpful resource to them.
Writing the perfect pitch — and building these relationships — can be tricky, so we’ve created a pitching checklist just for you! Download this free resource today and pitch with confidence, knowing that you’re following the best media relations practices possible.
Are you building your media relations strategy? Let us know what questions you have! We’ll be sharing tips and tricks throughout the year and just might answer your questions.
