Any worthy media relations agency doesn’t just work for its clients. It works for, and with, reporters. In an endless cacophony of press releases, media events, social media posts and pitches, it’s the agencies that do their homework and provide reporters with everything they need to deliver stories important to their readers—pushing their clients’ news above the din. And given the transformation of the media over the past decade, today that approach is more important than ever.
U.S. newsroom employment has fallen 26 percent since 2008, according to Pew Research Center. When I went on media tours 10-15 years ago introducing clients to reporters and editors, I saw desk graveyard after desk graveyard, empty reporter cubicles with bare walls where phones sat undisturbed, save for maybe a blinking voicemail message light.
Standing out in the crowded media landscape isn’t just about having a novel or unique pitch. It’s about knowing what really matters to media professionals, not overloading them with fluff pitches, and getting to the heart of what they care about. It requires doing the research to provide the resources that make it as easy as possible for reporters to get into a story, including statistics and data and quotable sources. And it means knowing the reporter you’re pitching—not just their beat, but what interests them the most, their audience and their style.
Keeping each of these critical components in mind will make the difference between a reporter viewing you as another annoying PR person flooding their inbox, and viewing you as a true partner in uncovering and reporting compelling news.