The Perfect Pitch: How to Understand the Reporter’s Perspective When Practicing Media Relations

By Lauren Crociati, Account Supervisor

Journalists and public relations practitioners are not so different. Both need to get to the truth of the story, whether it be breaking news or emphasizing every high-quality feature of a product. Both understand the importance of storytelling and its place in media. Most importantly, both see the value of the written word and its power to inform. I would know, I’ve dipped my feet in both fields. 

Back until just over a year ago, I was a journalism junkie. During my undergraduate career I was in and out of a newsroom in the basement of my college’s campus center for four years at the student-run newspaper, eventually serving as head editor of the Arts and Living section. While I was learning almost everything I know about the journalistic experience, I also got a sneak peek into the PR world. You may be surprised to learn that, even at a college newspaper, I received multiple PR pitch emails each week as head editor. Most of them, admittedly, I never even opened. 

Why was this? Well, there are several answers. 

First and foremost, many pitches didn’t even get my name right. I found myself opening several emails addressed to previous arts editors from years past, some I’d never met because they graduated before I arrived at the newsroom. I never took the time to open an email addressed to someone named Mark who left the university in 2012.

A simple fix to this: check a newspaper’s staff page or a magazine’s masthead before even writing the pitch. Sure, you may have spoken to Mark a few years back and maybe he even got your story placed in his publication. However, does Mark even work there anymore? Verify this. If you do not find the reporter you’re looking for, or if you cannot find any recent articles by them, chances are they aren’t someone you want to pitch to. Still, there will most likely be another journalist at your targeted publication that writes similarly to that reporter you used to know. Reach out to them. Develop a new relationship. 

Secondly, some of the pitches I received would have been better fit for a different section of the newspaper. For example, I remember a time when I received a pitch about a community event happening in a surrounding town asking me if the arts section would be interested in covering it. While this could have fit in my section as some sort of profile on the organization running the event, this would have been better fit for the news section. The news section of the paper wrote about specific daily occurrences happening in the area, while we had a broader spectrum of topics. The individual pitching to me should have checked the types of articles I was placing in our newspaper before clicking “send.” They would have seen that our paper preferred to place articles on events in the news section. In this instance, I simply directed them to our news editor. 

Another quick tip when pitching to reporters is to include at least one example of an article or other piece of content of theirs you have read. This proves to a reporter that you have done your research. It also connects the client or product you are pitching to the writer by stating why exactly you chose them to pitch to. Can you convey to the journalist that you understand their reader’s interests? To do this, say something like, “Your readers have an interest in __, which is why a story on __ would grab their attention.” By displaying to the reporter that you are familiar with their work and writing style, you establish a certain amount of respect that will lead to a mutually beneficial relationship in the future. Creating an eye-catching subject line helps tremendously in doing this as well. In your subject line, make sure to make known that this pitch is perfectly crafted for the reporter. Make it specific and unique to them.  

To boil it all down into one overarching lesson in pitching: respect the journalist and lead them to respect you. Remember, you are not just some random PR person who clogs a journalist’s email stream (a comment I often heard around the newsroom). You are a PR professional who understands the reporter’s perspective. A PR practitioner who can empathize with a journalist who may get overwhelmed with constant pitches that may not even be relative to their own work. The relationship between journalists and PR professionals is crucial to both missions, and a significant level of consideration for both sides is the key to getting earned coverage.