How to Build Good Relationships With Reporters

By Audrey Martin

In the public relations field, cultivating good relationships with journalists is vital. It’s a symbiotic relationship: you need reporters to cover your client or organization and reporters need stories to fill the pages of their newspaper or magazine. While it’s a myth that journalists and public relations professionals are somehow the sworn enemies of the communications field, there are some common practices you can utilize as a PR person in order to maintain positive relationships with the media. 

Journalists are generally very busy people, so make sure when you’re pitching stories to them your pitches are short and to the point. A reporter will know within the first few sentences of your pitch whether it’s something they are interested in covering so save the details for the follow-up email or phone call after the journalist already expresses interest in your story. 

Additionally, make sure every pitch you send to a reporter includes an angle for the potential story the reporter might be writing. Just telling a journalist about a new company, a partnership or an event might not be enough to pique their interest. Tell them why they should care about said company, partnership or event. What makes it interesting? Why would their subscribers find it worthy of reading?

Another good practice is only pitching to reporters who actually cover the area that your potential story would fall under. Pitching a story about fashion to a reporter who covers economics is not going to get your client any media coverage and is going to make you look sloppy as a PR person. Take the time to research what reporters in the area cover areas relating to your client and work on cultivating relationships with those reporters. 

Another good way to ensure you get the most coverage possible for your client is to do research into what publications might be publishing in the future. Magazines in particular will have editorial calendars where they plan far in advance what kinds of themes they will be writing about in the coming months. If you see that a magazine in your area is going to be releasing a “Spring Cleaning” issue in April, pitching them a story relating to this in February is a sure-fire way to secure coverage early. It also gives the reporter ample time to learn about your client and write a story that reflects well on the client. 

Lastly, if a journalist either does not respond to a pitch or declines your story, listen to and respect their decision. Don’t bombard them with fifteen follow-up emails and calls. This is a surefire way to get on the reporter’s bad side and make it harder in the future to get them to cover more stories. 

Journalist and public relations professionals are very different, but they do share a common goal. As long as you do your research, respect their profession and give them the best pitches possible, building strong relationships with reporters is a breeze.