Read the Room: Understanding Your Audience (of Journalists)

When it comes to getting the attention of journalists, PR pros have a lot to compete with. “How do I stand out? What does it take to break through? Why didn’t I just go to law school like my dad told me to?” are the types of questions we hear over and over again. Before you can effectively reach your journalist audience, it’s important to know where they are coming from first – their challenges and their priorities. As you think through your outreach approach, consider the following factors taking over journalists’ time and energy today.

Factors Reshaping How Journalists Work With PR Pros

Journalists are stretched a mile wide. Shrinking newsrooms have reporters juggling multiple beats with demanding workloads and pressing deadlines. Almost half of journalists (47%) cover five or more beats* and nearly the same amount file seven or more stories per week; 33% say they file 10 or more. Journalists don’t have time to chase down stories, so giving them all the information they need up front (insightful data, relevant quotes, accompanying images) takes the burden off them to assemble critical details and increases the likelihood they will cover the story (while putting you in their good graces).

How many beats are you currently covering?

How many pieces do you file weekly?

Journalists are inundated with spam. Fifty-three percent of journalists receive more than 50 pitches a week, and 28% receive more than 100 per week. Yet the vast majority of journalists (69%) say only a quarter (or less) of the pitches they receive are relevant to their audiences. The takeaway? Be part of the solution: Make sure your pitch is relevant to the journalists you’re reaching out to (see “Do your homework” below) and be clear as to why. As one journalist put it, “[I’m] absolutely choked with news. A pitch needs to be really good and must fit our mission/readership/model.”

How many pitches do you get a week (including emails, phone calls, social media messages, etc.)?

What percentage of pitches received do you consider relevant?

Journalists are minding the metrics. Much like PR pros, journalists are under more pressure than ever to prove their value using hard numbers. Fifty-nine percent of journalists agree that the availability of detailed audience metrics (views, engagement, demographics) has changed the way they evaluate stories. Many are focusing on stories that will generate the most traffic and shares across social media and other distribution channels in an effort to draw the almighty advertising dollar (and job security). Keep this information in mind when shaping your pitch. Ask yourself: Would your story give people pause when scrolling through their social feeds? Is there a compelling data point, a strong point of view, interesting commentary? Does it provide information people can’t find anywhere else? In other words, is it…share-worthy?

59% percent of journalists agree that the availability of detailed audience metrics has changed the way they evaluate stories

Do you agree that the availability of detailed audience metrics (views, engagement, demographic data, etc.) has changed the way you evaluate stories?