Media Pitches – How To Make Yours Noticed In The Newsroom

Every day, journalists receive hundreds of press releases and media pitches. The ones that make the cut usually deliver two things: news and views.

Sarah Hawes, owner of marketing & PR agency Izzy PR, shares her experience with the media to help you get your press release noticed.

Lead with the news
Journalists need to understand the story immediately – write a clear headline followed by a short summary or bullet points that get your story across quickly and efficiently.

Take yourself back to school English lessons and let them know what, when, why, how, who and where.

Offer the views
What visuals can you give them – photos, videos or interviews?

Photos and videos should be relevant, good quality, clear and ideally, sent on a link like Dropbox. Photos should be at least 1MB for print.

Interviews are always great to offer – you can initially send a quote from a key person, client or case study to give a flavour, then invite phone interviews or in-person – let them know what location you have for their backdrop.

Your press release or media pitch should also include dates and times for media visits, plus a reliable contact for them who can liaise with them and be around on the day to collect people for interview and help them be in and out as quickly as possible.

They like a bit of notice, so let them know in advance, then remind them a few days before. Don’t be a pest though – if they’re interested, they’ll reply.