How to Build Lasting Relationships with Reporters for Better Media Coverage
Excellence in media relations is achieved, at least in part, by understanding human behavior and knowing what makes people tick. This includes everyone from target audiences to the reporters who help you reach them. Even the most well-known brands need to keep their finger on the pulse of what their customers want and need to land stories that matter and drive business objectives forward. Most of this boils down to strong relationships with journalists and editors.
But building mutually beneficial partnerships is easier said than done. And while there certainly is an art to crafting compelling stories and brand narratives, creating lasting media relationships is becoming more of a science, especially with the emergence of new technologies.
Connect with Journalists as People
Although we may refer to them collectively as “the media,” journalists are people, too. The role of reporters remains the same as it was a century ago—to report the facts truthfully and in full—but they are now tasked with much more than just delivering news. Modern journalists must balance the demands of capturing need-to-know stories with engaging audiences across multiple channels. They are also being asked to do more in less time as budget cuts and the shift from print to digital media forces sweeping changes. Detailed audience metrics and declining revenues have put a hyper focus on each story’s ability to attract readers. The pressure to perform is higher than ever before.
The best media relations professionals respect a journalist’s time, respond promptly to requests, maintain transparency, and practice empathy at every turn. Asking for unnecessary edits after a piece is published, expressing anger at the exclusion or inclusion of a spokesperson’s commentary, or otherwise making a reporter jump through hoops will only weaken the relationship. Keep in mind that you are nurturing a symbiotic relationship that should be beneficial to both parties: reporters need sources for informed storytelling, and you need media coverage for broader brand awareness or credibility.
At the same time, avoid treating the relationship like a transaction. If you only reach out when you have a story, they will only see you as a media relations professional, not a trusted collaborator. Invite your contacts to coffee, drinks, or a one-on-one meeting when you know the news cycle is a little quieter. Going the extra mile to ask a reporter to connect lets them know that you genuinely care about getting to know them as a person.
Do Your Media Relations Research
Before speaking to a reporter or editor, take the time to research their recent coverage and preferred sources. Personalized outreach has always been a best practice, so starting a new media relationship or deepening an existing one requires reading up on what your contact cares about. This includes understanding both the journalist’s and the publication’s target audiences. With the rising popularity of Substack and other content platforms, sometimes these target audiences can diverge, depending on what a journalist is writing for which platform.
Prior to sending an email or grabbing coffee with them, investigate recently written articles and editorial calendars, which can indicate how your pitch fits into pre-planned stories. Familiarize yourself with where they are located and which regions they cover. Sleuth their social media accounts to see what they are posting or engaging with. Many reporters use social media in their professional lives for the sole purpose of publishing or promoting articles. Reaching out to them on social platforms is not necessarily recommended, but keeping your eye on the conversations they have might pay off further down the road. The content reporters and editors share or engage with can give you a better idea of the topics piquing their interest.
Tapping AI to help with this research can be a time saver but make sure to double check the information by hand, so you do not get caught accidentally repeating false information. There are few better ways to ruin a media relationship than to misattribute or misquote an article. Thorough research can be the start of a strong media relationship by showing that you have done your due diligence and are prepared to help a reporter maintain the trust and engagement of their audiences.
Add Value, Not Volume to Reporter Inboxes
Once you get to know a reporter as a person and understand what makes them tick, you will be in a better position to personalize stories to their beat and add value to their articles. Sending story ideas or sources that are not exactly aligned with a journalist’s needs only jams up their already-full inboxes and lowers your success rate. While you are getting to know them, it can be helpful to ask exactly when and how each of your media contacts prefers to receive pitches. Some like one or two sentence summaries in the early morning. Others need ideas and sources before midday meetings with their editors. Every reporter has a different preference that should be respected. Email scheduling functions can be helpful for teeing up perfectly timed pitches.
In addition to respecting the preferences of reporters, pitches with these qualities can add extra value and lead to quality media coverage, so everyone wins:
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- Focused on data. A picture might be worth a thousand words, but a good data point is worth millions. Help reporters substantiate their claims (and those of your spokespeople) by offering them trustworthy data. It should be from within the past three months, and surveys should have a sample size of at least one thousand. Even if your company does not commission a net new survey, weaving data from relevant outside research or reports can help make them more compelling.
- Tied to recent news. Given the tight bandwidth of reporters, very few entertain pitches that are not directly connected to the latest news. A good pitch goes beyond a timely hook to offer sources that can speak directly to why something matters and how others should be thinking about it. Product announcements and minor organizational changes are unlikely to make the front pages unless they (and your SMEs) speak to broader industry trends.
- Flexible. Journalists tend to juggle many balls at once. To make it easy for them to work with you, build flexibility into pitches. Offer an array of interview options, such as written commentary or direct phone calls, in addition to the standard Teams or Zoom interview. Work with spokespeople to provide as much availability as possible and consider widening your bench if SMEs are unable to provide insights in a timely manner or fit in the occasional last-minute conversation. News happens twenty-four-seven, so having spokespeople available on the weekends or Friday afternoons can be incredibly valuable to reporters, especially when there are fewer competing sources available.
- Multimedia-friendly. The rise of visually dependent social platforms like Instagram and TikTok, as well as widespread access to broadcast news, has contributed to a greater emphasis on multimedia. Adding even one image to a story can increase audience engagement many times over. In an era of KPIs and performance metrics, stories that come with multimedia potential are more attractive to reporters. Just make sure that any images or videos you send are high-resolution, include appropriate credits and permissions, and do not require a password or registration.
Reporters and editors do not always have time to give detailed feedback on the outcome of a pitch, but once you begin to build a connection with them and the moment feels right, it can be helpful to ask why they passed on a story or source to better inform your future pitches.
Regardless of what you are pitching or the results of your outreach, remember to lead with empathy and add personal touches. For example, open with a comment that acknowledges something from one of their recent stories that you enjoyed. This bit of personalization recognizes the reporter as human and can help build the working relationship. It demonstrates up front that you have carefully thought about your pitch and are not simply sending them a template note also destined for dozens of other journalists.
Keep the Spark Alive for Continued Media Coverage
While your relationships with reporters should not be treated as transactional, at the end of the day, noting the media coverage that results from them is part of the job. Metrics to consider include the quality and quantity of articles, number of interview opportunities secured, and organic requests to speak with a source again. Not all media coverage is created equally, so a short quote in a publication that reaches your exact target audience is more valuable than ten quotes in an outlet completely unrelated to the business. This is also something to consider when building media relationships. Whether a reporter or editor is at the early stages of their career or at the top of the hierarchy is less important than whether their beat aligns with what your spokespeople want to talk about. Sometimes, the best media relations contacts are ones that you have had since you were both interns, growing into new roles side by side.
Building lasting media relationships requires time and commitment—good partnerships do not happen overnight. Delivering relevant content and fostering authentic connections can go a long way towards developing a strong network of reporter contacts. The most successful ones are built on mutual respect and benefit, positioning you as a reliable resource who understands the challenges the media is facing at an uncertain period in time.
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