How to get journalists' attention

For many people working in communications and marketing, a large part of their work involves getting their message across to different stakeholders. In addition to customers, journalists are often expected to pick up the message. But where do journalists look for information, and how should it be packaged to create impact?

Cision recently released its State of the Media Report, which provides insights into the media landscape and information on the challenges and opportunities facing journalists and PR professionals. A total of 3 016 journalists from 19 countries participated in the study on which the report is based.

Social media more important than ever

Since Cision's first report was published in 2009, the media landscape for journalists has changed radically. At that time, only 56% of journalists said social media was important for producing and reporting news. Today, the same figure is 97%. Social media has become one of the biggest sources of information, and for journalists it is a goldmine, not only for research, but also for finding interviewees and content.

With digitalization and the increased use of social media, journalists today have a greater focus on statistics and data. With today's smart technology, it is easy to follow which article on the web has been read the most, or which video report has generated the most engagement on Instagram. Two out of five journalists believe that data will play an even bigger role in how they approach their work in the coming year.

Dependence on materials from others

The growing digital world and the proliferation of social media have also increased the pace of production for journalists. Readers expect information quickly and real-time communication such as live web chats or live broadcasts on TikTok have become increasingly common among major media houses.

The increased pace and demand not only means that journalists have to work faster, but also that they are increasingly dependent on second-hand information. PR work is now more important than ever, and getting through the noise means delivering relevant and timely information.

Press releases are requested

In the survey, journalists were asked what type of content they preferred from PR experts. 74% said press releases were the most preferred, closely followed by research reports containing trends and market data. Direct pitches were also appreciated by journalists, who were also keen to receive information from industry experts.

For journalists, it was also important that the material also contained various forms of multimedia. Images were by far the most important and were considered crucial to whether a journalist would pick up a story or not. 72% said they had used images they had received in the past year, for example in press releases. Infographics and videos were also appreciated, with around 30% of journalists saying they had used one of these.

Information must be relevant

Journalists generally appreciated having press releases and pitches sent to them, but were keen to stress that the information sent out must be relevant. 75% of journalists said that less than a quarter of all pitches they received were relevant.

What journalists wanted above all was an understanding of the target audience. That the sender of the press release or pitch had already considered the journalist's target audience in advance and created content accordingly. Contact details or interview appointments with experts and spokespersons were also appreciated by journalists, as were data and research reports.

Journalists' wishes

In summary, journalists expect the following to make it easier to create a story that can be published:

• Relevant and timely press releases adapted to the target audience
• Well-written texts that require little or no editing
• High-resolution images that are easy to access
• Relevant data and research
• Contact details of experts and spokespersons
• Infographics and videos

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