Media Relations
Building genuine relationships with journalists, editors and producers — and using those relationships to earn coverage that matters to your business.
Media relations is the discipline most commonly associated with PR — and the one most commonly misunderstood. It is not about sending press releases to large lists of journalists and hoping something sticks. It is about understanding how journalists work, what they need and how to become a source they trust and return to.
The media landscape has changed
Newsrooms are smaller. Journalists cover more ground with fewer resources. The pitch that worked ten years ago is far less likely to work today. Relevance, timing, specificity and genuine news value are the only currencies that matter.
Good media relations starts long before a story needs to be told. It is built through consistent engagement, reliable information and an understanding that the journalist's job is to serve their readers — not to serve the brands they cover.
What this involves
- Identifying the journalists, editors and publications that matter most to your business
- Developing a relationship-first engagement approach — not transactional, not one-way
- Creating media materials that respect journalists' time and intelligence
- Pitching stories with genuine news value and clear angles
- Briefing and preparing spokespeople for interviews
- Managing the ongoing relationship, including difficult moments
Frequently asked questions
With the story. Before approaching any journalist, the narrative needs to be clear — what is genuinely interesting or useful about this business for a reader who has never heard of it? From there, a targeted list of relevant journalists is built and a relationship-first approach is taken, starting with trade and niche publications before moving to broader outlets.
Answer it, ideally before the article is published. Declining to comment, saying "no comment" or being evasive tends to result in worse coverage than engaging honestly with difficult questions. Media training as part of spokesperson preparation covers exactly this territory.
Beyond coverage volume, the metrics that matter are reach (how many of your target audience saw it), sentiment (was it accurate, fair and positive?), tier of publication and whether the coverage achieved the underlying communications objective — introducing a new audience, correcting a misconception or establishing credibility in a new market.
Coverage earned through relationships, not volume.
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Strategic Communications
A full-picture communications framework that aligns your business objectives with the right messages, the right audiences and the right moments.
Public Relations
PR that is earned, not bought. Coverage that comes from having something genuinely worth saying — and saying it to the right people, at the right time.
Brand Storytelling
Excavating the narrative that already exists inside your brand and giving it a shape that people can understand, remember and repeat.