PR and media

Published: 2026-09-12 · Last reviewed: 2026-09-12 · Reading edit: 2026-09-12

Your company has news. A reporter’s reader needs a reason to care. Preparing a useful pitch means finding the change that matters beyond your company, showing what can be checked, and helping a journalist explore it independently.

Find a defensible story

Use this workflow for original research, a consequential customer development with permission, or a material industry change you can explain. If the only evidence is the company’s enthusiasm, publish through owned channels while developing stronger proof.

Prepare and pitch

1. State the news in one sentence. Include the change and the affected audience. Separate new facts from your interpretation and predictions.
2. Build an evidence pack. Provide methodology, dates, definitions, accessible source material, spokesperson availability, and limitations. Obtain approval for customer names, quotes, and images before including them.
3. Choose relevant reporters. Read their recent work and publication remit. Use their published professional contact route. A smaller, well-matched list is easier to serve than an indiscriminate blast.
4. Write a concise pitch. Lead with the reader consequence and evidence, then offer a specific interview or data asset. Avoid inflated claims such as “first” unless the scope can be defended.
5. Agree terms explicitly. Do not assume an unsolicited embargo binds a recipient. Confirm any embargo or exclusivity arrangement before sharing restricted material, and keep a clear record of its scope and timing.
6. Support independent reporting. Answer questions, disclose limitations, and distinguish factual corrections from editorial preferences. Coverage, headline wording, and favorable treatment are not owed in exchange for access.

Worked example

A fictional logistics platform analyzes permissioned, aggregated delivery records. It finds that a particular handoff pattern is associated with delays in its sample. The pitch provides sample dates, participating customer coverage, the definition of a delay, and alternative explanations.

The spokesperson says the relationship is observational and may not represent the entire industry. A reporter can inspect the method and interview an approved customer. This is a stronger story than an unsupported announcement that the platform “solves logistics delays.”

Pitch worksheet

Field	Draft
New fact and reader consequence
Evidence, method, and limits
Relevant publication and reporter
Available interview or asset
Permissions and agreed timing
Follow-up date and owner

Review the outcome

Track relevant coverage, factual accuracy, qualified referral traffic, and useful conversations. Keep paid placements separate from earned editorial coverage. Do not multiply article views by an advertising rate and present that as revenue. If the story is declined, ask whether evidence, timing, or audience fit needs improvement before sending more pitches.

Try it with your own work

Write the news without the company’s name in the first sentence. Explain who is affected and what changed. Then identify the evidence a reporter could inspect.

Sources and scope

• Reuters journalistic standards provides one newsroom’s standards for independence and accuracy; the pitch workflow is original guidance.

The example is fictional; any numbers illustrate the method rather than a benchmark. Adapt the worksheet to your own situation.

What to read next

Proof and claims · Thought leadership

Chapter guide · All playbooks

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