Media Relations Strategies to Bring to 2025

Journalists Share Tips on Networking, PR Pitches, and AI

“I really encourage my team to get out there and meet PRs. COVID really stopped all of that from happening,” says Jennifer Kyte, Bauer Media’s Head of Content (Celebrity & Entertainment), when asked about the challenges of building PR-journalist relationships.

Kyte joined Tara Evans, Head of Consumer for News UK’s The Sun, and Barnaby Barron, Head of EMEA Analysis at Cision, for a webinar in partnership with the Chartered Institute of Public Relations (CIPR), to discuss the future of media relations. The topic is especially critical now, the panel agreed, as the acceleration of technology, coupled with post-pandemic work patterns, has made it harder than ever for PR professionals to connect with journalists.

This challenge prompted the question at the heart of the webinar’s discussion: “What can PR teams do to build those all-important relationships in an increasingly digital-first world?” The panel of journalists touched on these challenges, talking about the importance of networking, offering pitching advice, and considering the impact of artificial intelligence (AI).

While we encourage you to watch the full webinar (now available on demand), we’ve assembled some of the biggest takeaways for PR and communications teams from that conversation here.

Media Relations Starts Face to Face

For Kyte and Evans, nothing is more effective for networking than meeting in person. However, both admitted that as journalists move up the career ladder, their time is squeezed, and it can be difficult for them to schedule face-to-face check-ins.

One of their media relations tips for PR professionals? Try connecting with junior reporters on staff to build relationships and get an “in” with relevant brands.

“Find the junior members on the [editorial] team and take them out for a coffee,” advises Evans. “They're more likely to be able to then go back to the more senior people and say, ‘I’ve brought in this story.’”

Evans explained that developing these relationships early can lead to a journalist becoming “a good ally” going forward. “Some of my key contacts now are people that I've worked with when I first started out in my career,” she notes.

Kyte added that she encourages her junior reporters to go out and meet PR pros. “Journalists love a freebie!” she says. “Go take them for a drink or coffee or breakfast or lunch if you can.”

Targeting Journalists with the Right PR Pitches

Pitching a journalist with the right story at the right time can be a particularly difficult needle to thread, the panelists acknowledged. (According to the 2024 State of the Media Report, 54% of journalists receive more than 50 pitches a week.) With their inboxes flooded, what’s the best way to reach them?

Email is best for outreach, but according to Evans, social media can be effective in the right circumstance. She suggested only contacting journalists through platforms where they actively promote their work. For example, if they are only using their Instagram accounts for personal posts, avoid sliding into their DMs with work requests. Ultimately, if the pitch is relevant and timely, then contacting journalists through social media can be effective.

When it comes to any type of outreach, Kyte noted that senior editorial staff can be “in back-to-back meetings all day long” so may not have the time to read and respond. “Go to the junior members of the team, who do have more time and can sit and read your press release and pitch,” she suggests. “They can then pitch it to their editors.”

Timing is also of the essence. Both Kyte and Evans stressed the importance of being timely with pitches and thinking through their stories. Seasonal or national calendar days can be effective, particularly for Kyte, who covers the entertainment and celebrity world.

“We are always writing about certain national days and events. A lot of celebrity campaigns are driven by those things as well,” she says. “Just make sure the timing is correct because I predominantly work across print. We go to print on Friday for magazines out on a Tuesday. We’re planning our content a week in advance of that.”

Heading up The Sun’s consumer coverage, Evans says her team are “hooked into what’s going on in the outside news agenda.” “If it’s cold weather, we’ll start writing about heating bills,” she notes, adding that getting pitches in as early as possible is recommended, especially as The Sun is creating more video-led content that requires more preparation.

Evans also recommended one specific type of content format to potentially pitch: Case studies. “It’s much better to tell a story from a person’s own experience rather than through data or a press release,” she says. “You’re more likely to get people to read it and I think it’s more relatable for people.”

Media Relations Tips for AI Press Releases

No discussion about the future is complete without touching upon the subject of AI. As generative AI tools like Gemini and ChatGPT have grown in popularity, so have the number of press releases created or shaped by AI.

(Cision research has even found that the terms “intricate” or “unwavering”, words overused in large language models (LLMs), have found their way into news articles via press releases.)

While panelists see AI as being critical for improving productivity and efficiency, for both PR professionals and journalists, it has its shortcomings when it comes to creating meaningful, authentic connections. “It is very obvious when you get these generic emails that are clearly written by AI,” says Kyte.

Evans explained that News UK utilizes custom-built AI tools to “support” writing content instead of creating it from scratch. For example, AI has helped her editorial team quickly rework and extract text from Excel sheets into formats usable for publication.

“Improving processes has been really useful,” Evans says. “I've personally found it’s helped us spend more time doing actual journalism.”

Kyte suggested that PR teams can use AI in their media relations to help with relevancy and press release optimization.

“What will be interesting is how AI can help [PR practitioners] when it comes to targeting certain publications,” she says. “You could ask it to create a press release that’s relevant to women in their 40s who are really interested in celebrities. You can see how it formulates and how it writes it to make it much more relevant to [the journalist you’re pitching] and the content that they write.”

Key Takeaways

By the end of the discussion, one takeaway became abundantly clear: Despite the roles of PR and journalist becoming increasingly digital, the future of media relations relies on authentic storytelling and building human connections.

Journalists ultimately want compelling stories that will benefit their readers in some way – and that means ensuring your pitch is doing the same. One trap not to fall into, according to Kyte, is mistaking a press release for a sales tool. “PRs do need to understand that what we’re writing isn’t an advertorial, it’s a story,” she says. “We are mentioning the brand because they’ve provided the story, but we’re not there to sell the brand.”

In an age of digital transformation and the rise of generative AI, the PRs who benefit the most will be the ones that pair this technology with prioritizing human relationships, sending timely and relevant pitches, and telling stories that truly resonate with audiences.

Find out how CisionOne can help with your journalist outreach by scheduling a demo with one of our experts.