With more buzz building around tips for creating a strong media relations strategy, we decided to compile some of the best media relations resources that we've seen in the industry. From reports to Twitter chats, here are our top 7 picks of the best resources we know:
Reports
This report outlines our findings from the first 50 guests of Season 2 of the Coffee with a Journalist podcast. We analyzed each journalist’s responses to questions on the podcast including pitching preferences, their thoughts on subject lines, their inbox, and more. The report is broken down by role, audience, and outlet type to help you understand how to pitch more effectively.
In this report, “BuzzStream and Fractl collaborated to survey 500+ publishers and post policies to develop the Media Relations Guide on Etiquette.” You’ll learn what mistakes to avoid when pitching, how to follow up, rules for mass emailing journalists, and strategies for pitching success.
Podcasts
Our very own podcast at OnePitch, Coffee with a Journalist, is a great resource for learning about journalists. During each episode, our co-founder, Beck Bamberger, interviews top tier and trade journalists and asks questions about their inbox, what they look for in pitches, how they develop stories, what their favorite stories are to write, how they work with sources, what they’re reading, and their thoughts on the future of journalism. Now in our second season, we’ve interviewed over 70 journalists and amassed over 33,000 downloads.
The We Earn Media podcast, started by Britt Klontz and Jaclyn Lambert, aims to help other PR professionals understand how to pitch journalists more effectively. As their about page states:
“PR is a craft, and we all have our own personal approach to it. Not to mention, each media professional you’ll encounter has their own unique preferences. This is at the heart of why we started this podcast.”
Recent guests on the podcast include Nicole Shuman from PR News, James Crummel from ABC 27, and Ni'Kesia Pannell from Delish.com. Not only do they invite journalists either, they also have PR professionals weigh in on best practices and tips to assist you with your media relations efforts.
The PR Podcast was started by PR agency owner, Jody Fisher. He’s been working in New York City in the PR industry for 20+ years working with clients in various industries including healthcare, higher education, real estate, and financial services.
The goal of the show is to, “...talk with great PR people, reporters and communicators on how they weave narratives that are informative and fun.”
Twitter Chats & Spaces
The newest PR-focused Twitter chat, started by Sarolta Acs, is a great resource for new and current PR professionals who want to gain insight into the current state of media relations. Sarolta started the chat because, “There are many miscommunication between PR and Journalists leading to frustrations on both sides.” And she says, “The purpose of the chat is to give both parties a platform to discuss any topic to improve media relations!”
I was the first guest on the chat on Thursday, June 10 at 11 am PT and was blown away by the number of folks who chimed in with fantastic answers about their experiences working in media relations. You might notice all of the resources on this list were shared in the chat!
Another new PR-focused chat is the #PRLuncHour chat held on Twitter Spaces chat hosted by Tonya McKenzie, Tamara Sykes, and Michelle Garrett and occurs every Friday at 9 am PT. This chat isn’t one I’ve joined before but here is a promo post from Tonya McKenzie:
From the other tweets I read, a lot of folks enjoy sharing their experiences and how many of them are relatable for all of us in the PR industry.
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This list is nowhere near exhaustive and we’d love to hear what other resources you look to when you’re trying to learn more about journalists and how to pitch them. Email us here or send a tweet and tag us @onepitchsaas!
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