Each year I look forward to Muck Rack’s “State of Journalism” report because it gives our team additional insights, intelligence and key indicators important to the journalists we reach out to with story ideas. Being mindful of both the partners we represent and the journalists we connect with is imperative to heart of a public relations business.
For example, pitching tech journalists, especially those writing about tech equity, venture capital in the past week with story ideas of growth and success in the midst of a major bank shut down (and all the ripple impacts) and massive layoffs makes a brand look tone deaf or worse.
Did you know?
Two out of three journalists say their work has been impacted by economic uncertainty
Or that
Disinformation and lack of funding are the top two concerns of journalists
These are just two of the key takeaways in this year’s 2023 State of Journalism Report from Muck Rack.
Even more compelling from the data is that reporters want to talk to academic experts versus CEOs. In fact, “80% said academic experts are the most credible sources, with CEOs dropping 12% in the last two years.”
When it comes to credible sources, CEOs have fallen out of favor after dropping 12% in two years. Eighty percent of journalists consider academic experts the most reliable and PR pros held steady with about half of journalists finding them a good source.
If public relations professionals can work to provide a mix of sources and experts to media based on their own editorial needs and preferences it increases the chances of successful outcomes.
“With the industry facing issues like wavering trust in the media, threats to free press and lack of funding, it's hard to recall a more challenging time for journalism,” said Gregory Galant, cofounder and CEO of Muck Rack. “This survey sheds light on the deep responsibility journalists have to deliver news and information to the public and how they’re managing it with limited resources. Our aim in releasing this data is to help PR teams be successful when working with the journalism community, approaching relationships with empathy, patience and real insight into how journalism gets made.”
Impacting journalists right now
Half of journalists cited disinformation and lack of funding as top concerns facing the industry, followed by trust in journalism (40%) and lack of time to cover stories thoughtfully (33%). While two out of three journalists say their work has been impacted by economic uncertainty and 51% are making $70,000 or less, more than half are optimistic about the profession.
How are journalists using social media?
The top three takeaways from this year’s report support rationale and strategy as to where brands should also be spending time:
- Most journalists get their news from online newspapers, followed by Twitter
- Media still use Twitter to find sources (and is in the top 3 reasons they use it)
- Journalists plan to spend more time on LinkedIn and YouTube, less time on Facebook
- Most journalists consult a company’s social media in their reporting
Personalizing pitches is still a BIG issue
At my own agency, we moved away from the word “pitch” long ago because it is extremely one-sided. We approach media outreach as a “story starter,” which seems to be right on trend with what media want and expect. This encourages a partnership mentality, that we are sending ideas that a reporter may actually want to cover.
What else do reporters expect from outreach?
- Pitches should be sent via 1:1 email before noon, 300 words or less, offered as an exclusive or connected to a trend story, and followed up on within 3-7 days
- Most journalists get up to 5 pitches per day
- Many journalists put out 2–4 stories per week
- Only about one in four journalists say none of their stories come from pitches
While some of this SHOULD seem like common sense to public relations professionals, we are not the only ones reaching out to journalists. It’s important that founders, CEOs and key leadership team members also understand how the media process works, how over-communication or lack of communication can ruin a relationship and being overall mindful of the news cycle.