Media Pitch
A concise proposal sent to journalists to interest them in covering a story.
Definition
A media pitch is a targeted communication sent to journalists proposing a story idea, offering an interview opportunity, or suggesting coverage of a news announcement. Unlike press releases that distribute news broadly, pitches are personalized outreach crafted for specific journalists, publications, or beats based on their interests and coverage patterns.
Effective pitches demonstrate understanding of what the journalist covers and what their audience cares about, articulate why the story matters now, provide unique angles or exclusive access, present clear value proposition for why this story deserves attention, and make the journalist's job easier by providing necessary information and resources.
Pitching formats include email pitches (the most common), phone pitches (for time-sensitive or relationship-based outreach), social media pitches (for some journalists who prefer these channels), and in-person pitches (at media events or industry gatherings).
The art of pitching involves identifying the right journalists for each story, understanding their preferences and coverage patterns, crafting compelling subject lines and opening hooks, timing outreach appropriately (considering news cycles, deadlines, and competing stories), and following up effectively without becoming annoying.
Successful pitching requires research into what journalists have written, how they prefer to be contacted, what sources they've used, and what angles might interest them. Generic mass pitches to irrelevant journalists damage relationships and waste effort.
Why It Matters
Journalists receive hundreds of pitches daily and ignore most of them. In this competitive environment, pitch quality determines coverage success. A well-crafted pitch that demonstrates research, offers genuine value, and makes the journalist's job easier stands out from the flood of generic, irrelevant outreach.
Pitching is the primary mechanism for generating proactive media coverage. Press releases announce news; pitches create stories. Feature coverage, trend pieces, expert commentary, and enterprise journalism all emerge from successful pitches rather than passive announcements.
The pitch also establishes the relationship tone with journalists. Professional, respectful, valuable pitches build relationships that yield ongoing coverage opportunities. Poor pitches—irrelevant, pushy, uninformed—damage relationships and make future outreach harder.
Pitching skills differentiate PR effectiveness. Practitioners who excel at pitching generate more and better coverage than those who don't. The ability to craft compelling pitches, identify appropriate journalists, and convert pitches into coverage is a core professional competency.
Examples in Practice
A startup founder pitches a trend story to a business reporter, positioning their company as one example of a broader industry shift. The pitch acknowledges the reporter's previous coverage of the trend, offers the founder as an expert source, and provides data and context. The angle serves the journalist's interests while securing coverage for the company.
A PR agency secures an exclusive by pitching unpublished research data to a top-tier publication before public release. The exclusive access incentivizes the publication to commit coverage, and the resulting feature generates significant attention.
A publicist personalizes pitches by referencing specific articles the journalist has written, connecting the pitch to their demonstrated interests. This research investment improves response rates significantly compared to generic outreach.
A technology PR team pitches an embargoed product announcement to select journalists, providing detailed briefings and review units in advance. The coordinated pitch process results in multiple stories publishing simultaneously at announcement, creating a wave of coverage.