Meeting a journalist? Questions not pitches can deliver results

Any PR snaps up the chance to meet a journalist face to face, particularly as opportunities are few and far between these days. But making the best use of this valuable time means we need to resist the temptation to pitch stories. Having hosted numerous meet the journalist events I’ve noticed that PRs seem to be conditioned to pitch, rather than ask questions to gather information that can increase the success of future pitches. 

It's not an accident that we talk about selling in a story, media relations does have a lot in common with sales, particularly relationship selling which is about understanding a customer’s needs and developing trust before selling. Meeting a journalist is similar, it is not about a hard sell – landing a story shouldn’t be your objective.

Developing a stronger relationship with a journalist, getting insight into their challenges and needs, and understanding more about their plans, are the priority. We need to be keen listeners, be genuinely curious, connect at a personal level and demonstrate our value and expertise. Asking the right questions so we get the insight we need to be successful in the future is the priority. Here are the ten I find deliver the information I need.  

1. What’s your editorial strategy, what do you want to provide to your audience?
This is possibly the most important question you can ask, and immediately communicates your interest their organisation. Ask about new developments in the strategy and how they see it changing or evolving. 

2. What is the rhythm of your day…. or week or month?  
Although there are similarities between outlets, the detail of the day, week or month, provides lots of useful insight and means you can pitch stories in a more timely way. When is press day? What are the main meetings in the day, and what time do they take place? How does longer term planning happen?

3. What does your week look like?
How much time a journalist is in the office, working at home or making visits is important intelligence. Any information about their working hours such as whether they job share, work a four-day week, or finish at 3pm for the school run is useful too – and don’t forget to check who covers when they’re away.

4. How do you assess the success of a story?
Last year Reach launched new minimum page view targets for reporters, and many outlets have some sort of page view targets. Ask about other digital success measures such as comments or social shares as well. Beyond digital the reaction to a story and whether it’s been quoted in other outlets may well be important.

6. How do you need to pitch stories internally?
Unless you’re meeting with the editor, understanding how a journalist pitches their stories to the news desk, the editor etc and what they need is useful. Also, find out if the editor or section editor has any areas they are keen to push, or topics that will never make the cut.

7. What time in the day is good to get in touch about a story?
Understanding when an email is most likely to catch the eye of a journalist is helpful. And most importantly when to follow up. Check which days of the week are the busiest generally and when they receive most pitches, (in education I’m told it’s Tuesday).

8. How quickly do you need a quote, a comment or a confirmed interview?
Journalists often tell me that the PRs they like to work with are those that turn things around quickly and are reliable. So it’s worth asking about their expectations – it also communicates you understand the pressure under which they work.

9. What are you interested in at the moment? 
This can reveal opportunities for possible coverage and is also a chance to demonstrate your value with an introduction or relevant research they may not have seen. 

10. Thinking ahead, what stories are likely to be of interest next month or further ahead?
In education there are quite a few on diary moments, so understanding what a journalist wants for these is useful. Also, the topics that they are personally interested in, that they are thinking about and developing provide potential opportunities.

Pitching to the media is getting tougher. In the final quarter of 2022 there was a reported 20 per cent drop in journalist responses to PR pitches compared to the preceding one, according to Propel. Against the background of outlets closing and editorial teams being cut, this won’t come as a surprise to anyone in media relations. Getting the inside track from a journalist is now more important than ever if we’re to deliver the results our organisations and clients want. 

Anna Pedroza is director of Pedroza Communications, a specialist consultancy supporting the education sector, and a Chartered PR Practitioner.