Eleanor Bradford’s Post

Cision has put out its 2024 State of the Media Report, linked below. For 15 years the company has been asking journalists what they need from PR professionals and what are their top concerns in general about their industry. This year #Cision surveyed more than 3,000 journalists - and the cut between those who work on staff at a publication and those who are freelancers is pretty interesting. Generally, there is a lot keeping reporters up at night, that's for sure. In terms of working with PR professionals they still highly suggest making sure your pitch is relevant to their beat and audience (duh, but shockingly it's still an issue), providing them with accurate, timely, unique information, and only following up a little bit. Guess how many want to get a phone call from a PR pro? A whopping TWO PERCENT. Yup - calling reporters is so 1999. Don't do it. So much more here - if you work with media, you need to spend 30 minutes reading this. #publicrelations #journalists #journalism #communications

Cision’s 2024 State of the Media report has several key takeaways, uncovering how the needs of journalists are evolving: 📊 Data is King: Nearly 2 in 5 journalists increasingly rely on data to shape their editorial strategies and measure success. 🎯 Relevance Matters: The perfect PR pitch is all about relevance. Make sure your content is targeted and valuable to your audience. 🌍 Global Differences: Journalists in different regions face unique challenges. Tailoring your media outreach to these variations can make a big difference. How have you adapted your PR strategies this year? What other trends stood out to you? #PR #MediaTrends #Journalism https://lnkd.in/ejT3xyE7

As PR professionals, it is our job to make pitches land. This is done by making the lives of the journalists we are reaching out to as easy as possible. But what exactly are they looking for? I spent this morning reading through the 2024 State of the Media Report by Cision, and their most recent research found that what journalists look to PR folks for is this: Help to understand my (the journalist's) audience and what they find relevant. They are asking us to stay on our toes and keep an ear to the ground, and to report back to them what our nimbleness discovers. While THE most important thing is to pitch content relevant to their audience, we have to ask what that looks like in a saturated and fast-paced media environment. It requires us to be creative and to not fear stepping outside of the box labeled "the way we've always done it." Maybe it means pitching a video idea for Instagram as opposed to a full-fledged press release. Or, maybe it means pitching a full package: a press release for a complete article, along with a series of promotional (but not sales-y) posts for social media to drive traffic to that article on their site. I'm curious to hear from both seasoned and fresh PR pros -- how are you staying abreast of a rapidly evolving media environment in which audience's consumption behaviors change just as quickly? And how do you translate that into pitch materials that actually provide journalists with what they need? https://lnkd.in/ezixFSz2 #mediarelations #relationshipswithjournalists #publicrelationsadvice #2024journalismtrends

Interesting results in the latest Cision State of the Media Report, with great insights into the current challenges facing journalists and plenty to learn for PR people actively engaged in media relations - 3,000+ journos were surveyed, and found: The top three kinds of content journalists most want to receive from PR people are news announcements/press releases, original research reports (with trends, market data etc.), and exclusives for stories. 87% of journos surveyed said they prefer to be pitched via email. But, concerningly, 73% of journalists considered only 0-25% of pitches received from PR people are relevant. Therefore it's not surprising that when asked: "what can PR professionals do to make your job easier" the most popular response (68%) was to "understand my audience and what they find relevant". Getting these basics right can go a long way, including short and relevant pitches, providing useable multimedia (such as images of a high enough resolution), providing access to engaging subject matter experts, responding to journalist queries in a timely manner, avoiding too many follow ups (most journalists say one follow up is fine, any more becomes an annoyance), and generally being useful. Some of the biggest challenges facing journalists include having to do more with less in the face of shrinking newsrooms and increasing story demands. Data is being used more to analyse journalist performance, including the number of views of stories - this can put the pressure on for more "click-bait" stories. Regarding social media, Instagram and LinkedIn are where journalists expect their outlet to be most active. AI tools are most commonly used to research a topic, but 53% of respondents claim not to use AI at all. Here's a link to a copy of the report for anyone who is interested: https://lnkd.in/gdpyJ-9e A big shout out to Frank Strong, US-based PR pro, responsible for the excellent Sword and the Script, for drawing my attention to this report via twitter/x. #pr #publicrelations #corporatecommunications

74 % of journalists globally value press releases more than any other pitch medium according to our 2024 State of the Media Report. Download the report to get insights in: ✅ Words and actions that truly get journalists’ attention ✅Most effective channels for reaching journalists ✅ Resources most likely to win PR teams more earned media coverage ✅ Factors that journalists say make up a “perfect” PR pitch

New from the Seven Letter Insight Team - Groundbreaking & Revolutionary: How to Make Press Releases Cutting-Edge  Companies are increasingly excited and are sharing this enthusiasm with the public. Adweek examined press releases on PRNewswire from 2017 to the first half of 2024 and found that companies are becoming more and more “thrilled” to share their latest achievements. The word “thrilled” appeared 7,704 times in U.S. press releases published in 2017. Six years later, in 2023, the number of occurrences more than doubled, reaching 19,730.  "Thrilled" isn’t the only word used to express corporate excitement. Between 2017 and 2023, mentions of “passion” in U.S. press releases climbed significantly (54%). “Industry-leading” increased dramatically (98%), and “pioneering” experienced a more substantial rise (151%). While PR Newswire did not disclose how many U.S. press releases it distributed each year, they confirmed that changes in volume were unrelated to the rise in this overused language.  Other electrified words that have surged in press releases include "revolutionary" (183%), "groundbreaking" (242%), and "cutting-edge" (415%).  Unfortunately, this overuse of words alienates audiences.   Cision’s 2024 State of the Media Report found that the biggest challenge journalists face is maintaining their credibility as a trusted news source (42%). While a majority of journalists want to receive press releases (74%) and find them useful for generating content and ideas (68%), the overuse of electrified language erodes trust.  In fact, 55% of journalists said they would block a PR professional or put them on a “don’t call” list if they received a pitch that sounded like a marketing brochure.  Journalists want credibility behind a claim. There’s a difference between making a claim and validating one. Instead of saying, “deliver a cutting-edge solution,” try saying, “deliver a solution that will increase success rates by X%.” It’s important to assess the news value before sending it out and consider whether it’s really necessary to describe a new partnership as “groundbreaking.”  If you feel the urge to use an electrified word, replace that urge with a data point. Journalists will genuinely be thrilled if they don’t have to dig deep to find something credible that doesn’t sound like marketing fluff. Full Cision 2024 State of the Media Report: https://lnkd.in/ejT3xyE7 Full Adweek Report: https://lnkd.in/gnaK726Y 

📣 Cision’s global 2024 State of the Media Report Has Finally Arrived! In this report, we have survey data from over 3,000 journalists, who shared what they really want and need from their PR partners and communicators. You don’t want to miss the deep insights from this report, especially if you’re in the business of media relations or corporate comms. Download the full report: https://lnkd.in/dCfyaR5z

Media audiences want to read and hear perspectives from diverse sources. This article provides interesting insights about how PR professionals and journalists can work together to ensure that the opinions of diverse expert sources are featured in articles and broadcast segments. #mediarelations #publicrelations #expertsources

Ever wondered how the experts you see quoted in the media become the go-to person for commentary? 📰 Below I have shared my PR Top Tips for how you can establish yourself as a reliable voice that journalists, and their audiences, can trust. https://lnkd.in/ddYHX2Xx

Elevate your event's impact with stellar press coverage. Learn to attract and engage journalists for enthusiastic media attention. Follow our expert tips for an exceptional media strategy.