Research: PR pros cite spike in difficulty of media relations
Several aggregated surveys deliver some hard—and sometimes hard-to-stomach—data about the current state of public relations, journalism and the crossroads of the two.
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Media relations is an increasingly tough gig—for everyone involved.
According to the 2019 JOTW Communications Survey, 69% of communicators said that media relations is “getting harder or much harder”—a 17-point increase from the same survey last year.
What can PR pros do about it? Studying the preferences of publications, editors and reporters is a good place to start.
Let’s review results from three separate surveys that polled hundreds of journalists to shed light on what they say motivates them to cover a story.
1. How reporters view social media, embargoes and exclusives.
Earlier this year, Muck Rack published a survey of 700 reporters for its State of Journalism 2019. Consider these takeaways from Muck Rack’s report:
Most journalists (65%) prefer to be pitched before 11 a.m. One-third of reporters “want to receive pitches under three sentences in length, with another 61% preferring pitches under three paragraphs.”
2. What reporters want from PR pitches.
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