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If you're ready to make an announcement about an initiative or change at your company, chances are you already believe that it's exciting, interesting, and newsworthy.
But if you're hoping that your announcement will earn press attention, it's important to step back and evaluate its newsworthiness with objectivity, an understanding of how your audience consumes information, and how reporters evaluate newsworthiness based on the incentives at play in their industry (which don't necessarily align with yours).
Basic criteria of newsworthiness
At its core, an announcement should be unique and offer something new (hence, "news"). It could be a new product or service, a new partnership, or a new way of doing business — ideally something that hasn't been seen before or is not currently available from other companies.
Next, an announcement should be timely and relevant. It should address a current issue or trend in the industry, or be related to a major event that is happening in the world. For example, if a company is launching a new product, it would be more newsworthy if it was the first of its kind or if it addresses a current trend in the market.
Perhaps most importantly, an announcement should be impactful. It should have a significant impact on the industry, the community, or the target audience. This can be a new technology that will change the way things are done, a new policy that will affect the community, or a new program that will benefit a large number of people.
Stepping into a reporter's shoes
Reporters are under no obligation to cover your news. We call press coverage "earned media" because there's no money changing hands in exchange for a story. Story placements are earned based on whether reporters perceive clear value to their readership. There's no shortcut (though having strong relationships with reporters helps PR pros clear a few initial trust-related hurdles during outreach).
Almost every reporter is operating under a lot of pressure — pressure to publish compelling news under tight deadlines, pressure to write fair and accurate stories, and pressure to drive readership to a publication in order to support an ad-based and/or subscription-based business model.
That last part is important. If reporters don't think your story will earn clicks, time on page, engagement, and other metrics that their publication survives on, they won't waste their time on it.
The media industry is getting hit by sizable rounds of layoffs and cost-cutting measures as the ad market continues to show signs of a serious slowdown.
An unprecedented number of media layoffs occurred in 2020. But last year, job losses were at their lowest since 2008.
When your PR team sends a news pitch to a reporter, that reporter might not even be the final decision maker with regard to whether they can cover the story. The reporter might have to convince their editor that it's a potential revenue-driving piece of content.
So make sure to put your reporter fedora on and dissect your story carefully to find the newsworthiness. If you're still not totally sure, run through this checklist of elements that contribute to a story's attention-grabbing potential.
Superlatives
The news is about something that is the first, the best, the largest, the smallest, the latest, etc.
Impact
The more people involved in or impacted by the news, the more newsworthy it is. The impact of the news on the readership or parties they care about plays a significant role in whether a reporter will feel the need to relay your information to their readers.
Prominence
Well known people and companies have a stronger news hook than subjects that audiences aren’t familiar with.
Timeliness
News value declines by the hour, so providing press with details as soon as they publicly available is key. Reporters often compete to be the first to “break” news, for both career and editorial incentives. Public relations professionals will know how to efficiently get your news in the right hands at the right time.
Trends
Stories that can be connected to broader patterns and hot topics tend to be newsworthy.
Proximity
If the news is relevant to specific locales it will impact readers more than if it is occurring elsewhere in the world.
Human interest
Any news that draws an emotional reaction or centers on a relatable human story may be considered newsworthy.
Controversy
Negative or contrarian angles tend to be of interest due to their ability to drive engagement. This is not always something to avoid, as sometimes offering contrarian points of view may serve our interests.
If more than one of these characterize your story, it may warrant an announcement via press release and media outreach. If not, connect with your PR team to see how you can elevate your announcement to make sure it is interesting enough to earn press attention. They may also recommend that you share the story in a different way — not every piece of news requires a press release and media coverage.
If these elements aren’t in play, the story may be better strategic fit as a content asset that lives on one of your owned channels.
For example, maybe its a minor product update that a small but vocal corner of your user base has been asking for. It may not warrant a full press campaign because its impact isn't quite broad enough. You may be better served sharing a blog post and circulating it via email or social media, or on a forum that your user community frequents.
Lastly, your news — like all of your content — should be presented in a clear, concise and compelling way. Reporters are busy people and they don't have time to sift through a lot of fluff. It should be presented in a clear and concise manner, highlighting the most important points and providing additional information as needed. It should be formatted in a way that reporters and wire services recognize, and adhere to all AP style guidelines. Make sure to get support from your PR team so that you get it right.
By focusing on all of these key elements, you can increase its chances of securing media coverage and getting its message out to the public.