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What does it mean to build productive relationships with news media?
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Why build relationships with journalists and news organizations?
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How do you identify the right media contacts?
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How do you become a reliable source?
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How do you pitch information or a story?
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How do you maintain professional media relationships?
What does it mean to build productive relationships with news media?
Building productive relationships with news media means establishing professional, reliable communication with journalists, editors, producers, photographers, hosts, and other people who gather, verify, produce, or distribute news.
The goal is not to become personal friends with journalists or gain special access to favorable coverage.
A strong media relationship is one in which:
- Journalists know how to reach you when your organization or expertise is relevant
- You understand which journalists and outlets cover your issue
- You provide accurate, timely, clearly sourced information
- You respond to questions when you can
- You correct mistakes promptly
- You respect journalists' editorial independence
- Both sides understand any necessary confidentiality or communication ground rules
A professional working relationship is usually more appropriate than trying to develop a personal friendship for strategic reasons.
Journalists need to maintain independence from the people and organizations they cover.
What counts as news media today?
News reaches people through many types of organizations and platforms.
Depending on your community and issue, relevant news sources may include:
- Local and regional newspapers
- Television news organizations
- Radio and public-media organizations
- Online-only news organizations
- Community and neighborhood publications
- Newsletters
- Podcasts
- Specialized or trade publications
- Multilingual and culturally specific news organizations
- Investigative nonprofit newsrooms
- Journalists who publish through social platforms or independent channels
Not everyone who posts news-related material online follows journalistic standards or works for a news organization.
Before contacting someone, understand whether they are functioning as:
- A journalist
- An opinion writer
- A commentator
- A podcast host
- A social-media creator
- An organizational communicator
- Another type of information source
These roles may have different editorial practices, audiences, disclosure expectations, and standards.
Why build relationships with journalists and news organizations?
News coverage can help communities understand issues, institutions, programs, policies, and events.
A productive relationship with news media may help your organization:
- Make accurate information available to journalists
- Help reporters understand complex community issues
- Connect journalists with relevant research, records, experts, or community members
- Correct misinformation or factual misunderstandings
- Alert journalists to developments that may be newsworthy
- Explain how a policy or event affects people in the community
- Respond accurately when your organization is part of a news story
News organizations may also decide that your proposed story is not newsworthy, that another angle is more important, or that competing perspectives need to be included.
That editorial judgment belongs to the news organization.
Do not define success as positive coverage
A journalist's responsibility is not to portray your organization positively.
News coverage may include:
- Information that supports your position
- Criticism of your organization
- Perspectives you disagree with
- Facts that complicate your preferred message
A productive media relationship should survive accurate reporting that you do not particularly like.
The goal is accurate, fair, well-informed coverage – not guaranteed favorable coverage.
Identify the right media contacts
Before contacting a newsroom or journalist, do some research.
Determine:
- Who covers your issue or community
- What types of stories they usually report
- Which geographic area they cover
- Whether they are a news reporter, editor, producer, columnist, or another type of journalist
- How they prefer to receive story ideas or information
A journalist's recent work can help you determine whether your information fits their responsibilities.
Use current:
- Newsroom staff pages
- Reporter biographies
- Bylines
- Professional contact information
- Published submission or pitching guidance
You do not need a personal introduction
A mutual professional introduction can sometimes be useful, but it is not necessary.
A clear, relevant message from someone the journalist does not already know can still be appropriate.
Do not assume a journalist will dismiss you simply because the contact is unsolicited.
What matters more is whether:
- The information is relevant to their coverage
- You have explained why it matters now
- Your information is accurate
- You can provide appropriate sources or documentation
Become a reliable source
Be accurate
Verify important facts before sharing them.
Check:
- Names
- Dates
- Statistics
- Research findings
- Quotations
- Locations
- Policy or bill numbers
- Links and source documents
If you are unsure about a fact, say so.
Do not guess because a reporter is working under a deadline.
Offer to verify the information and follow up.
Correct errors promptly
If you discover that information you provided was wrong, contact the journalist promptly and explain the correction.
Do not wait and hope the error will go unnoticed.
A willingness to correct mistakes can strengthen credibility.
Distinguish fact from interpretation
Be clear about whether a statement is:
- A documented fact
- An estimate
- A prediction
- An interpretation
- An organizational position
- A personal opinion
Avoid presenting advocacy claims as established facts.
Be transparent about whom you represent
Tell journalists:
- Your name
- Your organization or affiliation
- Your role
- Whether you are speaking for yourself or for an organization
- Any relevant financial or organizational interest that should be disclosed
Do not conceal the sponsor of an advocacy effort, create an apparently independent source that is actually controlled by your organization, or misrepresent who supports a position.
Be responsive without promising constant availability
Journalists often work on deadlines.
Respond promptly when practical.
If you cannot respond immediately, you may provide:
- A time when you will be available
- Another qualified contact
- Existing documentation
- A short acknowledgment that you received the request
Organizations may benefit from identifying more than one person who can respond to routine media questions.
Understand communication ground rules
Do not assume that a conversation is confidential simply because you consider it informal.
If confidentiality or attribution matters, establish the ground rules before providing the information.
Terms such as:
- On the record
- Off the record
- On background
- Not for attribution
may be interpreted differently by different organizations or journalists.
Ask what the journalist means and obtain agreement before sharing sensitive information.
If your organization cannot disclose information because of privacy, legal, personnel, safety, or confidentiality obligations, say that clearly rather than lying or deliberately misleading the journalist.
“No comment” is not the only option
Depending on the circumstances, you may be able to say:
I can't discuss the details of that personnel matter, but I can explain the policy that applies.
or:
We are still verifying the information and do not want to speculate. We will provide confirmed information when it is available.
Do not invent an explanation simply to avoid leaving a question unanswered.
Respect editorial independence
Journalists decide:
- Whether to cover a story
- What angle to pursue
- Which sources to interview
- Which information to include
- How a story is edited
Providing useful information does not entitle your organization to favorable coverage.
Do not exchange benefits for coverage
Avoid offering:
- Gifts
- Personal favors
- Special treatment
- Payments
- Travel or entertainment
- Other benefits
in exchange for news coverage or favorable treatment.
Journalists and news organizations may have their own policies governing gifts, meals, travel, access, and conflicts of interest.
Respect those policies.
Sponsored content is different from independent journalism
Paid advertising, sponsored content, native advertising, organizational social-media posts, and independent news coverage are different communication products.
If content is paid for or sponsored, disclose that relationship clearly.
Do not present paid exposure as though an independent newsroom chose to endorse or report favorably on your organization.
How do you pitch information or a story?
Explain why the information matters now
A useful pitch generally identifies:
- What happened or is about to happen
- Why it matters
- Who is affected
- Why the information is relevant to that journalist's audience
- What sources or evidence are available
Avoid sending a generic announcement to every journalist you can find.
A focused message to the appropriate journalist is often more useful.
Keep the initial pitch concise
Put the important information near the beginning.
Include:
- A clear subject line
- A brief description of the development
- Why it is timely
- Relevant local or community impact
- Available sources or documentation
- Your contact information
Follow up proportionately
A brief follow-up may be appropriate when:
- The story is time-sensitive
- You have genuinely new information
- The journalist asked you to follow up
- You need to correct something important
Avoid repeated calls, texts, direct messages, or emails simply to pressure someone into covering the story.
Provide useful supporting material
Depending on the story, useful materials may include:
- A concise background brief
- Current data
- Research links
- Public records
- Photographs
- Video
- Maps or charts
- Contact information for relevant sources
- A timeline
- A press release when appropriate
Large traditional “press kits” are not always necessary.
Make materials easy to verify, access, and reuse where permission allows.
Label visual and digital material accurately
Do not provide altered, staged, synthetic, or AI-generated images, video, audio, quotations, or documents in a way that could cause a journalist to believe they are authentic records of an event.
Clearly identify:
- Illustrations
- Simulations
- Reenactments
- Substantially edited material
- Synthetic or AI-generated media
when relevant.
Help journalists find relevant people without scripting them
You may offer to connect journalists with:
- People directly affected
- Researchers
- Program participants
- Community leaders
- Practitioners
- Other people with relevant knowledge
Do not tell a person what they must say in order to make the story more persuasive.
People should decide whether they want to speak with a journalist and what they want to disclose.
Explain the consequences of speaking publicly
Before referring someone to a journalist, especially when sensitive personal experience is involved, explain that:
- Their name or image may be published
- Material may remain available online for a long time
- Other news organizations or social-media users may repeat the information
- They may receive public attention they did not anticipate
Participation should be voluntary.
Understand different outlets without trying to manipulate them
Learn how different outlets work.
Consider:
- Geographic coverage
- Subject areas
- Audience
- Publication schedule
- Deadlines
- Format
- Whether the outlet produces breaking news, investigations, features, newsletters, podcasts, video, or other formats
Use that knowledge to determine whether your information is relevant.
Do not assume news coverage is supposed to favor your position
News organizations and individual journalists differ in:
- Editorial mission
- Audience
- Resources
- Story selection
- Editorial standards
It is reasonable to evaluate the accuracy and quality of coverage.
It is less useful to classify journalists primarily according to whether they give your organization “good coverage.”
Separate editorial decisions from advertising
Advertising relationships may help explain a news organization's business model or audience, but advertisers should not be treated as a reliable guide to what journalists will or should report.
Do not pressure a newsroom through advertisers or sponsors in order to influence independent coverage.
Understand what can make information newsworthy
Journalists may consider factors such as:
- Timeliness
- Local relevance
- Public impact
- Accountability
- New or unusual information
- Evidence of a broader trend
- Human experience
- Availability of reliable sources
- Visual or audio material
A compelling personal story can help illustrate an issue, but it should not substitute for evidence about how widespread the issue is.
Likewise, professional or social status does not automatically make one person's information more credible.
Credibility depends on the person's knowledge, evidence, transparency, and relationship to the issue.
Communicate respectfully
Treat journalists, editors, producers, photographers, and other newsroom staff professionally.
Respect:
- Deadlines
- Requests for verification
- Decisions not to pursue a story
- Editorial independence
- Professional boundaries
Thank someone when they have helped clarify a process or when you appreciate careful work, but do not use praise as a strategy for obtaining favorable treatment.
If coverage contains an error
Distinguish between:
- A factual error
- A quotation error
- Missing context
- An editorial judgment you simply disagree with
If there is a factual error:
- Contact the appropriate journalist or editor
- Identify the specific error
- Provide reliable evidence supporting the correction
- Ask what correction process the outlet uses
Do not demand a correction merely because the story was critical or did not emphasize your preferred interpretation.
Maintain relationships while they remain useful
You do not need to contact journalists simply to make sure they remember you.
Maintain communication when you have:
- Relevant new information
- A significant development
- A useful source or document
- A correction
- A response to a reporter's request
- A genuinely newsworthy story idea
Journalists change beats, outlets, roles, and careers.
Keep your contact information current rather than assuming one personal relationship should continue indefinitely.
Evaluate your media relationships
Periodically ask:
- Are we providing accurate information?
- Do we correct mistakes promptly?
- Are we contacting journalists whose work is actually relevant?
- Are we respecting editorial independence?
- Are we transparent about whom we represent?
- Are we protecting the privacy and autonomy of people whose experiences we share?
- Are our materials accessible and easy to verify?
- Are we mistaking favorable coverage for accurate coverage?
- Are we relying too heavily on personal relationships rather than the quality of our information?
In Summary
Productive relationships with news media can help journalists understand community issues and help organizations communicate accurate information to the public.
The goal is not to make journalists personal friends, gain access to their influence, or secure favorable coverage.
Identify the journalists and news organizations that actually cover your issue.
Understand that today's media environment includes traditional outlets, digital newsrooms, newsletters, podcasts, community publications, social platforms, and other formats.
Be accurate, transparent, responsive, and clear about what you know and what you do not know.
Correct errors promptly.
Distinguish documented facts from estimates, interpretations, predictions, and advocacy positions.
Establish confidentiality or attribution rules before sharing sensitive information.
Respect journalists' editorial independence and do not offer gifts, favors, payments, or other benefits in exchange for coverage.
Keep sponsored or organizational content clearly distinguishable from independent journalism.
When connecting journalists with community members, obtain meaningful consent and explain the possible public and long-term consequences of speaking with the media.
Provide useful documents, sources, data, photographs, video, or other materials when they help journalists verify and understand the story.
Clearly label synthetic, staged, substantially altered, or AI-generated media rather than presenting it as authentic documentation.
Learn how different outlets work, but do not reduce journalists to whether they provide your organization with favorable coverage.
Maintain professional communication when you have useful information or a meaningful reason to contact someone.
Finally, the strongest media relationship is not one in which a journalist feels personally connected or obligated to your organization.
It is one in which the journalist knows that when you provide information, you will be accurate, transparent, responsive, and respectful of the independence of the news process.