# Journalist Pitching — Proactive PR Workflow Building a media list, scoring journalist fit, and crafting pitches that actually get opened. This is a 4–8 week practice, not a one-shot. ## Contents - Building the media list - Scoring journalist fit - Pitch templates by angle - Subject lines that get opened - Voice and structure - Embargoes, exclusives, and follow-up etiquette - Pitch killers - Tooling --- ## Building the Media List The goal: a list of 20–40 journalists who actually cover your beat. Not 500 names from a database. ### Discovery checklist For each candidate journalist: - [ ] Read their **last 5 articles** — are they covering your beat right now? - [ ] Note their **publication** — does it reach your ICP? - [ ] Check their **bio** on the outlet site — what topics do they own? - [ ] Check **X/LinkedIn** for what they're posting about this week - [ ] Note their **email** (usually on outlet author page, Muck Rack, or company About page) - [ ] Check **Muck Rack** if available — it shows recent topics and pitch preferences ### Where to find candidates | Method | How | |--------|-----| | **Reverse lookup from coverage you want** | Find 5 articles about competitors / your category, note bylines | | **Topic search on Muck Rack** | Free tier shows journalists by topic | | **X / Twitter lists** | "[your niche] reporters" lists already exist | | **LinkedIn search** | "Journalist" + "[your category]" — filter by recent activity | | **Newsletter author pages** | Beehiiv, Substack, ConvertKit creators are pitchable | | **Podcast host research** | Listen to 1 episode before pitching — non-negotiable | ### Don't waste time on - **Mass media databases** (Cision, Meltwater) for early-stage — overkill and expensive - **Journalists who haven't posted in 6+ months** — they may have left - **"Editor-in-chief" generic addresses** — pitches there get ignored or routed to interns - **Journalists who explicitly state "no PR pitches" in bio** — respect it --- ## Scoring Journalist Fit Score each journalist 1–10 across four dimensions. Sum and rank. Focus on top 20. | Dimension | What it measures | Weight | |-----------|------------------|--------| | **Beat match** | Do they cover your category specifically? | 3x | | **Reach** | Outlet's audience size + their byline traction | 2x | | **Engagement** | Do they respond to pitches publicly / on X? | 2x | | **Recency** | Have they written about a related topic in last 30d? | 1x | **Tiering:** - **Tier 1 (8–10):** Personal pitch with original angle. Custom each time. - **Tier 2 (5–7):** Standard pitch, lightly customized. - **Tier 3 (below 5):** Skip or pitch only when story is exceptional. --- ## Pitch Templates by Angle Six structures that work. Pick the one that matches your story. ### 1. Data story ``` Subject: [Specific stat] — [implication] Hi [name], I noticed you covered [recent article] — wanted to share data that might be relevant. We [analyzed N / surveyed N / tracked N] and found: • [Stat 1 with surprise factor] • [Stat 2] • [Stat 3] The most interesting pattern: [one-sentence insight]. Full data + methodology here: [link to one-pager, not your homepage] Happy to share the raw dataset, jump on a call, or connect you with [customer who's relevant]. [your name + 1-line credential] ``` ### 2. Exclusive launch / milestone ``` Subject: Exclusive: [specific milestone] at [company] Hi [name], I have an exclusive on [milestone] that I think fits your [beat] coverage. The story: [one sentence] Why it matters: [one sentence — for their readers, not for you] What's new: [the actual news, not the marketing line] Embargo until [day, time, timezone] — would love to give you first window. Press kit + assets: [link] Free to talk [two specific time options]. [your name] ``` ### 3. Op-ed / contributed piece ``` Subject: Op-ed pitch: [provocative thesis] Hi [name], I read your piece on [recent article] — sharp take on [specific point]. I'd like to pitch a 700-word op-ed: "[Thesis as a headline]" Core argument: • [Point 1] • [Point 2] • [Point 3 — the surprising one] Why me: [1 sentence — credential or unique vantage] Why now: [1 sentence — the news hook] Can have a draft to you by [date]. Happy to adapt to your house style. [your name] ``` ### 4. Customer story ``` Subject: Customer story for [their beat] — [specific outcome] Hi [name], For your [beat] coverage, I have a [customer type] willing to talk on the record about [specific outcome]. The hook: [customer] [did something specific] and [measurable result]. The interesting part: [the surprising or counterintuitive detail]. Customer details: • Name: [name, title, company] • Available: [windows] • Willing to share: [data points / screenshots / metrics] Happy to coordinate the intro. [your name] ``` ### 5. Trend piece / connector ``` Subject: Trend forming in [space] — three signals Hi [name], Three things in [space] this month that I think connect: 1. [Signal 1 with link] 2. [Signal 2 with link] 3. [Signal 3 — yours, briefly] The pattern: [one sentence]. This might be early for a piece, but if you're tracking the space I wanted to flag it. Happy to share data we've collected or connect you with others seeing the same. [your name] ``` ### 6. Newsjack response ``` Subject: Re: [their article headline] — quick data point Hi [name], Saw your piece on [story] this morning — wanted to add a relevant data point in case you do a follow-up. [One-sentence stat or insight]. Source: [our data / our customers / our analysis] Methodology: [one sentence] Quotable: "[a sentence you'd be comfortable seeing in print]" If useful for a follow-up, I'm around all day at this number: [phone]. [your name] ``` --- ## Subject Lines That Get Opened Journalists open pitches based on the subject line alone. Rules: - **Under 50 characters** — mobile preview cuts off - **Lead with the specific** — "73% of devs deploy to prod on Fridays" beats "New data on developer workflows" - **Promise a story, not a product** — "Why [trend]" beats "[Company] launches [thing]" - **Use prefixes that signal value** — "Exclusive:", "Data:", "Op-ed pitch:", "Re: [their article]" **Test against this question:** would *you* open this in a 200-email inbox? **Patterns that work:** - "[Specific stat] — [implication]" — "73% of agents fail this test" - "Exclusive: [milestone]" — "Exclusive: Anthropic launches AgentOS" - "Re: [their headline]" — direct response to recent coverage - "[Provocative thesis]" — "Why VC funding is bad for AI safety" **Patterns that get deleted:** - "Press release: [boring]" - "[Company] announces [thing]" - "Story idea for you!" - "Following up on my previous email" - Any subject line with "innovative," "disruptive," "revolutionary" --- ## Voice and Structure ### Length **150 words max for the pitch.** If you can't say it in 150 words, you don't know what your story is yet. ### Structure 1. **One-line context** — why you're emailing them specifically (their recent article, their beat) 2. **The story** — what it is, in one sentence 3. **Why it matters to their readers** — not why it matters to you 4. **Proof** — data, customer, quote, link 5. **The ask** — interview, embargo, quote, link ### Voice - Sound like a person, not a press release - Reference their actual recent work — proves you read them - Don't use emoji unless they do - Don't open with "I hope this finds you well" — burn it - Don't ask "did you get my email?" follow-ups (see [Follow-up](#embargoes-exclusives-and-follow-up-etiquette)) ### Banned vocabulary Revolutionary, disruptive, game-changing, paradigm shift, leverage, synergy, robust, seamless, holistic, world-class, best-in-class, next-generation, cutting-edge, AI-powered (unless that's the actual differentiation), at-the-end-of-the-day. --- ## Embargoes, Exclusives, and Follow-Up Etiquette ### Embargoes An embargo is "you can write this story, but don't publish until [time]." - **Only offer embargoes to journalists you've worked with** or have strong reputations for honoring them - State the embargo time clearly: day, time, timezone - If they break embargo, your relationship with them is over ### Exclusives "Only you get this story" — powerful tool, use sparingly. - **First-tier outlet only** — exclusives to tier 2/3 outlets waste the lever - **Be honest about scope** — "exclusive to [outlet] in the US" is fine - **Have a parallel plan** — what you publish/pitch the next day after the exclusive runs ### Follow-up cadence - **Day 0** — initial pitch - **Day 3** — one follow-up if you have new information ("Just talked to [customer] who can join us") - **Day 7** — final check-in with a fresh hook ("This came out today, still relevant?") - **After day 7** — let it go. Re-pitch when you have something genuinely new. **Never:** - "Bumping this up" / "Did you see my email?" - Multi-day silent follow-ups with no new value - Same pitch reformatted --- ## Pitch Killers Things that instantly disqualify your pitch: - Wrong name / wrong outlet (autoreplace fail) - Pitching topics they explicitly don't cover - Press release attached as PDF (just paste the key bits) - Long signature with logos and disclaimers - CC'ing 5 other journalists on the same email - "Per my last email" energy - Asking them to sign an NDA before talking - Pitching a story you can't actually tell (no customer willing to talk, no data ready to share) --- ## Tooling ### Finding journalist contact info ```bash # Most journalists' emails follow patterns: # firstname@outlet.com # firstname.lastname@outlet.com # flastname@outlet.com # Use Hunter.io, RocketReach, or just guess and bounce-check ``` ### Researching their recent work (browser-driven) Use `dev-browser` (persistent session, no rate limits) to: - Open the journalist's outlet author page → scrape last 5 article headlines + dates - Open their X/Twitter profile → note recent topics - Open their LinkedIn → confirm current role Output what you find as: ``` JOURNALIST PROFILE — [name] Outlet: [name] Beat: [topics from last 5 articles] Recent angle: [pattern you noticed] Recent X activity: [what they're posting] Score: [X/40 from rubric] Best pitch angle: [from template library] Email: [confirmed] ``` ### Maintaining the media list Store in `.agents/media-list.md` (or `.csv` if you prefer). Update monthly — journalists move jobs constantly. ```markdown ## Tier 1 (top 20) | Name | Outlet | Beat | Last contact | Last coverage | Email | Score | |------|--------|------|--------------|---------------|-------|-------| | ... | ... | ... | 2026-05-15 | none yet | ... | 9/10 | ``` ### Pitch tracking Track in a simple spreadsheet: - Date sent - Subject line - Journalist - Outlet - Response (open / reply / pass / coverage) - What they said After 30 pitches, you'll see which subject patterns and which angles work for you specifically.