Last month, our account manager, Kayleigh, embarked on a journey to uncover exactly what journalists are looking for in a new Behind the Byline blog series.
There have been some BIG conversations and questions in the PRsphere on X (formally Twitter) this week, mostly around the announcement of ‘Synapse’. If you’ve somehow managed to miss the tornado of posts, we have shared a guide on the new platform, but in short, Synapse is a new ‘stories marketplace’ for PRs to pitch and contact journalists through, and it has caused some controversy!
Is this what journalists want moving forward?
Interestingly, last week’s interviewee recently shared her thoughts on the new platform with Kayleigh:
We use emails at PN 🤷♀️ I don’t understand why any journalist would put a barrier between sources/reliable PRs
— Rachael Hesno (@RachaelHesno) September 29, 2023
This week, Kayleigh spoke to Stian Alexander, a freelance journalist writing for various national publications, including Daily Star, The Sun, The Mirror and more. Here are a few of his recent published articles:
– Brit restaurant launches huge ‘Devil’s Breakfast’ that only 2% of people can finish
– Most young adults admit they have only ever flirted online with no real-life exchanges
In a digital world with tech continuously innovating and challenges arising, discover what journalists like Stian are looking for in a pitch and, interestingly, how he expects them below.
Will it be email or Synapse?! 👀 👀
What makes a subject line stand out to you – Is there anything that you gravitate towards in particular?
“Statistics definitely – but anyone can ask 2,000 people a set of questions. For a big hit in the nationals, it needs to be quirky, funny and interesting. It also doesn’t have to be new; papers revisit stories time and time again – the sexiest car, the best pie, the hottest curry, the sexiest accent etc etc. Original ideas are great, but they need to be good and cleverly thought out. They do not need to be linked to the brand (sharing the article); there is no harm in doing a story which is almost entirely unrelated to the product being pushed,” advises Stian.
He adds, “I always think funny stuff does the best; it’s very hard to get serious stories in as a freelancer (poverty, periods, various illnesses) – they are more feature-based and depend more on the features editor rather than news.”
What puts you off an email pitch?
“When the PR tells you it’s exclusive, but it’s not! Also, when the PR doesn’t get back to you very quickly after you say you are interested in the story and need more stats. Act quick, or the freelancer will get another email to work on – I get scores of emails a day from PR firms and do maybe six of them,” says Stian.
He went on to provide some tips for PR’s to follow: “Don’t say ‘commented’ – say ‘said’, and don’t try too hard to be ‘funny’. It usually doesn’t work; a newsdesk or freelancer like me needs to see something which sounds decent in the first few lines. If we don’t know the basic story after two sentences, we probably won’t read much further on,” he added.
What are the most common mistakes you see in an email pitch and press release?
“When it says ‘brand director (name)’. Papers never ever use ‘brand director’ – they want a named person saying something relevant and do not care about the job title unless very specifically linked to the story,” says Stian.
He adds, “Also, PR firms often ping out the release to all and sundry when it would be much better to contact a freelancer and ask their opinion before sending the story out to everyone. Allow the journalist to see the story and research before sending the story out further. I like to get a release at least a day ahead of the day I’m sending it out, that way, I can have it written and ready to go at 9 a.m. rather than hurriedly getting additional info on the day itself. It also gives the chance for you to read over the copy, if the journalist lets you, to ask for it to be changed (in small ways)”.
What is the typical format you’d like to see in a press release?
“I’m happy for limited material – as long as I can write a full story from it. I quite like limited info – but that’s because I’m selfish and want the extra stats myself. I like to see an obviously decent story in two lines and then email and get full stats exclusive,” answers Stian.
Stian provided some additional tips: “Firstly, don’t ramble on. And secondly, most papers don’t care about celeb ambassadors – they want someone from the firm commenting specifically about the story.”
Is there a preferred time of day, or day of the week, you like to receive a pitch?
“If the story is to go out that day, the release should be sent before 9 a.m. I often get ten pitches between 9 and 10 a.m., and I’ll only pick one or two and maybe save the rest for later. But, if you send the day before, there is no rush, and the copy can already be written and approved,” Stian advises.
When asked if he was open to receiving pitched on a weekend, Stian advised he does work at weekends, but he is generally very busy: “An email with a decent story is annoying (to receive on a weekend) as it should have been flagged during the week to go out with embargo – if it can wait, wait.”
What is your opinion on being asked to add a link to an article after publication? Similarly, what would your reasoning be for not including a link (to credit where the press release has come from/provide further insight) in the first place?
Stian advised he would happily provide a link, but unfortunately, 95% of the time, it doesn’t get in. “The simple reason is that it will take the reader away from the paper’s website,” he says.
How do you prefer a PR to follow up with you?
“Definitely by email – although it’s good to speak on the phone sometimes, but generally email,” Stian answers.
Do you prefer images as attachments or, for example, within a DropBox link?
When asked about supporting imagery, Stian advised that it depends on the pitch and its contents, however he usually doesn’t have a preference.
Do you prefer pitches not to be angled at awareness days, or do you favour this?
Stian explains, “I don’t mind awareness days; they can be funny. For example, National Pie Day, National Chip Day, Rabbit Awareness Week etc. They are a good link to encourage papers, but the story should really be good enough in itself not to rely on a national awareness day.”
Would it make a difference to you if a PR introduced themselves in the first instance and shared what kind of clients they work with before pitching anything specific?
“It’s always interesting to see the firms a PR deals with, but I don’t need to build a relationship first – I just want to know if the pitch has the potential to be a decent story in less than 30 seconds. If the PR comes up with good stories, it’s always a pleasure seeing their name pop up on email,” says Stian.
And last but not least, we spoke with Stian on the announcement of Synapse.
The question was news to Stian; the platform wasn’t something he had heard about as of yet. After an explanation, he said: “I get it, but if you have a good story, it will get picked up regardless. It’s up to people like me to spot the angle we like and ask for more info – and for a PR to know the right person to send it to – for an exclusive.
“This platform will, in the end, start sending all the stories about food to the food editor and cars to the motoring editor, when actually it takes journalists like me to see the daft, quirky angle – not the actual angle of the initially sent story. Keep sending me good stuff, and we can ignore this platform!”
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