How to Write a Media Pitch That Gets a Reply

The short answer

A pitch that gets a reply is under 150 words, names the specific thing the journalist covers, and contains everything needed to publish without asking you for anything. That last part matters more than the writing, because 46.1% of news outlets have exactly one journalist doing every job, and they have no capacity to chase you for an image.

The structure

Line one: why them. One specific reference to something they actually wrote, recently. Not the publication — the piece. This is the only line that proves you are not sending the same email to two thousand people.

Lines two and three: the news. What happened, who it happened to, and the number that makes it concrete. If there is no number, there is usually no story.

Line four: why now. Journalism runs on timeliness. A thing that has been true for two years is not news unless something just changed.

Then the material. A cleared quote with attribution, a link to images at print resolution, and the source for any figure you have cited.

Close with availability, not a question. “Our CEO is free Tuesday and Wednesday” is useful. “Would you be interested?” asks them to do work.

What kills a pitch

• Attachments. They trip spam filters and nobody opens them. Link instead.
• “I hope this email finds you well.” It signals a template in seven words.
• Pasting the full press release into the body. The pitch is the argument; the release is the reference.
• Superlatives. Revolutionary, game-changing, world-first. Each one costs credibility, and journalists have seen every one of them.
• Getting the name wrong, or pitching a beat they left. Both end the exchange immediately.

The test that matters

Read your pitch and ask whether the journalist could publish something from it today without contacting you. If the answer is no, identify what is missing and put it in. That single edit does more than any rewrite of the opening line.

It also explains why so much PR advice underperforms. Most of it is about persuasion, and most rejections are not disagreements. They are the recipient noticing the story needs three emails of work and choosing one that needs none.

The same pitch, twice

The version that fails:

Hi there, I hope this email finds you well. I wanted to reach out about an exciting announcement from my client, a revolutionary leader in the logistics space. They have just launched a game-changing new platform. Would you be interested in learning more? Happy to set up a call and send over assets.

Nothing here is checkable. There is no news, no number, no reason this recipient was chosen, and every next step is work for them.

The version that works:

Saw your piece last week on warehouse automation in the region. Related: a regional operator is closing three depots and moving 240 roles to a single automated site, effective October. The 240 figure is confirmed and their operations director can speak this week. Images and the internal memo are here. Full detail below if useful.

Same length. The difference is that the second one contains a story, a number, a named available source, the material already attached, and one specific line proving it was not sent to two thousand people.

About this guide

Structural claims here are drawn from the Media List database of 29,083 journalist records across 2,993 outlets, measured 15 August 2026. The rest reflects standard newsroom practice. Last reviewed 15 August 2026.