# 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.
