Five ways the social news desk is changing PR

In our latest YS Does Brunch event we were joined by the inimitable Simon Read, who has graced the news desks of nearly every national publication you’ve heard of, and quite a few you haven’t (mainly because they no longer exist). That in itself is testiment to how much the media landscape has changed.  Simon filled us in on the rise of the social news desk and how it’s changing PR.

Condensing all the useful insights Simon shared into one article just isn’t possible, but in this post, we’ve captured five of our favourite outtakes and the actions that we in the PR industry should be conscious of. 

1. PRs are never top of the pile

Journalists start their day checking social feeds and press wires to look for the most robust news stories. The truth is that bad news makes the most engaging stories, so that’s always what the media are most hungry for. 

After that, if they haven’t filled their story list, they’ll turn to PR pitches. However, journalists are inundated, often receiving over 400 pitches a day. 

The best tactic here is to make your email stand out (see point 2) and to not rely on email as your only approach (see point 3).

2. Your pitch is probably all wrong

Of the hundreds of PR pitches received, the vast majority are not written well enough to make it into the day’s news. So what can we do better? 

With just seconds to grab your readers’ attention before they skim and then bin your email, you need to make an impact with your subject line in four words or fewer. You’ve then got around 30 words to really land your message in the first lines of your email. If you’ve held their interest long enough, you can then go deeper into the subject matter further down. 

3. Twitter is dead, long live….? 

Social media, especially Twitter, has reshaped how stories break. While X (formerly Twitter) has lost users in droves, there’s no clear successor from a media standpoint that dominates in quite the same way. 

Journalists are dabbling in Threads, Bluesky, and others, but no single platform has taken the crown… yet. So only time will tell. In the meantime, you have to monitor socials in some capacity if you work in PR and comms.

4. The age of “Churnalism”

Journalists used to have days to research and write one article, but are now tasked with producing up to ten stories a day. This forces them to churn out content that the algorithm will like, but with little time to attend to the details. 

So what does this mean for PRs? Get to the point, make sure your approach is relevant, and take the time to tailor the details around what will be useful for them to know. 

Finally, if you’re pitching a survey story make sure it’s robust (more than 2,000 people) and give the journalists new data that they can’t find on the internet.

5. Relationships matter

It’s never been harder to get media coverage for your brand, but it remains true that building a relationship with your target media is the way to go. Pick up the phone and find out when the best time to meet them is. For example, Simon shared that he occassionally has a small window between 1-2pm.

Getting a clear understanding of what journalists look for, collaborating over angles, and developing stories tailored to what works for them is a long game, but the results will make it worthwhile. 

Need help with your next press release?

The best PR tactics change over time and will continue to do so as new technology and social platforms emerge. For now, these nuggets continue to help us adapt to the rise of the social news desk. 

If you’d like to know more about our approach to PR and whether it could be just the ticket for your next campaign, drop us a line today. 

And to hear about the next Yours Sincerely brunch event, sign up to our mailing list here.