Media Pitch vs Press Release: What Journalists Need From PR Pros

A well-timed pitch can land you a front-page feature. A well-crafted press release can still generate coverage months after it goes out. But send the wrong thing to the wrong person at the wrong time? Your story will get ignored.

Let’s break down the difference and figure out how to excel at both. 

What is a PR release? 

Got news to share? Start with a press release. It’s your polished, public announcement, the version of your story you want your audience (and journalists) to talk about. Whether it’s a product launch, funding round, company milestone, or major hire, this is where you lay out your story from start to finish. 

As the name suggests, a press release is written for the press to get your story picked up. Done right, it gives journalists everything they need: a clear angle, strong quote, relevant stats, and a headline that doesn’t make them roll their eyes. 

At a minimum, every PR release should include:

• A clear, compelling headline that tells them what the story is about
  
  
• A strong lead paragraph covering the who, what, when, where, and why
  
  
• Relevant quotes from someone with authority (not just fluff from marketing)
  
  
• Hard facts and stats to give the story weight and credibility
  
  
• Multimedia assets such as images, videos, or charts that can be used in coverage
  
  
• Contact information so a journalist can follow up fast
  
  
• A boilerplate in the form of a short “about us” paragraph that doesn’t force journalists to scour your Wikipedia for the facts

A good rule of thumb: use the inverted pyramid method, in which you present the most important information first, followed by details of less significance at the bottom. In the case of press releases, that could look something like this:

Your press releases should also be built for distribution through your own brand newsroom or targeted media lists. But let’s be real: not every release scores coverage. In fact, fewer than half do. Still, that doesn’t mean your efforts are wasted. 

30% of businesses say journalists have followed up months – or even a year – after a release went out. That means, even if you don’t land the story immediately, your press release keeps working in the background, boosting SEO and keeping your story searchable. Over time, certain topics (or issues, as PR pros call them) can gain sudden traction, making your story surge in search engine results.

An example from automotive PR

Wondering what a great PR release looks like in practice? Here’s an example from the automotive PR world, specicially from our client Genesis, a luxury vehicle brand based in South Korea. 

Notice how it leads with the most important information first, provides quotes that sounds like a human said it, and includes everything a journalist needs, from product specifics to a high-resolution, accompanying image. The release makes it easy for busy journalists to get the story out there quickly without having to go digging around for extra information elsewhere. 

Looking for more press release examples?  Our blog walks you through the most common press release mistakes & how to fix them >>>

What is a media pitch?

If a press release tells the story, a media pitch is what makes sure the world knows about it. 

It’s the follow-up you send in the form of a short, tailored message after or shortly before your press release is ready to go. It turns a generic announcement into a story that’s relevant for a specific journalist, their beat, and their audience. 

Think of it as step two in your outreach. First, you craft the press release: the full story. Then you build the pitch: the hook that sells it. 

Don’t just copy and paste the contents of your release into an email and call it a day. Actually spend time highlighting what matters most for that journalist. Why should they care? What makes this story timely? What’s the angle their readers will relate to (and click on)? 

A good PR pitch includes:

• A sharp subject line that screams ‘open me’
  
  
• A short hook (2–3 sentences max) that explains the relevance to your audience
  
  
• A clear offer: Exclusive interview, CEO quote, or embargo access.
  
  
• A link to your press release or newsroom for full details

Journalists are busy and 73% say they reject pitches that aren’t relevant to their beat. Personalization is no longer just a nice-to-have, it’s the key to scoring coverage. 

However, there’s one type of pitch that consistently performs the best: The one you send to a journalist who remembers you. See each pitch as the start of a connection and craft relationships with media professionals who see you as a valuable source of company or industry news – and you’ll have no problem getting your story out there. 

An example from healthcare PR

Need to grab a journalist’s attention? Early access to new data usually does the trick. Here’s an example from healthcare PR and how a company in this industry might pitch it.

This pitch works because it’s short, clearly tailored to the journalist’s beat, and offers a clear incentive – exclusive access to newsworthy research – without overselling. It also explains how the story is relevant in a larger context. 

Looking for more tips on how to write the perfect media pitch? Read our guide on how to get your pitch noticed >>>

So to summarize: what’s the difference, and when should you use a media pitch vs a press release? 

Both press releases and media pitches are essential tools in your PR toolkit. They often complement each other, but serve different purposes.

In practice, you often need both to land the story. The press release gives the journalist the facts, the pitch gives them a reason to care.

3 tips to craft a press release that stands out

We’re sure you can think of the basics. You know: check your spelling, get the facts right, don’t bury the lead…So instead of rehashing the obvious, here are three press release tips that set standout releases apart from the ones that get ignored. 

1. Don’t use ChatGPT to write your quotes

AI is a great tool for structure and speed, but it’s not how you build authentic relationships with your audience. If your quote reads like a slogan (or starts with ‘We’re thrilled to announce…’) it’s not helping your story. A quote should always add insight, context, or emotion. If it’s not something a human would say in an interview, rewrite it. 

Better yet, schedule time with your executive or subject matter expert and ask them what this piece of news means to them. Then build the quote around their words. That’s how you get something authentic. 

The bottom line? Let your spokespeople speak like people.

2. Optimize for search 

We’ve already established that press releases have a long shelf life, but only if people can actually find them. 

That’s where SEO and smart publishing come in. Press releases belong in your digital newsroom, where they can be indexed by search engines, picked up by Large Language Models like ChatGPT and Gemini, linked to in future stories, and shared across channels. 

Treat your release like any other piece of online content: 

• Use clear, natural keywords in your headline and lead
  
  
• Add subheadings, bullet points, and logical internal  links
  
  
• Include alt text for images
  
  
• Give it a unique, searchable URL and meta description

A well-optimized release posted on a newsroom gives your story a searchable home and might just help a journalist find your story long after you’ve pressed ‘publish’. It will also function as a single-source of truth for all of your company news, allowing media professionals to subscribe to your press releases and stay up to date with your company.  

Pro tip: If you’re using a purpose-built newsroom software like Presspage, your newsroom will already be optimized for SEO. Every press release gets a dedicated URL, clean metadata, and built-in multimedia support, allowing your content to stay discoverable for years.

3. Link to your full media kit 

Your press release should already be decked out with multimedia assets. Think: a strong header image, maybe a product photo, or a chart to support the story. But don’t stop there. 

Give journalists everything they might need to tell your story by linking to a comprehensive media kit, hosted on your corporate newsroom. This provides bonus content, such as extra images, logos, bios, stats, or video footage, that they can use to support their coverage without having to chase you down. 

A good media kit should include:

• Downloadable, high-res images and logos
  
  
• Executive headshots and short bios
  
  
• Company boilerplate and fast facts
  
  
• Any supporting data, reports, or graphics
  
  
• Direct contact details

Looking to build an A+ press kit?  Read our guide on everything your kit should include and how to get started crafting yours >>>

3 ways to send a PR pitch that complements your release

Think your pitch is good? So do the 200 others in that journalist’s inbox. These tips go beyond the usual advice and help you craft a pitch that gets both opened and acted upon. 

1. Give the journalist the headline

Don’t just pitch the story. Pitch how it could show up on their news website. Offering a potential headline, either in your subject line or the first line of your email, makes it easier for journalists to visualize the angle and see the value your story provides. 

Think like an editor: Would you click on it? Does it sound like something that you’d run? If the answer’s no, rewrite it. What may seem like a tiny detail can be the thing that makes your PR pitch feel less like a request and more like a ready-made story. 

An example from travel PR

Bad: “Sharing our latest hotel deal with you”
Good: “Sleeper trains are back – new Amsterdam-to-Vienna route launches with €49 tickets”

2. Tie your pitch to a bigger story (that isn’t yours)

To you, your announcement might seem like the noteworthy event the world should be talking about. But for a journalist, it’s the context that counts. If your pitch is only about you, you’re giving them too much work to do, and the only click you’ll get is ‘delete’.

Whether it’s a cultural shift, a seasonal trend, or a new regulation, framing your pitch within a bigger story shows you understand what the journalist is really looking for: a relevant, fresh angle on a story they’re already keeping tabs on. 

Suddenly, your news feels timely, relevant, and way more pitch-worthy.

3. Follow up with something useful, not just “checking in”

If a journalist didn’t reply to your pitch, it doesn’t necessarily mean they weren’t interested. Maybe they were busy, on a deadline, or buried in other emails. But if your follow-up is just “circling back” or “wondering if you saw this”, you’re not giving them a reason to re-engage. 

Instead, follow up with something new or valuable. The idea is to give them the incentive to pick up your story. This could be:

• A fresh stat or updated angle
  
  
• A recent piece they published that ties in
  
  
• A quote from your spokesperson
  
  
• A shorter, more focused version of your original pitch
  
  
• Or even better: offer an exclusive interview or early access to the story

As a PR pro, you’re no stranger to following up. Just make sure it feels more like helping and less like pestering. 

Pro tip: Our media relations software Presspage Connect makes it easy to follow up. Track engagement, collaborate on media inquiries, and automatically log incoming inquiries. No more digging through inboxes or missing a warm lead.

The Takeaway

Media pitch vs press release – they’re part of the same complementary puzzle. One tells the full story, the other gets it through the door. And in a world where journalists are buried in inbox clutter, getting both right is what sets your team apart. 

Ultimately, your job is to help journalists do theirs. So give them stories worth telling, in formats they can use, and you’ll be the PR pro they come back to the next time. 

Need the tools to make it happen? That’s where Presspage comes in. Book a demo today!