You can’t ‘make’ journalists write about your company. But what are some of the key things you should be doing if you want to use PR to encourage journalists to cover your company? For starters, you should be paying attention to all the valuable PR tips and advice that journalists themselves regularly share on LinkedIn – about the things they want (and don’t want) from PR people.
Here’s the latest in my occasional roundups of tips I’ve seen journalists share on the platform (these are from March 2026).
1) Don’t automatically ignore PR opportunities that aren’t on message
I get it. You’ll always want PR opportunities that allow you to speak to your company’s marketing or commercial messaging. That’s the ideal.
But top-tier media coverage is so hard to get. So freelance journalist MaryLou Costo suggests: if you notice an opportunity to be interviewed or featured in a story that doesn’t naturally allow you to discuss your messaging, don’t immediately pass it up.
Because journalists are paid to have a ‘nose’ for stories that are going to land. And if you’re part of one of these – by sharing authentic points of view on it (even if not on-message) – you can still work wonders in boosting your brand’s visibility and awareness. And remember: getting on that journalist’s radar on this occasion may mean they’re more likely to come to you again (possibly with an opportunity that’s more closely aligned to your messaging).
2) Make sure your PR surveys or other research are less than 6 months old (especially if they’re about AI)
Creating content and stories through surveys or other data studies has long been an effective way to generate PR coverage. But Sharon Goldman, an AI reporter at Fortune, recently made the point that, these days, the research needs to have been completed within the past 6 months. Especially if the story relates to any aspect of AI.
Previously, tech companies could get away with running an annual or biannual state-of-the-industry survey. But now the pace of technological change, especially in AI, means these approaches simply won’t cut it anymore.
And now you can use platforms that let you generate surveys of a thousand consumers in a matter of hours. So generating up-to-date surveys is easier than ever.
3) Don’t misuse PR embargoes
Embargoes are a useful PR tool for when you want to give selected journalists access to your news in advance. They allow journalists some additional time (before the news is announced widely) so they can research the story, gather background information and develop their own angle. Ultimately, an embargo gives them time to write a more detailed, considered story that typically has greater impact.
But as Sean Mitchell of TechDay says in this LinkedIn post, too many companies are misusing and overusing embargoes. Not every story requires an embargo. And if you do use one, make sure it offers a realistic (and clearly specified) time frame. You need to ensure it gives the journalist enough time to do their additional research and conduct any interviews, for example. Otherwise, an embargo is just adding another layer of friction!
(Image by Ryan McGuire from Pixabay)