The media work to specific time deadlines and are very time bound. So in order to have the best chance of success with your proactive pitch you need to know about these time restrictions!
The timings really depend on the frequency of the publication/broadcast and how often that media comes out, so I will dive into each type in more detail.
DAILY PRINT MEDIA:
TYPES: often news related.
If you think about your daily newspaper, they are written the day before and printed during the night ready for the next morning. The news editors or journalists that write the stories meet every morning for an editorial meeting, normally about 10am where they agree and decide what is going to be in the paper for the next day. Obviously with the nature of news, things could change, but this meeting is the starting point for the things they can plan for.
TIMING: You need to get your pitch into the news editors before 10am to be considered for the next day’s outlet. The later it gets into the afternoon, the less you want to pitch because their deadlines are before 4-6pm, so if you are sending a press release and following it up about 3-4pm you are going to have less chance of getting covered.
DAILY BROADCAST MEDIA:
TYPES: This Morning, Loose Women and regional news programs.
Again, all of the news updates will happen in the morning and they will work on it live. You have a bit more of a lead time on the things that they plan in advance. You can pitch into the planning department and share what is coming up in the future and ask if it can be added to the diary for consideration. So this is ideal for things that you know are coming up which they may be interested to cover on a certain day and can be pitched 1-2 weeks in advance.
TIMING: Morning is always best! The timing of the show dictates the best time to get in contact. Early morning for breakfast programmes and magazine-style shows. Between 9 and 10am if you’re trying to find out if your local TV or radio is sending someone to cover your event/story. And a week or two out if it’s a feature that can be pre-planned (rather than a live news item outside your control).
WEEKLY MEDIA:
TYPES: features in the nationals, weekly magazines, weekly trade press.
Do your research to find out what day that publication is released on and the day they have their print deadline. You then need to allow yourself enough time to pitch 1-2 weeks prior to that deadline, so they have enough time to consider it and write it up.
Weekly and monthly trade magazines often have a forward features list where they will detail what features they have planned in the future based on events happening around that time. Typically they also contain their print deadlines and key contacts – check their website as most list their forward features list if they have one.
TIMING: Find out the publication date, allow a few days before the deadline and then an additional 1-2 weeks prior to that. Again, pitching in the morning is always your best bet as they are fresh and looking for ideas!
MONTHLY MEDIA:
TYPES: Consumer magazines (e.g. Red, Cosmo, Good Housekeeping)
Typically these types of media work 6 months out for the planning stage and the editorial meetings to decide what is going into the magazines.
TIMING: 6 months out. This is why PR planning is so important! These publications are not working to a daily deadline and working further out, any time of the day is fine for pitching. There is a little bit more flex for the planning process.
It is all about working out where you want to be seen, then work backwards to work out their deadlines so you can pitch at the right time.
📣 And if you want to work with me 1:1 on this, check out my 2-hour Cheerleader PR Strategy Sessions 📣.
We’ll start with your ideal client and objectives, look at your stories and expertise and match them to key media, podcasts and speaking opportunities. Book now here.
Here’s where you can catch the replay of my FB live session covering all of the above including some great Q&As!
