'Perspectives' is a Telum Media submitted article series, where diverse viewpoints spark thought-provoking conversations about the role of PR and communications in today's world. This Perspectives piece was submitted by Ananda Shakespeare, Founder and CEO at Shakespeare Communications.
Bridging the gap between PR professionals and journalists isn't just necessary; it’s crucial to the future of trustworthy media. But why should these two distinct, yet deeply intertwined professions strive for unity and what's at stake if they don't?
Journalists and PR professionals traditionally serve different masters - the truth and the client. This dichotomy sets the stage for a dynamic battleground, where information is the weapon and public perception the prize. However, clinging to this adversarial mindset feels outdated, especially when the benefits of collaboration are so clear.
A closer alliance holds the promise of enhanced story accuracy and depth. PR people hold keys to kingdoms filled with insights, data, and human interest angles that journalists might struggle to access independently. Conversely, journalists can offer PR narratives the credibility and critical analysis they often need to gain public trust and attention.
It's not about turning journalists into PR puppets, or making PR professionals honorary newshounds. It’s about co-creating stronger, more meaningful stories; the kind that genuinely inform and engage.
In an era where trust in the media is under pressure, shouldn’t journalists consider PR professionals as potential allies? The PR industry stands ready to back up stories with verified data, hard facts, and credible sources. And isn’t PR, at its best, about turning ignorance into knowledge? Isn’t that also journalism’s north star?
Imagine the articles that could emerge from a well-oiled collaboration: compelling, fact-checked, and robust.
A beacon of reliability
Especially in this digital age, when journalists and PR professionals work together, they can produce content that not only captivates, but also informs with clarity and integrity. A strong partnership between PR and journalism can serve as a rare beacon of reliability, and without this collaboration, the risk of misinformation spreading unchecked grows, leading to a public that's both confused and cynical about the media they consume.
The PR / journalism gap also impacts how swiftly accurate information reaches the public. In times of crisis - be it a natural disaster or public Sector - Health emergency - collaboration can mean the difference between clarity and chaos. When these two groups are disengaged, critical updates can be delayed. A productive relationship here isn't just beneficial; it’s a civic duty.
And the collaborative potential doesn’t stop at crisis comms. The synergy between PR and journalism can even shape public policy. Journalists bring the spotlight; PR professionals bring the strategy to help messages resonate. Together, they can elevate issues to the public agenda and prompt faster governmental responses. To ignore this potential is to miss powerful opportunities for positive change.
Culture and context
Nowhere is the need for trust and collaboration between PR professionals and journalists more pronounced than in the Middle East. The region’s media landscape is incredibly diverse, spanning state-run outlets, independent platforms and a booming digital news ecosystem, for example. With multiple languages, cultures and political sensitivities at play, the potential for misunderstanding or misrepresentation is high.
That’s where strong PR-journalism relationships can offer real value: by ensuring accuracy, cultural relevance and context-specific messaging that resonates without crossing ethical or legal boundaries.
In markets such as the UAE and Saudi Arabia, where rapid economic transformation is being driven by ambitious national visions, the media plays a key role in shaping public perception of change.
While PR professionals are often on the front lines of these narratives, representing both government-led initiatives and private sector innovations, journalists are tasked with holding these narratives to account.
When the two collaborate effectively, I believe they can jointly elevate public discourse, bringing transparency to transformation, and helping audiences navigate a shifting social and economic landscape.
The region’s fast-growing startup and innovation sectors depend on media visibility to attract investment, talent and global interest. With many founders new to storytelling or public exposure, PR serves as the vital bridge to the media. A well-briefed journalist can ask better questions; a well-connected PR can identify the stories worth telling. In a region where narratives are powerful tools for economic diversification, can’t we argue that bridging the gap between PR and journalism isn’t just a communications issue - it’s a growth imperative.
Let's be friends
Of course, building trust between the two professions takes effort. Concerns around bias and ethics are real and valid. The answer? Transparency, and a shared commitment to ethical practice. Each side must respect the other’s role while finding common ground. Developing agreed frameworks for cooperation could help create a relationship rooted in trust, not tension.
Training can also help bridge the divide. Future PR specialists and journalists should not only be taught the skills of their own trade, but also how to work with the “other side.” Universities, professional bodies, and industry leaders all have roles to play in fostering cross-disciplinary education and dialogue.
Ultimately, bridging the gap isn’t about making our lives easier. It’s about delivering better information to a public that desperately needs clarity. It’s about a media ecosystem driven by transparency, speed and accuracy. One that serves society as a whole.
The call to action? Let’s stop circling each other warily. Let’s start building real partnerships. It’s time to move beyond the old PR vs journalism narrative, and embrace a new one: collaboration in the service of the truth.
Ananda Shakespeare has enjoyed a career as a magazine editor, journalist, and PR professional spanning more than 30 years. She spent several years as head of content for a telecoms firm before founding her own PR firm, Shakespeare Communications, which works with sustainable, ethical and innovative clients. She also founded two environmental charities in the UK and currently runs a non-profit group for the media community in Dubai, UAE.
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Every few years, someone declares the death of the media release.
Today, the arguments sound familiar. Journalists don't read them anymore. Everything is social-first. AI is replacing traditional media outreach. It's all about the pitch. Press releases are becoming little more than AI-generated filler.
And yet, when we speak with journalists across Asia Pacific and the Middle East, a different picture emerges.
Media releases aren't dead, but expectations around them have changed significantly.
We've analysed more than 10,000 Journalist Interest Survey responses in the Telum Media platform collected over the past five years, alongside insights gathered from conversations with editors, reporters, and producers across the region.
Key takeaways:
- Journalists still value useful PR content
- Relevance matters more than reach
- The pitch and the release serve different roles
- The best releases reduce friction for journalists
- Modern releases need to support multiple platforms
The conclusion is clear: journalists still value media releases, but they value them for different reasons than they once did.
The media release has evolved from a distribution tool into something far more strategic.
The media release is no longer the story
For decades, many PR professionals treated the media release as the centrepiece of media relations activity.
Write the release. Send it widely. Hope for coverage - “spray and pray”.
That approach was far from perfect, but you could get away with it in an era when newsrooms were larger, competition for attention was lower, and journalists had more time to evaluate incoming information.
Today's reality is very different.
Journalists are producing content across multiple platforms, often with smaller teams and tighter deadlines. Their inboxes are flooded with pitches, announcements, thought leadership submissions, and increasingly, AI-generated content.
As a result, journalists have become far more selective about what earns their attention.
The modern media release is no longer just about news stories. It has become a source-of-truth asset, a newsroom resource, and a content hub that supports broader communications activity.
The best PR teams understand this shift.
“The strongest message from journalists can be summarised in a single phrase: ‘Understand what I cover’. Relevance remains the most important factor in successful media engagement.”
What journalists are actually rejecting
One of the most revealing findings from our analysis is that journalists are not rejecting PR content altogether.
What they're rejecting is low-value outreach.
Across thousands of responses, the same frustrations appeared repeatedly:
- Irrelevant pitches
- Generic outreach
- Mass distribution
- Weak story angles
- Excessive follow-ups
In other words, this is less a rejection of media releases and more a rejection of poor media relations practice.
The strongest message from journalists can be summarised in a single phrase:
"Understand what I cover."
Relevance remains the most important factor in successful media engagement. In fact, our journalist surveys over the past two years have seen a sharp increase in a desire for both relevance and personalisation in pitches.
Journalists increasingly assess pitches within seconds. If the connection to their beat, audience, or current priorities isn't immediately obvious, the opportunity is often lost before the email is even opened.
The pitch and the release have different jobs
One of the biggest misconceptions in modern media relations is treating the pitch and the release as the same thing.
They are not.
The pitch exists to earn attention; the release exists to support the story.
The best pitches are:
- Brief
- Human
- Relevant
- Contextual
- Conversational
The best releases are:
- Structured
- Factual
- Complete
- Reusable
- Easy to reference
At a recent Telum Media event, a senior journalist described the fastest way to kill a pitch with a single word: “Respect”. Or a lack thereof.
A generic greeting. A story unrelated to their beat. A mass-produced email that demonstrates no understanding of their audience.
All signal a lack of respect for the journalist's time and expertise.
High-performing PR teams increasingly write pitches and releases for different audiences. The pitch is written for the journalist. The release is written for the journalist's audience.
That distinction matters.
Why journalists still value media releases
Despite predictions of their demise, journalists continue to actively request media releases.
But they want releases that help them work more efficiently.
The most common requests include concise writing, clear headlines, strong news angles, supporting data (with downloadable images and assets), spokesperson access, and easy-to-use formats.
These preferences reveal the modern role of the release: it functions as a workflow tool.
A strong release helps journalists:
- Understand the story quickly
- Verify information
- Access supporting materials
- Build content efficiently
The best releases reduce friction. And in today's newsroom environment, reducing friction is often more valuable than generating hype.
Think beyond media coverage
Another major shift is that media releases are increasingly serving multiple audiences.
A modern release doesn’t just support journalists; it might also support clients and prospects, employees, investors and analysts, partners, and search visibility.
Rather than creating a single-use document, leading communications teams are building content ecosystems.
The release becomes the foundation for:
- Media outreach
- Newsroom content
- Executive communications
- Social media content
- Email campaigns
- Sales collateral
- Thought leadership activity
This approach not only improves consistency but also increases the return on investment from every announcement.
The role of the modern media release
Not every story needs a release
Perhaps one of the most important lessons is recognising when a media release is the wrong tool.
Releases tend to perform best when there is:
- Genuine news value
- Multiple stakeholder audiences
- A need for factual consistency
- Strong supporting assets
- Broader business significance
They are often less effective for internal milestones framed as major news (or self-congratulatory announcements), generic thought leadership, and untargeted mass outreach.
In some situations, a targeted pitch, LinkedIn strategy, executive commentary programme, or direct relationship-based outreach may be more effective.
Good communications strategy isn't about defaulting to a media release; it's about choosing the right tool for the objective.
A framework for modern media releases
If there is one word that captures what journalists are asking for today, it is respect.
At Telum Media, we summarise this through the RESPECT framework:
R – Relevance
Make it relevant to the journalist, their audience and the moment.
E – Efficiency
Help journalists work faster through clear, concise, and usable content.
S – Substance
Provide genuine value through expertise, data, insight, or access.
P – Personalisation
Demonstrate that you've done your homework.
E – Ecosystem
Think beyond the release and consider how it supports broader communications goals.
C – Clarity
Make the key message immediately obvious.
T – Timing
Reach out at the right time, not simply any time.
What journalists are asking for in a pitch / media release: RESPECT
The future of the media release
The debate over whether media releases are dead misses the point.
The more useful question is how do we make releases work better in today’s media environment?
Journalists still value relevant information, credible sources, strong story angles, and efficient communication. Media releases continue to play an important role in delivering those things.
But success today depends less on the existence of the release itself and more on how strategically it is used.
The media release remains a valuable communications tool.
Just not in the way many of us were taught to use it.
FAQs
Are media releases still useful in 2026?
Yes. Journalists still value media releases, but these days want targeted outreach, relevance to their beat, alignment with their audience, and contextual pitching.
What makes a media release useful to journalists?
Journalists are looking for releases in a format that helps them work efficiently. Which means releases that are concise, factual, with a clear angle, contain usable quotes, and come with downloadable assets and supporting data.
What is the difference between a pitch and a media release?
A pitch earns the journalist’s attention in their cluttered Inbox. A media release supports the story by providing structured, factual, and reusable information relevant to their audience.
With more than 30 years’ experience spanning journalism, corporate communications and media intelligence, Reuben Aitchison is Telum Media’s Head of Insights and Communications.
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