You produced a dynamite report, issued a media release with three brilliant quotes, and coordinated the launch with creative digital…and all you get are crickets from the media. Is it you or is it them?

Maybe they just couldn’t hear you because you’re stuck in 2020.

Traditional earned media – often considered free publicity in legacy media like news and magazine articles or radio and television interviews – is hard to come by in 2025 for several reasons. Among them are the ways the pandemic and AI changed how we consume our news. There’s no turning back.

Newsrooms and attention spans are shrinking faster than Ross Geller’s leather pants. Influencers are creating content that many people are confusing for news. And we’ve become addicted to scandal-driven quick dopamine hits circulating on social media and quickly picked up by traditional and alternative media. 

Does that mean agencies and PR staff should abandon earned media as a tactic? Hell, no. But you do need to modernize your approach in 2025.

Earned media can still be an important investment in your brand’s reputation but you must carefully determine what your goal and objectives are, what you are trying to achieve, and who your audience is and how you will reach them.

Evaluate your messages and honestly answer these questions:

  • Do you have a clear, unique, point of view? Are you prepared to publicly defend that POV?
  • Are you saying something new? Is it relevant to today’s news cycle?
  • Have you answered the question, “so what?” Do you have a call to action?
  • Are you directly addressing a contentious issue the media really want to talk about?

If your answers are mostly no, then earned media may not be the right fit for this announcement. Much better to focus your energy on other tactics to engage your audience. 

But if your answers were positive and you believe this is a media-worthy initiative, then here are some tips for your earned media strategy.

Nurture relationships with your target reporters–mainstream, industry, podcasters–whoever is talking about your industry – before you need them.

Building trusting relationships with the media requires an investment in time, resources and training. Read the news (and not just the headlines), listen to their podcasts and talk radio and watch their videos. Follow them, cough up the cash and get behind paywalls, and attend key industry events where they’ll be. This isn’t Tinder. Pick up the phone.

Research your target media and the right journalists for your story.

If you reach out to a sports reporter, for example, when your story idea or news is about a report on the health consequences of wildfire smoke it’s obviously going to fail. Do your research – and that takes longer than you might think but it’s worth it.

Jump on the news cycle quickly.

The news cycle is so much faster than ever before and often has a short shelf-life. If a story breaks that you are confident you can add value, get on it fast. Tomorrow will likely be too late.  Build your reputation as a reliable, informed, credible source with journalists. Invest in media training to help build your confidence. Connect your pitch/release/op-ed to a trending news story (more research) and/or a local angle (again, more research). 

Be accessible to reporters. 

Good or bad news, the trusting relationships you’ve developed with reporters will improve the chance that the tone and information in the story is balanced, accurate and includes your voice. Make sure it is easy for reporters to find you and make contact.

Put down the talking points and talk like a real person.

Your narrative should be an engaging story and sound like a relatable, informed voice. Building an authentic, trustworthy brand requires transparency, honesty, compassion, contrition, accountability, and the support of good leadership that has your back. Ensure your narrative guides all content across all your digital platforms.

Newsrooms are getting good at spotting AI generated writing so don’t rely on it for your creativity and ensure you triple check all its research (it’s prone to making stuff up).  

Think beyond the usual tactics when launching something new. 

There are still good reasons to use a media release – they can be an effective way to announce significant news broadly, draw attention to a new report or product, share a promised update, and be accountable. But most media releases and opinion pieces today have very little news, bury the lead, fail to deliver a unique and clear POV and read more like a marketing brochure. They’re destined for the email abyss. Letters to the editor are a good alternative if you want to clarify or add context to a news story and can succinctly make your points. And achieve your goal to get you published. 

Think, write like a journalist. 

Blogs can be an effective tactic especially if you have experienced writers and former journalists on staff or contractors (highly recommended) who can help make it newsworthy and readable. A warning – newsrooms are getting good at spotting AI generated writing so don’t rely on it for your creativity and ensure you triple check all its research (it’s prone to making stuff up).  

Tell your story visually. 

Providing reporters with great interview subjects is a must but adding quality images will also help reporters tell your story. Create ready-to-use assets that visualize a quantifiable trend, research results or new data. High-res, shareable photos, well-produced, short sound bites with your leaders, interview style podcasts and videos can also be quite effective. Interactive webinars, expert panels and other thought leadership ideas can create a story opportunity, a reason to cover a story. And remember, coordinate all your assets and tactics with your earned and paid media. 

You may not have the expertise in house to produce and implement all these tactics. Hire the experts and maximize your results.

Address the elephant in the room before it stomps on you.

My final tip – avoiding the contentious news that reporters want to ask you about will guarantee one of two reactions: Reporters ignore your good news, or it is overshadowed by the bad news. Prepare for it, address it, then move on. Learn the art of pivoting.

Earned media has become much harder mostly because we are all still adapting to its rapid change. Some are even predicting its demise. I don’t buy it. 

I was reminded just how important journalism is recently when I attended the Canadian Journalism Foundation annual award night where incredibly talented journalists from small, large, online, broadcast, legacy and new media were honoured for their excellence. 

We just need to blend the best of old media principles with the interactive, real-time flavour of today’s platforms and earned media will come. And remember, sometimes even the best campaigns can fall victim to unforeseen news breaking. Reflect and learn. And swipe left.

 

Are you struggling to break through the noise and get your message heard? We can help. Send us a message.