Senior journalists are rarely grilled on what drives their editorial decision-making and how PRs can improve the chances of their pitch landing. But Propeller’s Advertising Week Europe session, Crack The Code: Industry Journalists Tell All, likes to turn the tables.
Chaired by Branwell Johnson, Director of Content at Propeller Group, this year’s panel featured:
- Niamh Carroll, Senior Reporter at Marketing Week
- Daniel Thomas, Global Media Editor at The Financial Times (FT)
- Hannah Bowler, Editor, Producer & Host at The Subthread
So, in today’s era of LinkedIn creators and TikTok soundbites, why do news outlets still matter? And what does the media really want from PRs in 2026 and beyond?
Trust, scrutiny and substance: The enduring value of news brands
The session began with the evergreen question: does journalism still matter?
Hannah Bowler highlighted how journalists are now competing with “the very people we should be interviewing” in the form of influencers and execs with their own substacks. She added: “But while these influencers are ultimately selling a product or service, journalists have no ulterior motive - we’re taught to scrutinise stories and provide a balanced overview.”
At the FT, Daniel Thomas sees journalism’s role as “not just to break the news, but to explain why it matters to decision-makers. Quality journalism is far more important than any scattergun approach - and it’s why earned media is returning to the industry’s forefront.”
Meanwhile, Niamh Carroll stressed, “We write to help senior brand-side marketers illuminate the link between marketing and business growth. As with any subscription business, audiences trust our journalists to be discerning and bring them stories that truly add value to their lives.”
Cutting through the clutter: How to pitch with relevance
With newsrooms often under-resourced, PRs must hone their pitches to each writer’s needs - and knowing their style and the kinds of stories they cover is key to success.
Niamh’s focus is on writing about marketing-driven growth and she is keen on stories involving “data that shows how or why a brand strategy has worked so well, and helps marketers to articulate campaigns’ impact on organisations.”
Meanwhile, Daniel and Hannah both stressed that the bar for getting a pitch read is incredibly high - but for different reasons. “I have so many editors to pitch to myself that I need to understand the story’s topline and significance as quickly as possible,” said Daniel.
Hannah, however, isn’t always looking for a fully formed hook or narrative. “Often the best pitch is an introduction to an interesting spokesperson or an invitation to a relevant event. We tell deep-dive stories with unique provocations, so a successful pitch will involve more back-and-forth than a traditional approach.”
All three panellists agreed that complex stories will get a hearing, if pitched in the right way. Useful reader takeaways will always beat quick-fire news updates.
Exclusive or everywhere? Giving your story that edge
Exclusive stories remain crucial for establishing media authority, driving audience traffic and building journalist credibility. For Hannah, “Ideally all of our coverage would be exclusive, and op-eds definitely shouldn’t be pitched elsewhere.”
Niamh agreed that prospective interviews are “less interesting if the spokesperson has already done a big media round, as subscribers won’t find them as valuable.” But while Daniel confirmed that an exclusive can get a pitch over the line, “stories that are particularly exciting - even if they’re already out there - can still earn attention.”
The panel also shared their approaches to, and definitions of, ‘off the record’. For Daniel, off the record means using a spokesperson’s words, but not their name or job title. That said, he always prefers to speak on the record.
Hannah agreed, emphasising that background chats with interesting sources can be useful but also depend on a story’s time-sensitivity. Niamh, however, sees an off-the-record coffee as a valuable way to build journalistic relationships.
What journalists really think about AI-written pitches
When asked whether they can spot AI-written pitches or commentary, and whether it affects their receptivity to them, the panellists’ answers were emphatic.
“Yes,” confirmed Hannah. “We’re writers, constantly reading content, so it’s even more obvious to us. AI has its uses, such as organising brainstorm notes, but the key is transparency - a cold email pitch, clearly written by AI, can be quite off-putting.”
Niamh agreed that AI-written pitches are easy to spot and can read as mass-produced: “If you don’t have time to tailor your pitch, then I won’t have time to talk it through.” And while Daniel sees a good story as a good story, AI-written or not, “it’s that mass-produced element - a pitch poorly suited to the FT, for example - that’s off-putting.”
The takeaway for PR pitches? AI is a collaborator, not a copywriter.
The golden rules for better pitching
To help sharpen story pitches, the panellists offered some final valuable tips.
Hannah is simply “interested in being introduced to cool people. Tell me why I should speak to them, what their credentials are, what work they're doing, and give me time with them. You don’t have to send a formal email pitch - drop me an initial note and we can sense-check the idea as we go.”
Daniel said he receives a lot of emails, and most go unread. “If you’ve got a good story, just tell me what it is, whether it’s exclusive and when you can get it to me by.”
Niamh is not a fan of pitches tied to tenuous news hooks. “I want the freedom to be able to shape the story. Simply introduce me to a great marketer, tell me why they’re interesting, and we’ll go from there.”
Journalists play a crucial role in our industry, our culture and our democracy. If PRs want stronger relationships and stronger coverage, the message from the panel was clear: lead with relevance, substance and trust.
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