This is a CRUNCH 'small bite' - a quick tip for our followers and fans.

Are media releases dead, or do they still earn their place in your PR toolkit?

In this episode HMC director Heather Claycomb and senior account manager Natalie Swart talk honestly about how business leaders and comms people can work with New Zealand media without wasting anyone’s time. A client recently asked us if media releases are even relevant anymore, which sparked a good chat about when you should write a full release and when a short, sharp pitch email will do the job.

Drawing nearly 25 years working with journalists, we share when a media release is the right move – especially when you need facts to be crystal clear, on the record and easy to lift into stories. We also look at when a tailored pitch wins, how to spot a real news angle, and why human stories still cut through crowded inboxes.

If you're a business leader looking to get a story picked up by media or work in PR or comms, this episode gives you practical tips to choose the right tool for the job and build trust with media over time.

Key takeaways

• Media releases still matter when you need accurate, factual information in front of journalists.
• Know when a media release is necessary and when a pitch is best.
• In a crisis, a media release helps keep everyone on message and protects your credibility.
• Strong relationships with journalists are built on being clear, reliable and easy to work with.
• Writing a media release first can make it much easier to pull out sharp, focused pitch key points.
• There is no single right way – use media releases and pitches differently depending on the story and the situation.

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Here we go.

Hi, I'm Natalie and this is Heather.

And today we are talking about media releases versus media pictures and when you use either or when you use them together.

Recently we had a client come to us querying whether we still do media releases.

She expressed some surprise that we still did and it was quite confronting, but we get it.

I think a lot of people assume we don't actually do media releases very often these days, but we actually do quite a lot, don't we?

And they work really, really well when done well.

But yeah, it's different than the good old days.

So we're going to talk a little bit about that today and how we pitch to journalists too and how we sometimes combine the two approaches.

Yeah, I guess clients or even others in the PR industry, you know, talk a little bit about like the media release being dead.

But I think that's far from the truth really.

And there's several reasons that we might want to use a media release versus doing just a pitch, what we call a pitch to media.

One reason is if you have some news that requires really ensuring the right facts are getting out there.

You know, think of maybe you're launching a new product or maybe you have a piece of research that's a good one too, like a scientific research, things like that.

Like when you.

The facts are really, really important to get out there and get right.

I think a media release is really good in those instances.

Another reason we use a media release is because I guess over 21 years at HMC, we've built up really good relationships with the media.

They know when they get a story from us that it's a good news story.

And we want them to trust, and therefore trust our clients, that when we send you a story, it is a good story.

And I think if they can kind of see that immediate release and sort of skim through it, then they have that assurance that, okay, once again, HMC is sending me a good story here.

So it's about maintaining that trust with the journalists.

And I think every media really can do that as well.

Yeah, I mean, that's a matter of respect, I suppose.

We respect their craft and we need to maintain that respect.

So we draw a line and we have some really hard Conversations with clients sometimes about whether there really is a genuine news angle in a potential story.

It's not just peddling a product in disguise.

Cause journalists can see through that.

We have to be really careful about how we manage that.

In simple terms, I suppose if there's no human angle, there's no local angle, you can forget it.

And similarly, if there is no accompanying visual, if there is no photo, no video component, chances are probably fairly slim though.

But I also have a confession, Heather.

Sometimes I write a media release because the process itself is really helpful for me to distill the essence of a potential story.

But I sometimes don't actually send that to journalists or specific journalists.

I use it as my base plate and I sort of cut from there and meld each angle and each pitch.

So I kind of combine a pitch and a release at the same time.

No, I think that's really good actually because I think some people might even not really understand what we mean by a pitch.

A pitch is just like either a discussion or an email to a journalist basically saying I think I have got a really cool story for you.

But so I think starting with a media release I think is good actually because a pitch should just be a succinct news story really.

So I think starting with a media release is a good option.

It helps you to get that accuracy.

Like I was talking about, get the facts straight when you put it down in writing.

That's probably an essential step actually.

You'd never want a pitch to a journalist if you really haven't thought it through.

And I think putting that story down in writing is probably a good starting point.

Another reason why using a media release is a good idea is in a crisis, because again, going back to what I was saying earlier about it's a great way to get your facts straigh.

You know, when you're in the middle of a crisis, getting your facts straight is critical in a crisis situation.

I'd be hard pressed to say when you wouldn't use a media release actually, because it kind of.

It helps you get those facts in.

Single source of truth.

Yeah, that's right.

And you know, as your crisis evolves, then you can put together the next iteration of that story.

But again, putting it down in writing for journalists is a good starting point.

So to conclude, I guess the message we are trying to get across is that the media release and the media pitch are still tactics we use every week for many of our clients and they both have their place.

And there really isn't a universal, I suppose rule about whether one approach will work better than the other, and relationships are key.

So we work with journalists in a really personal way.

Now.

We often are pitching stories, but we have a very high awareness of their interest areas as a journalist, what they've written before and generally the news calendar or news cycle.

So it's a nuance world.

But yeah, we're well placed to navigate that and help our clients get the best out of it.

Thanks for joining us today for Crunch, brought to you by New Zealand PR agency hmc.

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See you next time.