How a PR Idea Becomes a Pitchable Story

Great public relations does not begin with a pitch. Or what outlet you want to be in. Or who you know at that publication.

It begins with clarity. About your business, your audience and your goals.

“Let’s Start at the Very Beginning. A very good place to start.”

Before a single email is written or a reporter is contacted, the first step is defining what you are actually trying to achieve. “More publicity” is not a goal. Publicity is a pathway. The real objective might be driving attendance, increasing donations, building credibility, influencing policy, attracting customers, or positioning a leader as an industry authority.

Until that goal is defined, everything else is guesswork.

Step One: Define the Objective

Are you trying to:

• Drive ticket sales?

• Raise awareness?

• Generate leads?

• Influence public opinion?

• Build executive visibility?

• Strengthen community perception?

The clearer the objective, the sharper the strategy.

PR without a goal is noise. PR with a goal becomes leverage.

Step Two: Identify the Audience

The next question is critical: Who do you need to reach in order to accomplish that objective?

“Everyone” is never the answer.

If the goal is fundraising, the audience may be philanthropic adults, corporate leaders, or people already aligned with your mission.

If the goal is sales, the audience may be working parents, small business owners, or decision-makers inside specific industries.

If the goal is event attendance, the audience might be local families, students, seniors, or a niche community.

If the goal is thought leadership, the audience could be policymakers, industry peers, regulators, or media professionals themselves.

Each audience consumes information differently. Some watch morning television. Some read business journals. Some follow niche newsletters. Some listen to podcasts during their commute. Some scroll social platforms for news.

Understanding who you need to reach determines where you need to show up.

Step Three: Match the Audience to the Right Outlets

Once the audience is defined, the next move is connecting that audience to the outlets they trust.

Where do they get their information?

• Television news

• Local newspapers

• Industry trade publications

• Digital business media

• Radio

• Podcasts

• Community publications

From there, you narrow it further: Which specific outlets make the most strategic sense?

And then even further: Which reporters at those outlets actually cover stories like this?

Because not all reporters think alike.

Step Four: Understand the Reporter’s Lens

A business reporter is looking for numbers, trends, economic impact, growth metrics, and industry implications.

A feature reporter is looking for people, emotion, visuals, narrative arcs, and compelling characters.

A beat reporter wants expertise that fits cleanly into what they already cover.

A political reporter needs relevance to policy, governance, or public debate.

The same idea can be framed in multiple ways. The job of a PR professional is to shape that idea into the version that makes sense for the reporter and their audience.

That is where strategy meets execution.

Step Five: Decide the Format

Not every story should be pitched the same way.

Is this:

• Breaking or spot news?

• A feature profile?

• A trend story?

• Expert commentary?

• An opinion piece?

• A contributed article?

Each format requires a different structure, tone, and expectation.

Trying to force a feature into a breaking news pitch rarely works. Pitching commentary as a hard news story confuses the newsroom. The form must align with the substance.

Step Six: Plug In the Media-Friendly Elements

Once the strategy is aligned, the pitch itself becomes tactical.

Strong pitches make it easy for reporters to say yes. That means including:

• A clear and singular angle

• A timely hook

• A spokesperson who is available and prepared

• Supporting data or context

• Visuals or B-roll for television

• Quick response time

• Concise subject lines

• Quotes ready to use if needed

PR is not about sending mass emails. It is about designing stories that are newsroom-ready.

The Bottom Line

Ideas are common. Execution is rare.

Turning an idea into a pitchable story requires moving in order:

Goal → Audience → Outlet → Reporter → Format → Pitch.

When those elements are aligned, media coverage becomes strategic rather than accidental.

That is what public relations actually is.

Not hype.

Not hope.

Not ego.

Strategy, precision, and understanding how newsrooms think.