One of the most avoidable mistakes in public relations is waiting until you need a reporter to start building a relationship with them. If the first time they see your name is when you’re pitching a story on a deadline… you’ve already created unnecessary friction.

Strong media relationships don’t happen in a crisis, and they don’t blossom overnight. They’re built deliberately — with time, trust, and consistent communication.

Here’s why getting to know a reporter early matters, and how to do it in a way that feels natural and productive for everyone involved.

If you work in PR long enough, you’ll experience it: you send a thoughtful, well-crafted pitch… and then? Silence. No reply, no follow-up question, no “thanks, not this time.” Just a void.

But here’s the truth — silence doesn’t always mean “no.” In fact, it rarely does. In media relations, silence is information. It’s data you can use to adjust, improve, and re-approach strategically.

Here’s what that lack of response actually means — and what you should do in each case.

“Conflict of interest” is one of those phrases people love to throw around—especially in public relations. It sounds serious—and it is—but it’s also one of the most misunderstood concepts in our industry.

Too often, someone hears that a consultant or agency represents two clients in the same space and immediately cries, “That’s a conflict!”

But here’s the truth: working for two organizations that do similar things isn’t automatically a conflict of interest.