A Creative Marketing Agency
BOISE, ID
Somewhere right now, a CEO is "thrilled to announce," a company is "proud to unveil," and a press release is promising a "game-changing" new chapter. It's a very emotional day in the media inbox.
But to the journalist reading those announcements, these are a lot of generic nothing-burgers. They’re looking for something their audience will want to read, or, ahem, “eat up.”
According to Cision's 2026 State of the Media Report, 72% of journalists say fewer than a quarter of the pitches they receive are relevant to their work. Ouch.
Yet Muck Rack's 2026 State of Journalism report found that 86% of journalists say at least some of their stories begin with a PR pitch.
So, yes. PR pitches can absolutely lead to coverage. But journalists need a reason to turn your announcement into something their readers will want to know about. And finding that angle is where brands have some homework to do.
Before your next big announcement joins the pile, let's talk about how to find the angle that deserves a headline.
Months of planning went into your product launch. Your company expansion represents a major investment, and that industry award is something your team worked hard to earn.
You have every reason to celebrate. But the work that went into an announcement doesn't automatically give a journalist a story to pursue.
Take a company opening a new location. A ribbon cutting makes for a nice photo, but the more interesting details might be what prompted the expansion:
The answers could give a local reporter something meaningful to explore. A regional business publication, meanwhile, may be more interested in what the expansion says about the company's growth or the market it's entering.
The announcement gives you a starting point. From there, you need to understand what's happening beyond the company and why a publication's readers would be interested.
A little outside perspective can go a long way before your news goes public.
Sometimes the detail that deserves the headline is buried halfway down the press release. In journalism we call this “burying the lede” or in PR, “burying the good stuff.”
Basically, instead of leading with your shiniest, newest product, the more interesting story could be the customer problem that inspired it. Rather than announcing a new partnership, explain the community need that brought the organizations together.
Finding those connections often takes some digging. Talk to the people behind the announcement. Ask what they were seeing before the decision was made and whether anything surprised them along the way.
Numbers can also help tell the story, especially when they reveal something unexpected. Growing customer demand with measurable improvements, or even original findings can provide journalists with evidence of a development worth investigating.
Timing adds another opportunity. If a company's experience relates to an issue already being discussed across its industry, that connection may create a stronger opening for coverage. Of course, the company needs something relevant to contribute. Jumping into every trending conversation just to get a mention can make a pitch feel like a stretch.
The strongest hooks have enough substance behind them for a journalist to start asking questions. And sometimes the answers lead to an even more interesting story than the one the brand originally planned to share.
Let's look at how this plays out with an actual example from one of our clients.
In March 2026, Tuuti client Thomas Cuisine shared news about its partnership with Community Health System in California. The company's scratch-made hospital dining program had helped increase café and retail revenue from approximately $6.7 million to $12.1 million over three years.
While an impressive result on its own, the story had more going for it than financial growth.
The original announcement explained that more employees, visitors, and community members were choosing to eat at the hospital instead of heading elsewhere. The revenue increase came from higher participation rather than higher menu prices.
This thread gave journalists several interesting threads to pursue.
In April, FoodService Director featured the hospital's dining program, focusing on how the culinary team made scratch cooking work in a busy healthcare environment. The article explored menu planning and kitchen operations, including how the team could offer a hot meal for around $7 after an employee discount.
A few months later, The Business Journal covered the partnership from a regional business perspective. Its reporting examined the revenue growth and how the dining program was attracting more people to the hospital's cafés.
The underlying story was the same, but the publications pursued details that would be interesting to their respective readers.
This is where media research and knowing your audience come into play. Muck Rack's 2026 report mentioned 70% of journalists value pitches that relate to the topics they regularly cover. Knowing those differences gives PR teams a much stronger foundation for developing an angle that fits the publication.
A great hook can get a journalist interested but having the information to support it helps them pursue the story.
According to Muck Rack, 58% of journalists value access to relevant interview sources, while 40% value original data or research. Those findings are a good reminder to think beyond what goes into the initial pitch.
Going back to the Thomas Cuisine coverage, the revenue figures established a measurable result and then the stories went further because there were people who could explain the work underpinning all of it.
FoodService Director interviewed members of the hospital's foodservice team and explored how the kitchen handled everything from menu planning to ingredient preparation. The Business Journal included perspectives from Thomas Cuisine leadership to explain the dining program and its performance.
For brands, preparation means knowing which people can speak to an announcement and making sure the information behind a claim is available. It also means considering what a journalist might need beyond the press release, from relevant images to firsthand experiences.
Once you've developed the angle and gathered the supporting information, the next challenge is getting it in front of the right people. Our guide to turning media connections into coverage explores how journalist research and personalized outreach support that process.
There’s something else worth knowing about PR: every company update doesn't need to become a media pitch.
A longtime employee who worked their way from intern to VP has a career story worth celebrating on LinkedIn, where colleagues and clients know the person behind the promotion. And when a highly requested service finally launches, customers will probably appreciate an email explaining how they can use it more than a press release.
Both are worth sharing, even if neither needs to make the evening news.
Before building a media list, consider whether the announcement has enough substance for someone outside your organization to investigate. Can you show a meaningful change or connect the news to an issue affecting a broader audience? Is there someone who can speak to that impact?
Sometimes the best approach is to share the update through your own channels. Other times, the story has enough potential for earned media while also giving your team useful material for blogs and social content. There's room for both in a thoughtful PR strategy.
And the opportunities don't have to end when the announcement goes out. Brands can continue developing their expertise and contributing to industry conversations, giving journalists a reason to return to them when related stories emerge.
Your brand probably has more stories worth sharing than you realize. Some are tucked inside the numbers, while others come from the people behind the work or the changes taking place in your industry.
Which news to pitch, where it belongs, and when to pursue an opportunity is part of what makes good media relations valuable.
Unearthing those stories takes curiosity and a willingness to look at your company through someone else's eyes. Then comes the work of developing the angle, finding the right audience, and giving journalists enough substance to pursue it.
At Tuuti, we help brands find those opportunities and turn them into compelling stories. Our PR team brings media strategy and storytelling together to help brands build visibility beyond their own channels.
Got some news worth digging into? Let's talk about giving your next announcement a story worth telling.
