Earned media is press coverage a brand secures through pitching and the strength of its story, and it now feeds search, social and the answer engines that decide who gets considered. This hub brings together EPR's data on newsrooms, pitching, wires and journalists' use of AI.
BLS data: 315,900 PR specialists vs. 49,300 reporters, a 6.4-to-1 ratio, nearly double the 3.2-to-1 of 2004. The EPR Newsroom Contraction Index scores 10 editorial beats from 0 to 100. Updated August 2026.
88% of journalists delete off-beat pitches — but what happens when the beat no longer exists? EPR maps the pitch gap by beat. Sports, local, and books are in critical territory. September 2026.
68% of journalists use AI in their workflow. 41% for pre-interview research. 29% to identify sources. ChatGPT leads at 52%, Perplexity at 38%. Only 4% of PR teams have adjusted. The 59-point gap between journalist behavior and PR strategy — and what to do about it.
47 of 250 wire-distributed press releases were cited by AI engines within 90 days. The retrieval data, the wire decision framework, the writing rules that raise citation odds, and the distribution playbook.
PR TIMES publishes 46,000 releases a month and 65% of listed Japanese companies use it — making it the dominant Japanese-language citation infrastructure inside ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity, Gemini, and Google AI Overviews. The wire Western brands miss.
Ten travel journalists every PR, hospitality, and destination team should know, from Theroux and Bourdain to Kara and Nate Buchanan, and why their work shapes AI answers.
A PR strategy is the one approach chosen to reach a goal. Seven steps, seven approaches, strategy statement examples and how to measure results, with Muck Rack and Gartner data.
Michelle Mekky founded Mekky Media Relations in 2016 — a Chicago Wrigley Building boutique PR agency serving nonprofit, retail, hospitality, healthcare, and B2B clients.
A New York indie-film publicist for two decades, Jules Feiler built The Pitching Staff around a category the major agency networks still avoid.
A pitch guide to Peter Greenberg, CBS News Travel Editor and three-time Emmy winner: who he is, what he covers, and how to pitch him effectively.
Earned media is press coverage a brand secures through pitching, relationship-building and the strength of its story, as opposed to paid placement. It blends press release strategy, media pitching, reporter relationships, exclusive offers, embargoed announcements, executive thought leadership and the editorial work that makes a story worth covering.
Its value has grown. The coverage a brand earns now feeds organic search, social amplification and the sources that AI engines retrieve, so one strong placement keeps working across every surface.
The hub profiles specialists that show different routes into the press:
| Firm | Focus | EPR page |
|---|---|---|
| Mekky Media Relations | Chicago boutique PR agency founded in 2016, serving nonprofit, retail, hospitality, healthcare and B2B clients | Mekky Media Relations profile |
| The Pitching Staff | New York indie film publicity built around a category the large networks avoid | Jules Feiler and The Pitching Staff |
The hub holds 10 live articles on October 23, 2026. Its main areas:
Newsroom data: 6 PR people for every journalist: Newsroom Contraction Index 2026 and the pitch gap.
Journalists and AI: how journalists use AI in 2026.
Press releases and wires: Press Release Retrieval Study 2026 and the Japanese wire PR TIMES.
Strategy: PR strategy: how to build one that reaches your goal.
Pitching guides: pitching Peter Greenberg and ten leading travel journalists.
Related hubs: Media training, Crisis PR, Reputation management, Executive and founder branding and Social media.
Choose the beat. Check that the beat still exists in the newsrooms you are targeting, since many have shrunk.
Research the reporter: recent work, preferred format and what they have not yet covered.
Build the story around original data or a named expert, not a product announcement.
Pitch with a clear angle, using an exclusive or an embargo where the story justifies it.
Use a wire only where the evidence supports it, and write the release so it can be cited.
Remember that journalists now use AI in their work, so make facts and sources easy to verify.
Measure the coverage, including whether it is later cited in AI answers.
The newsroom has contracted. BLS data shows 315,900 PR specialists against 49,300 reporters, a ratio of 6.4 to 1, nearly double the 3.2 to 1 of 2004, per EPR's Newsroom Contraction Index.
Off-beat pitches rarely land. EPR's pitch gap article reports that 88% of journalists delete off-beat pitches.
Journalists use AI. In EPR's adoption study, 68% of journalists use AI in their workflow, 41% for pre-interview research and 29% to identify sources, with ChatGPT leading at 52% and Perplexity at 38%. Only 4% of PR teams have adjusted.
Some wire releases get cited. In EPR's retrieval study, 47 of 250 wire-distributed releases were cited by AI engines within 90 days.
Regional wires can matter. PR TIMES publishes 46,000 releases a month, and 65% of listed Japanese companies use it.
Details
Scope: pitching, press releases, wires, reporter relationships and earned media measurement.
Related hubs: Media training, Crisis PR, Reputation management.
Last reviewed: October 23, 2026.
The underlying employment figures come from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics program.
