That question needs an answer well before anyone starts writing the press release.

A company may have a strong product, experienced people and important internal news. Journalists apply a different test. They look for relevance to the public, timing, novelty, impact and credible evidence.

When the material is there, media relations services shape the angle, prepare information and spokespeople, and approach appropriate outlets. When it is not there yet, serious advice should say so and help the company find a stronger route.

What makes a company story relevant to the media

A business story becomes stronger when it moves beyond the organisation and connects with the lives, work or decisions of the audience.

That standard matters in a fragmented news environment. The Reuters Institute’s Digital News Report 2026 found that the proportion of people who describe themselves as extremely or very interested in news fell by an average of 13 percentage points across the markets compared with 2021. Relevance cannot be assumed.

Useful signals include:

• new data about a sector, market or behaviour
• a change that affects customers, professionals or society
• an innovation with a practical application
• a decision with consequences that can be verified
• expert knowledge that helps explain a current issue
• people, context and a clear sense of why the story matters now

A real example: EY and the return to the office in the AI era

In August 2026, EY UK asked younger consulting professionals to spend more time in the office. The decision became news because it connected with an issue that reaches far beyond the company: as artificial intelligence takes on more technical tasks, human skills such as empathy, communication, storytelling and leadership become more important in early-career development. The story was reported by The Times and Scottish Financial News.

Here, the story is not simply that EY wants more people in the office. The editorial interest lies in the reason for the decision and its connection with a current debate about AI, human skills and the future of work.

“We have launched a new service” describes something that happened within a company. “Portuguese companies are changing how they onboard new employees, and these data show why” opens a broader conversation.

The service can be part of the story, but it needs an editorial reason that goes beyond selling.

Timing also matters. Research about summer travel sent in November has missed its moment. A specialist who comments on a regulatory change after every major outlet has already explained it arrives too late.

What media relations services actually do

Media relations services connect three worlds: what the organisation knows, what editors consider relevant and what the public needs to understand.

Identify potential stories

The work looks for developments, data, specialists, projects, changes and human stories. Not every subject needs a press release. Some work better as an interview, an expert comment, an opinion article or a direct conversation with one journalist.

Develop the angle

A useful angle explains what happened, why it matters now, who is affected and what evidence exists. This protects the story from promotional language and helps identify the right outlet. It also distinguishes sponsored content from editorial coverage. Sponsored content requires payment to the media outlet and is handled by its commercial team. Editorial coverage is handled by journalists and does not involve paying the outlet for publication.

Prepare materials

Press releases, background notes, press kits, biographies, questions and answers, images and data should make verification easier. Attractive materials with vague information add work for the journalist. Unless the story is particularly strong, there may be neither the time nor the staff to investigate further.

Prepare spokespeople

An interview needs clear messages, examples, confirmed facts and readiness for difficult questions. The spokesperson needs to understand the story and their role in it, without memorising a speech.

Build professional media relationships

A contact list needs criteria. Good media relations follows editorial areas, formats and professional interests. Sending the same pitch to a large list may increase the number of emails while reducing trust.

Follow up and evaluate

Publication remains an editorial decision. The work includes answering requests, correcting information and recording results. Quality and relevance matter more than a simple count of links.

When external media relations services make sense

Companies often seek support at one of these moments:

A launch or material change

A new solution, investment, partnership, expansion, study or leadership change may be newsworthy when it has a wider effect on a market or community.

Expertise that explains a current issue

Internal specialists can contribute to public debate when they have useful evidence, availability and the ability to explain without turning every answer into a sales presentation.

A lack of internal structure

The company has potential stories, but nobody gathers data, validates information, prepares spokespeople or maintains media relationships. External support can introduce method and clear responsibilities.

A sensitive moment

Change, incidents and difficult decisions require consistent messages and quick responses. Media relations may need to work alongside leadership, legal teams and crisis communication.

A medium-term reputation goal

Credible visibility develops through consistency. One article may help, but an ongoing relationship needs useful topics, reliable spokespeople and respect for editorial independence.

Examples of SAB Comunicar’s media relations results

These principles also guide SAB Comunicar’s client projects. Explore real examples of SAB Comunicar’s media relations work that led to news coverage, and see how different subjects became stories with editorial value.

External support has less value when the only aim is to “get coverage” or when the information cannot be verified. An initial diagnosis separates ambition from a realistic editorial opportunity.

What the company needs to prepare for media relations services

The work progresses faster when the organisation knows who decides, who confirms the facts and who can speak.

Before approaching the media, prepare:

• A communication objective: define what the company wants people to understand and which audiences matter. Coverage may support reputation, awareness, trust or the explanation of a change. Different objectives may need different indicators.
• Facts and evidence: gather data, dates, sources, documents, examples and permission to disclose them. Numbers without a method or context weaken a pitch.
• A spokesperson: choose someone who knows the subject and can explain it clearly
• An approval process: decide who approves materials and how quickly they can respond. A response that takes three days can mean missing an editorial opportunity.
• Realistic expectations: no serious adviser guarantees publication. They can commit to work, preparation, judgement, appropriate contacts and follow-up. The final decision always belongs to the outlet. Newspapers, magazines, radio stations, television channels and portals belong to the organisations that own and run them. Their editors decide what to publish and control the content. Think of it as a relationship to build, rather than a supplier-client transaction.

The most senior person is not automatically the right spokesperson. The right choice depends on the angle, the required expertise and the questions a journalist is likely to ask.

How to assess a proposal for media relations services

A strong proposal explains the problem, scope and way of working. Before choosing support, look for five things.

Knowledge of the business and sector

The team should understand what the company does, who needs to hear the message and which subjects already occupy the media space.

Editorial judgement

Ask how angles, outlets and journalists are selected. A promise based only on the size of a database says little about quality.

Internal preparation

Check whether the work covers information gathering, message development, materials and spokesperson preparation. Media relations starts inside the company.

Process and responsibilities

The proposal should define deliverables, timing, approvals, contacts and responses to opportunities. Without this map, urgency takes over.

Measurement

Assess the relevance of the outlets, the quality of the messages, potential reach, enquiries and contribution to reputation goals. Value does not fit into one number.

Turning company knowledge into editorial interest

Media relations services work when there is a bridge between what the company knows and what the public needs to understand.

That bridge needs evidence, timing, clear messages, prepared spokespeople and respect for journalism. It also requires the confidence to stop a weak press release and invest in a better story.

SAB Comunicar helps companies identify angles, prepare materials and spokespeople, and build professional relationships with the media. Explore SAB Comunicar’s media relations services or contact us to explain the context and objective. An initial conversation can establish whether there is a viable story and what support would be useful.

By

SAB Comunicar

Last updated: 27 October 2026

One of the most “astonishing” questions I have ever been asked was about inviting journalists to a press presentation. Whether such a thing existed. And what the investment would be.

In that case, the investment would be the cost of breakfast for the group.

The subject was relevant and innovative. A unique technology, developed by Portuguese people in Portugal, using typically Portuguese materials and exported to leading global clients. It attracted the interest of several areas of the media – business, science and technology.

My interlocutors, experts in this technology but unfamiliar with the world of communication, kept insisting on knowing the total investment. Until I realised that, for them, a presentation to the press had to be paid for in order to have an audience.

It is useful to have different experiences. They allow us to understand the world through other people’s eyes.

Having worked in journalism and business communication makes my life easier when I need to build a bridge between the two. I read the “State of the Media” study recently published by Cision, which identifies important ideas for companies and press officers who want to build better relationships with journalists.

Because I believe we understand each other better when we understand the world of “others” – in this case, journalists and the media – I have selected the journalists’ responses and the ideas from this study that I consider most relevant.

Why does communicating well with journalists matter?

Journalists receive many pitches, emails and requests for attention. For a company or press officer, communicating well with journalists means respecting the time, subject area, audience and editorial context of each media outlet.

Communicating with journalists

Email, email, email. Use email to contact journalists. This is what journalists themselves say. Given their workload, this is the only way to manage information and make sure it is not lost.

Send concise information by email, with resources included and links that do not expire – avoid the free version of WeTransfer – and limit your follow-up. Once is enough.

Making sure the content is 100% accurate is more important than feedback, exclusivity or being the first to publish.

This concern remains relevant: Cision highlights relevance, accuracy and trust as central themes in the relationship between journalists and communication professionals. See the State of the Media report.

Having a guest or expert available for a video interview online is more useful than ever.

It is important to step away from the perspective of the brand you are working for and think about whether someone who has never heard of that brand would be interested in the story you are communicating.

Try to read the information you are sending through the eyes of a reporter.

How can communication be improved? Suggestions from journalists

“The inclusion of data or resources that a writer can investigate for context, and a unique angle that presents a bigger idea behind the story. Do not just tell me about the client.”

“Do not communicate ‘ideas’ that are clearly there to serve your clients. Communicate a trend they fit into or offer your expertise on a subject I might be writing about.”

“Tell me directly, in one or two sentences, why it is important for the public to know this – not just why it is important for the company or client.”

“The most important thing is to get to know me, my publication and my readers, and propose solutions that help us create great content that generates views.”

“Do not bother me with unrelated topics – I hit the ‘trash’ button faster to clear my inbox.”

If you received between 51 and 100 emails a week presenting “new ideas”, how many could you answer within two days? 25% of the journalists who responded to the study receive this kind of email.

7 strategies for sending more effective emails to journalists

• Keep emails brief and to the point.
• Provide all the materials needed for the story, including images and links. Assume the journalist will not reply to your email, but may write a story based on the information included in it.
• Include the press release to provide additional context.
• Be strategic with the links you include.
• Provide timing. Is the news under embargo? Make sure the news is not yet public.
• If it is possible to offer an interview, make that clear.
• Make sure the links work outside your organisation.

What should companies avoid when contacting journalists?

Companies should avoid generic contacts, topics with little relevance, excessive insistence and messages focused only on the brand’s own interests. To capture journalists’ attention, the information should be clear, useful, accurate and suited to the audience of the media outlet.

Practical summary for companies and press officers

To be more useful to journalists, companies and press officers should send information that is relevant, accurate, brief and contextualised. The aim is not just to promote a brand, but to help the journalist understand why that topic matters to their audience.

Of the ideas you have read, which suggestion caught your attention the most? What will you do differently tomorrow?

If this topic is important for your company, find out more about SAB Comunicar’s communication and press office services.

PS: Share this article with a friend, client or colleague who needs to know these strategies.

By

SAB Comunicar