Media pitches that get opened

What is a media pitch?

A media pitch is a short, personalized email to a journalist explaining why your story is relevant to their beat and worth covering now. It is not a press release. It is the cover note that gets the journalist to read the press release.

What makes a media pitch work is how relevant it is to that specific journalist. A pitch that references the reporter's recent coverage, explains why your news fits their beat, and makes it easy for them to respond will outperform a polished but generic pitch every time. Brevity and personalization are the two variables that matter most.

The 24HRPR pitching workflow

Pitch

Browse and validate the journalists who cover your beat. 24HRPR surfaces reporters ranked by how closely their recent coverage and topic focus match your announcement. For each journalist you select, generate a personalized pitch based on your release. Then send each pitch from your own Gmail or Outlook account so replies land in your inbox, not a platform dashboard. You stay in the conversation from first contact through follow-up.

Draft

A strong pitch references a strong press release. 24HRPR guides you through drafting a media-ready release with the right structure before you pitch, so journalists have a complete, citable source to link to.

Publish

Every pitch includes a link to your hosted release page, formatted with structured data and built to be discoverable in AI search engines like ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Claude. Journalists can share the page link directly, which means your story travels beyond the initial contact.

For guidance on what to put in the body of a pitch email, see How to write a pitch email body. For the most common reasons pitches get deleted, see Why journalists delete pitches.

Pricing

You only pay when you email a journalist. Starter is $99 one-time for 50 sends, valid for 12 months. Drafting and publishing are free.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is a media pitch?

A media pitch is a short, targeted email to a journalist that explains why your news is relevant to their coverage area right now. The goal is not to tell the whole story. The goal is to make the journalist want to read the full press release and decide whether to cover it. Pitches that work are typically 100 to 150 words, reference the journalist's recent work, and make a clear ask.

How do I pitch a journalist?

Find a journalist who has recently covered announcements similar to yours. Write a pitch that references one specific piece of their recent coverage, explains why your news is relevant to their beat, and links to your full press release. Keep the pitch under 150 words. Send from your own email address so the reply comes to you. Follow up once after five to seven business days if you hear nothing.

How do I find the right journalist to pitch?

Search for journalists who have covered companies in your space or announcements like yours in the last six months. Relevant coverage history is a better signal than outlet size or follower count. 24HRPR's matching system embeds your press release and ranks journalists by how closely their beat, recent coverage, and topic keywords align with your announcement.

How long should a media pitch be?

100 to 150 words is the practical target for a cold pitch. A subject line that states the news, one or two sentences connecting your story to the journalist's recent work, two or three sentences describing the announcement and why it matters now, and a clear ask. If you need more space than that to explain why the story is relevant, the pitch is not focused enough yet.