How to Meet the Needs of Journalists in 2025: A Guide for PR Professionals

By Erika Olivo Espinoza

The media landscape has always been dynamic, but today’s journalists are facing new and growing challenges–from exhausting workloads to the spread of disinformation. To uncover how the industry is changing, Muck Rack surveyed more than 1500 journalists for its “State of Journalism 2025” report and webinar. The report revealed new obstacles for journalists and new opportunities for PR pros to adapt and better support journalists.

Key Takeaways from the Webinar

• Top Challenges for Journalists

More than one-third of journalists (36%) identified disinformation and misinformation as the biggest challenge facing the industry today. Close behind, 28% point to a lack of funding, and another 28% say declining public trust in journalism is their top concern. These combined challenges are making it harder for news organizations to sustain operations and connect with audiences while maintaining credibility.

This also affects PR pros, which is why now more than ever, communication teams need to assume responsibility when they pitch to journalists. Not just double-checking sources, but triple-checking. To fight the spread of misinformation, it is important that PR pros don’t distort messaging, instead transparency coupled with clear and consistent messaging will promote credibility.

• The Shift of Social Media

With a dramatic dip from last year's percentage (33%), this year only 23% of journalists claim to use social media to find sources and gain story inspiration. However, this does not mean that social media is going out of style. Forty-five percent of journalists continue to regard social media as an important platform to promote their own work and reach a larger audience.

In the race to see which social media platform journalists prefer, X is steadily losing steam as 41% of journalists reported spending less time on X. At the same time, LinkedIn has been identified by 49% of journalists as the platform they spend the most time on, with an additional 60% of journalists pointing to it as the social media they most trust to treat their content fairly.

In response, PR pros should engage with journalists via social media even when they are not looking to pitch a story. Reposting, liking and commenting will all benefit the journalist and help them reach a larger audience with their post. In turn, when they do receive a pitch from a familiar name they are more likely to consider it. Building a relationship with journalists is an essential part of being a PR pro.

• Freelancing and Independent Publishing

More journalists today are striking out on their own, with about one-third of journalists reporting that they are publishing their work independently. The slow erosion of traditional media and newsrooms have journalists opting to take full control of their content and connect directly with their audiences. Approximately 39% of those journalists make no money from their self-published work and instead work to gain a larger audience and earn credibility.

PR pros should take the time to introduce themselves, research a freelancer’s coverage and target outlets before pitching them anything. Make sure to offer unique angles of the pitch and stay connected as a resource for that journalist beyond the initial pitch. Try to find the balance between offering support and not becoming overbearing for the journalist.

• Media Relations

Journalists getting inundated with PR pitches is nothing new, but still 54% of journalists say they seldom or never respond to pitches. Only half of the respondents stated that PR relationships are important to their success with 14% claiming PR relationships are not important at all. Although these statistics are bleak, a staggering majority of respondents still point to PR professionals as the inspiration to some of their stories.

To increase the likelihood of a journalist responding to a pitch, PR pros need to curate it specifically for them and their audience. Research should always be the first step to any well written pitch. Knowing the journalists’ audience and writing style can reveal if they are really the best journalist to cover your story. After they have covered the pitch, maintaining contacts and staying in the know of their work can significantly influence how they view that professional connection.

Regardless of how you look at it, PR pros play a vital role in journalism and vice versa. As journalists adapt to the changing landscape of media, the role of PR pros must evolve in tandem. Understanding and transforming to journalists’ needs and constraints by delivering clear and consistent messaging, engaging via social media, understanding industry shifts and creating more relevant, targeted pitches will all lead to better collaborative media relationships.