Are you staring at a list of newsroom contacts wondering who the best person to email is? It can be really confusing!
Here's a guide to help you.
I've listed the common job titles you'll see in radio, TV, and local paper newsrooms and explained why these people are good or not so good to contact.
Note that not all outlets will have all these job roles. And in smaller outlets, people will often wear multiple hats. For example, in a radio station, someone could be the music director and the program director. Or in a local newspaper, the managing editor might be the only editor.
Tip: If you've found a relevant story written by someone with a title I've recommended not contacting here, ignore my advice and contact them. This is just general advice and there will be cases where it doesn't apply.
Regional / local newspapers
Local newspapers are great for securing coverage for any regional angles your data might have. They tend to be pretty authoritative and can be easier to land coverage in than national papers.
Larger local papers might even have a digital-specific team that's looking for web and social media friendly content - anyone with 'digital' or 'web' in their job title is always a good person to email.
Job Title | Brief Description | Good Person for PR Pitch? | Reason |
Editor-in-Chief | Oversees the entire newspaper operation, including editorial strategy and daily publication decisions. | No | Sets the overall direction and editorial strategy, but doesn't typically deal with individual stories. |
Managing Editor | Assists the Editor-in-Chief in day-to-day operations and may oversee specific sections. | No | Involved in operational aspects of content production, but again doesn't typically deal with individual stories (unless this is a small publication and they're the only editor). |
Editor (news, features, business, sports, lifestyle, opinion etc) | Manages their beats section, deciding which stories are covered and assigned to reporters. | Yes | Directly responsible for news content, making them a good contact for related PR pitches. They might not write articles, but they can delegate them. In big papers, it can be harder to get noticed by an editor. |
Digital Content Manager | Responsible for the newspaper's online presence, including multimedia content and social media. | Yes | Ideal for digital-focused pitches, especially those that are good for sharing across multiple platforms (i.e. might get likes on social media). |
Beat Reporters | Cover specific topics or areas (e.g., breaking news, city council, education), developing stories related to their beat. Can also have general assignment reporters who cover multiple beats. | Yes | Great people to contact. These are the people that will be writing the articles. Just make sure to pick someone who covers a relevant beat. |
Staff Writers | Writes articles across a variety of topics for the newspaper, not limited to a specific beat. | Yes | Great people to contact because they are responsible for writing articles. |
Assignment Editor | Identifies potential news stories and assigns them to reporters. | Yes | Central to deciding what stories are covered each day, making them key contacts for timely and relevant PR pitches. |
Copy Editor | Reviews and edits articles for clarity, grammar, and adherence to style guidelines before publication. | No | Focuses on editing content, not on selecting stories, making them less relevant for initial PR pitches. |
In smaller papers, editors and writers will often cover multiple beats so they may have a generic 'Editor' title. In this case, you can look at their most recent stories to gauge if you think they'd be interested in your pitch or not.
Tip: If there's a 'tips' email address or a generic 'digital' email, you can include this in your media list too. These emails are monitored and any stories should be forwarded to the appropriate reporter or writer for them to look at.
Radio stations
Radio stations can be easier than other outlets to land stories in because they tend to like 'fun' content and aren't too worried about the robustness of the data.
A mention on the radio won't always lead to a link though, so I'd make it clear (in a polite) way in the pitch that you would be grateful for some web content. If there is a web or digital producer contact in the newsroom, these are great people to pitch to and you're more likely to land a link than if you pitch directly to a host or the program director.
Job Title | Job Description | Good Person for PR Pitch? | Why? |
General Manager | Oversees all station operations, including finance, strategy, and staff management. | No | Primarily focuses on high-level management and strategy, not day-to-day content decisions. |
Operations Manager | Oversees the day-to-day operations of the radio station, ensuring efficiency and effectiveness. | No | In smaller stations, the operations manager can also get involved with program planning, but other contacts are normally more suitable. |
Program Director | Responsible for the station's content, including show scheduling and music selection.
| Maybe | Might be interested in broader thematic pitches or 'fun' content that can be used to fill gaps but generally focuses on overall programming rather than specific stories. |
Music Director | Curates the station's music library and liaises with record labels for new releases and artist interviews. | No | Focus is on music content; not relevant for digital PR pitches. |
News Director | Heads the news department, coordinating news coverage and ensuring timely and accurate news broadcasts. | Maybe | Directly involved in news content decisions, so can be a good contact in smaller stations. In bigger stations, they can be removed from individual stories. |
News Editor | Evaluates news stories and PR pitches for airtime decisions, focusing on relevance and impact. | Yes | Directly responsible for selecting news stories, making them a good contact for news-related PR pitches. |
Assignment Editor | Assigns reporters to cover stories, coordinating logistics of news coverage. | Yes | Involved in the logistical side of story assignments and will find data stories or expert commentary valuable for assigning to reporters. |
On-Air Personality / DJ / Show Host | Hosts live radio shows, interviews guests, and interacts with listeners on-air. | Maybe | If the pitch aligns with their show's theme or interests, they will be a good contact. Likely to be interested in 'fun' content that can be used to fill gaps in their show. |
Web / Digital Producer | Creates and manages digital content for the station's website and online platforms. | Yes | Great person to pitch to if your main goal is a link. |
Content Producer | Responsible for creating and managing content for the radio show. | Yes | Actively works on producing content from pitches, making them a good contact for story pitches. |
TV outlets
A TV newsroom shares some similarities with a radio station in terms of roles and responsibilities, and again there'll often be a 'web producer' type role who is responsible for web stories.
This is who you want to contact if your main goal is a link.
Job Title | Brief Description | Good Person for PR Pitch? | Reason |
News Director | Oversees the entire news department, managing coverage, and ensuring the accuracy and timeliness of broadcasts. | No | typically deal with individual stories. |
Executive Producer | Manages the production of news shows, overseeing content and the integration of stories into the broadcast. | No | Suitable for pitching major breaking stories too, but too high up for more low-impact style digital PR stories. |
Assistant News Director | Assists the News Director in managing the news department and may focus on specific segments or broadcasts. | Maybe | In a smaller newsroom, these might have some involvement in the day-to-day news selection, but I would avoid the in bigger publications. |
Assignment Editors | Coordinate the daily logistics of news coverage, managing resources and communication with reporters in the field. | Yes | Central to day-to-day operations and deciding what stories are covered, making them key contacts for timely and relevant PR pitches. |
Producer | Oversees the creation of individual news segments or entire broadcasts, from concept to on-air presentation. | Yes | Directly responsible for shaping the content and flow of news programs, making them suitable for targeted pitches. |
Reporters | Researches, writes, and presents news stories, often specializing in certain beats or topics. | Yes | On the frontline of content creation and may seek out new stories, making them receptive to pitches that align with their beat or interest areas. |
Anchors | Presents news stories live on air, and may contribute to story development. | Maybe | Some influence on content, but more focused on delivery. Can be interested in pitches that align with their segments or that are very timely (less likely to get a link though). |
Web / Digital Content Producer | Manages and creates content for the TV station’s online platforms, including social media. | Yes | Ideal if you want to guarantee an online write-up for your story, and perfect for stories that would do well on social media. |
Investigative Reporter | Conducts in-depth investigations into stories. | No | Generally interested in detailed, investigative content, not your typical digital PR pitch. |
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