Welcome To Your Media Strategy Intervention

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Remember when landing a New York Times or Wall Street Journal mention was the be-all and end-all of PR wins? (It’s still great, but we don’t settle.) 

Ah, simpler times. The media landscape has gotten a serious makeover, and the usual suspects aren't the only players getting attention anymore. Founders are looking beyond traditional publications and have their sights set on some impressive new rookies. 

Basically, the places where their audiences are spending more of their time. 

And if your media strategy still looks like it did five years ago, you might have a problem.

A recent Inc. Magazine survey of 100+ PR and communications pros offered a pretty interesting look at where founders want to be featured right now. And it made us wonder: Are most PR pros pitching the outlets that matter most to their clients? Or just the ones they've always pitched?

The Inc. survey's top 14 most-wanted outlets paint a pretty different picture than the typical media hit list. Podcasts, Substacks, independent publishers, and creator-led media make up a significant chunk of the lineup (think The Diary of a CEO, Dwarkesh Podcast, Lenny's Podcast, Feed Me, and TBPN).

So, what's the appeal? 

For starters, these platforms offer access to highly engaged, niche audiences and industry communities. Smaller pond, bigger fish.

They’re also much more open to personality. A podcast conversation or a Substack feature can give a founder room to share their expertise, opinions, and show up as themselves fully, which is way different than squeezing a quote into a 500-word news story.

But wait, wait, wait – don’t stress. Deep breaths – in for four, out for four. We’re not saying to toss out all the classics.

Half of the survey respondents still named The Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg, Fortune, and The New York Times as essential Tier 1 placements. They still carry serious credibility, particularly when building legitimacy with investors, boards, and other key stakeholders.

Abandoning outlets that have historically delivered results is not the point. 

The point is to stop treating them like they’re the only ones worth pursuing. 

Don’t think of it as Team Traditional Media vs. Team New Media. More like building the ultimate media Avengers. 🦸

AI is making things have a much longer shelf life than before. 

Media coverage doesn't necessarily stop working once someone reads an article or listens to an interview thanks to AI-powered search tools. They’re pulling information from errrrrywhere.

Take Axios, for example. The Inc. survey noted that the publication has become a hotter pitching target following a Muck Rack study that found all three major LLMs regularly cite it. 

An interesting shift in how PR pros evaluate media value: not just who reads the coverage, but whether AI is surfacing it.

Podcasts are getting in on this, too. They're no longer just for listening during your commute or pretending to enjoy your morning run. Many shows publish full episodes on YouTube, creating another opportunity for their content to be discovered, indexed, and potentially referenced by AI tools.

This adds a few more questions to the media-planning process:

Who's getting cited? Which publications and sources appear in AI-generated answers within your client's industry?

Will this coverage have staying power? Will a placement continue to generate visibility beyond its initial publication date?

Is the content discoverable? How does the publication distribute and archive its content? Are interviews and episodes available on searchable platforms like YouTube?

Remember when it was just SEO? 🙃

A strong media strategy has never been about securing the most placements. 

It's about choosing the right ones. 

That takes a little more thought than adding another big-name publication to the list.

Audience first, outlet second.

Are you trying to build brand awareness, establish credibility with investors, reach potential customers, or position an executive as an industry voice? Those goals call for different audiences and different outlets. Start with what the business needs to accomplish, then work backward to the people you need to reach.

Build a balanced mix, and be intentional about where you invest. 

Look beyond the logo and consider which outlets offer the most value for each objective. A niche industry newsletter might not carry the same name recognition as The Wall Street Journal, but it could put an executive in front of exactly the right audience.

Match the opportunity to the spokesperson. 

Not every executive is right for every platform. Some are great in a fast-paced news interview; others shine in a long-form podcast conversation or a niche industry newsletter. Look at the full picture: their expertise, communication style, perspective, and even personal interests. An executive’s POV doesn’t have to begin and end with their job title, after all. They’re building a personal brand, too! 

Start rubbing elbows before you need something.

Don't wait until a big announcement to introduce yourself to leaders in new channels. Strong media relationships take time, and newer platforms may require a different approach to outreach than traditional newsrooms. The best time to make an introduction is long before you need a favor.

Prepare for a little client convincing.

Some clients will always want the biggest name on the list. That's understandable, but part of a PR pro's job is explaining why a smaller, highly relevant placement can be just as valuable. Sometimes the best placement isn't the one they'll recognize immediately.

PR Reality Check (List)

Time for a little spring cleaning. Except it's November, and we're cleaning up media lists instead of closets.

Pull up your current media list (pick a client, any client) and give it an honest audit:

Remember, the goal isn't to replace every legacy publication with the latest buzzy podcast or start pitching every Substack with a decent subscriber count. 

It's to make sure your media strategy is built around where the audience is paying attention.

The floor’s yours!

What's one outlet or platform you've added to your media strategy recently that wouldn't have made your list a few years ago? 

If you were building your media strategy from scratch today, what's the first thing you'd change?

We’d love to hear your take.

Ash & Lizzy

Who's going where and why it matters. Not just job shifts - power dynamics, layoffs, and who's headed out.

👀 Forbes has launched a new newsletter, called “The Billie.” Its goal is to turn the outlet’s billionaires coverage into a reading hub.

🎉 LIFE is returning to print!

🎉 Bobby Allyn is joining Bloomberg to lead coverage of the prediction market industry.

👀 Nathan Becker is now a Lead Editor at 9fin covering all things debt.

🧳 Chris Isidore is leaving CNN after 27+ years.

🎉 Adrianne Jeffries is now a senior video journalist at The New York Times.

🎉 Sharmistha Mukherjee is now a Senior Editor at The Economic Times.

🧳 Stephen Nellis has left Reuters, and likely journalism altogether.

🎉 Christian Wait is a new editor at Engadget.

Get to know Ashley and Lizzy, learn more about The Colab, or pass The Brief along to a friend who should be reading this too.