Why "Newsjacking" Rarely Works
Thu, Sep. 11, 2025
By Renee Sieli
Newsjacking promises quick wins, but often delivers silence, not coverage.
| Category: Media Relations | Return to Latest News |
Newsjacking promises quick wins, but often delivers silence, not coverage.
The media landscape has been radically transformed by digital acceleration, AI integration, the collapse of traditional newsrooms and an increasingly polarized public discourse. Against this backdrop, PR has shifted from a support function to a strategic core of organizational identity, resilience and trust.
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The ranks of the players in the pay-to-play game have been increasing, and PR people have at times had no choice to use it more frequently as part of their PR playbook.
When a media pitch doesn’t land, it’s time to stop wasting time. Take a step back (or several) and take a deep dive to pivot your pitch. It can be the difference between crickets and coverage.
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When it comes to media relations, one of the smartest tools in a communicator’s playbook is newsjacking – not as a gimmick, but as a strategic way to insert brands into timely, relevant conversations. Fahlgren Mortine VP Lauren Meckstroth discusses this technique with D S Simon Media CEO Doug Simon on latest PR's Top Pros Talk podcast. |
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More than a quarter of PR pros today said they're using generative artificial intelligence to create press releases, and nearly half said they plan to do so in the future, according to a PR Newswire survey.
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Media guru Marshall McLuhan's observation about the “mosaic” quality of newspapers applies more than ever in the digital age.
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