How to lose a journalist in 10 ways (or even days?)
By Michaela Krause
Ever wondered why your groundbreaking news isn't making headlines? Why journalists aren't frantically calling you back? While most PR advice focuses on best practices, let's explore the express lane to media obscurity.
Consider this your anti-navigation chart—all the black holes to avoid in your PR journey. 🚀 Perfect these ten techniques, and I guarantee both journalists and your PR agency will be running for the exit faster than a spacecraft with a fuel leak.
1. Demand immediate coverage with no news
"We've been working together for over a month now, we paid our first invoice. Why aren't we in Handelsblatt yet?"
The quickest way to frustrate both journalists and your agency is to insist on instant news coverage when you have absolutely nothing newsworthy to share or when you just started your communication effort. No product launch, no funding announcement, no original research, no brand awareness to begin with—just a burning desire to see your company name in print, but not the patience to craft a compelling story together with your comms team first.
2. Be so deep in your project you can't see how irrelevant it is
After months of development, your minor product update feels revolutionary. No one can really blame you. The three extra buttons you've added to your app? Clearly the innovation of the decade!
This immersion blindness is perfectly natural—but letting it drive your PR strategy is a perfect way to alienate journalists. The intense focus that makes you successful at product development can blind you to how the outside world perceives your news.
3. Master the art of unrealistic expectations
"Why doesn't my industry newsletter announcement have the same reach as our latest product launch?"
Nothing hastens an agency breakup like impossible expectations. Demanding Apple or Amazon-level coverage for your small business announcement shows a fundamental misunderstanding of how the media works. And ignoring what your agency has to say about it will make nobody happy.
Setting your expectations too high is like expecting your model rocket to reach Mars. The laws of physics—and media—simply don't work that way. 🪐
4. Misunderstand what embargoes and exclusives actually mean
"This is EXCLUSIVE and UNDER STRICT EMBARGO until Tuesday: We are a start-up and we have updated our company logo."
Nothing confuses journalists more than misusing media terms like "exclusive" or "embargo." An embargo is essentially a convenience for journalists to prepare content ahead of time—not a magical tool that transforms mundane updates into breaking news. Similarly, an exclusive actually needs to be, well, exclusive to a single outlet. (Read more about it here)
The fastest way to lose credibility is believing that attaching these labels automatically increases your news value. When a journalist receives your "embargoed announcement" about routine office renovations, they're not thinking, "This must be important!" They're wondering why you're wasting their time with procedural tactics.
5. Perfect your disappearing act during approval processes
Here's a classic: Your agency secures a coveted interview opportunity with a top publication. The journalist has a tight deadline—responses needed by 5 PM. Your agency sends you the questions by 10 AM. Then... silence. Your phone mysteriously loses reception. Your email stops working. You're suddenly in back-to-back meetings until tomorrow.
At 4:55 PM, you resurface: "Sorry, I was busy. Can they wait until next week?" Spoiler: they can’t.
6. Share sensitive information then try to claw it back
"I just realized I shouldn't have said that. Can you ask the journalist to remove it?"
Nothing strains agency-journalist relationships faster than the post-interview regret spiral. After freely sharing confidential information or making controversial statements, attempting to retract quotes creates an ethical dilemma for everyone involved.
7. Become an expert in last-minute strategy changes
"I know we approved the messaging/planning yesterday, but I've been thinking..."
The special chaos of pivoting your entire communication direction 24 hours before a press event is a guaranteed way to sabotage coverage. Your agency has briefed journalists, prepared materials, and aligned stakeholders—and suddenly you want to emphasize completely different aspects.
Changing flight coordinates mid-mission rarely ends with a successful landing. 🛸
8. Ignoring the importance of media training local market experts
"We don't need to prepare the German team leads—let's just have our global CMO dial in from headquarters again."
A surefire way to frustrate journalists is repeatedly offering spokespeople disconnected from their market reality. When a German business journalist wants specific insights about local operations, offering only your Silicon Valley executive who can't speak to regional nuances signals you don't understand their needs.
Even worse is having relevant local experts but refusing to invest in preparing them for media engagement. Your German Country Manager might have perfect market knowledge but needs confidence and messaging guidance—yet you keep pushing headquarters spokespeople instead.
The disconnect becomes painfully obvious in interviews. The journalist wants to discuss pears, bananas, and pineapples in the German market, but your spokesperson can only confidently discuss apples and occasional pears from a global perspective. The resulting coverage—if any—reflects this mismatch.
9. Treat your agency's journalist relationships as disposable
"Just push harder! Tell them we need this covered!"
Your agency has spent years building relationships with journalists based on trust and mutual respect. The fastest way to destroy these connections is to insist they leverage these relationships inappropriately or make unreasonable demands.
10. Demand quantifiable ROI for every press mention
"How many direct sales did that thought leadership piece generate?"
The relentless pursuit of immediate, measurable returns from every press mention demonstrates a fundamental misunderstanding of how PR builds value over time.
If you are able to point Laika to an independent non-client owned tool that will automatically boil down every single purchase path back to reading such or such article even days ago, please reach out to us. That is, of course, if this information is not under embargo.
Building for success
Of course, what you really want is the opposite of everything above—meaningful coverage, strong agency relationships, and sustainable PR momentum.
The reality is that PR success doesn't follow a straight line. It builds like potential energy, often appearing dormant before creating substantial impact. The typical PR momentum curve moves through distinct phases:
First comes the foundation phase—developing messaging, building media relationships, creating content frameworks. This appears frustratingly quiet from the client side.
Next is the resistance phase, where initial outreach meets limited response. Minor placements begin, but the "big hits" remain elusive.
The tipping point arrives when something catalyzes interest—perhaps an industry trend aligns with your message, or a smaller placement catches the eye of a major outlet.
Finally comes the avalanche, when suddenly everyone wants to cover your story. The momentum appears to build effortlessly, though it's actually the result of months of groundwork.
The most effective client-agency relationships are built on realistic expectations, genuine news value, strategic patience, and mutual respect. When these elements align, the results can be extraordinary. Try to rush the process, and you'll find yourself stuck in an endless cycle of failed launches.
PR success, like space exploration, rewards those who understand that reaching orbit requires careful calculation, adequate resources, and the right trajectory—not just raw force. The journey might take longer than expected, but the view from orbit is worth it.