Why It's So Hard To Get Press Coverage

Most companies don’t need convincing that PR matters. The value of third-party credibility is evident. Being quoted, referenced or featured in the press carries a different sort of weight to anything you could say about yourself. And yet, PR remains one of the hardest disciplines to execute consistently because it operates under constraints that most other forms of marketing simply don’t.

PR Runs on Other People’s Timelines

Unlike advertising or owned content, PR is not done on your schedule.

Journalists are working to deadlines you don’t control, on stories you didn’t initiate, for audiences you don’t define. Opportunities appear suddenly and expire quickly. A request for comment at 9am can be irrelevant by lunchtime. It makes PR structurally difficult for organisations already juggling delivery, operations and internal priorities. Even when the intent is there, the capacity often isn’t.

The Window Is Often Narrow

Some of the best opportunities are not broad, long-planned features. They are narrow requests: a quote, a short perspective, a case example, a reaction. The value lies not in volume, but in fit and fit is often time-sensitive. Miss the window, and the opportunity is simply gone. There is rarely a second chance.

It's not a failure of strategy. it's simply how modern media works.

Knowing What to Say Is Not the Same as Knowing How to Say It

Even when organisations see an opportunity and have something useful to contribute, translating internal expertise into editorial language is rarely straightforward.

What works for one publication may be unusable for another. A comment that lands well in a trade title may be too technical for a national outlet, while something written at length may simply be ignored if a journalist needs two sharp lines by a deadline. Tone, structure and word count matter as much as the point itself. PR demands judgement: about what is actually newsworthy, how a journalist is framing the story, and what can be left unsaid without weakening its contribution. It also demands speed with an understanding that clarity often improves the odds of being selected.

This is difficult to do ad hoc, particularly for organisations whose expertise is deep, technical or context-heavy. Knowing the subject is only part of the task. Knowing how to shape it for the space it needs to fit is what turns expertise into usable PR.

PR requires:

• judgement about what is genuinely newsworthy

• an understanding of how journalists frame stories

• restraint, knowing what to leave out

• and speed, without sloppiness

PR Is Reputational, Not Transactional

Another reason PR feels hard is that it doesn’t behave like a linear marketing channel.

There is no guaranteed output and usually- no feedback if your quote wasn't used.

Behind the Scenes

What you don't see, is the sheer volume of journalist enquiries circulating every day. Requests for contributors, expert comment, case studies and insight come in constantly, across business, technology, consumer, lifestyle and specialist media. Many are highly specific. Many are relevant. All are time-limited. Organisations without the right access usually never see them. Others might see one or two, but lack the time, confidence or even internal sign off to respond quickly enough.

Closing the PR Gap

It's the gap we see most often. Businesses want PR coverage, but they don’t have the capacity to sit where opportunities surface, when they surface. Businesses know what they want to say, but don’t have the experience to tailor it to the expectations of each publication. At Aye Media, we receive hundreds of journalist enquiries every day, spanning a wide range of publications; from Forbes and The Guardian to Sky News, BBC, and lifestyle titles such as House Beautiful, Men's Health and Cosmopolitan. Broadcasters, consumer publications and specialist outlets are always on the look out for informed voices and real-world examples particularly when something is topical. Access to these enquiries tends to rely on established journalist relationships and, paid services that most organisations couldn't justify subscribing to individually. By carrying that access on behalf of our clients, we’re able to surface relevant opportunities that would otherwise remain invisible.

Thinking of doing your own PR? Our DIY PR guide covers what works, what doesn’t, and what journalists actually respond to.