Thanks to UK reader Hannah for the inspiration for today’s episode. She asks, “What are the non-negotiable tips for outreaching to US media when response from journalists starts to dip?”

First, how about some context? It’s probably not (entirely) you.

Newsrooms keep shrinking, while PR keeps growing. It’s estimated that in the US there are 7.2 PR specialists for every one journalist. That math is brutal. There are more people asking, fewer people to ask, and those people are already stretched thin.

What’s the key then? Definitely not more pitches. The key is to make the ones you send out absolutely impossible to ignore. (I’m talking piping hot, cheesy, absolutely incredible pizza impossible to ignore.)

A US-based journalist’s first question to themselves is: “Does my audience care?” And to put it bluntly, a US audience mostly cares about US news.

So before you pitch, remember:

It’s not going to take much time at all for a journalist to decide whether they open your email or not. It’s probably the same with you. I know I give subject lines a glance and either delete, open, or file. Why would it be any different for journalists?

A great study on subject line phrasing from my friend Vince at Buzzstream looked at 148,000 real pitches and found that a “clever tease” loses to “plain facts” almost every time.

What this translates to in real life:

💫 🇬🇧 Pro Tip for UK Friends: Use US spelling in the subject line and body. It may be painful for you to do that; however, it’s a small signal that shows you understand their audience.

The UK has one time zone. The US has six, with four in the continental US alone. “I’ll send it in the morning” can mean very different times!

Peak engagement times are:

Publications: 8-9 a.m. local time
Journalists: 9-11 a.m. local time

The best day of the week is Monday. Fridays bring a sharp taper-off and weekend activity is just not there.

Use LinkedIn or other tools to see where the journalist actually is, not just where the publication is from.

Lucky UK! You’re 5 hours ahead of New York, so your 2pm is their 9 am, giving you time to get an extra polish on that pitch.

💫 Pro Tip: Use an email tool to schedule a 9 a.m. send-out according to recipient’s time zone.

Keep pitches short. Provide links to media kits, data, images, etc. Skip the attachments. Send images as links.

Offer quotes that sound like a human and are free from industry words.

Follow up smartly, not rudely. And send a thank you after coverage runs.

Choose relevance over exclusives.

Small things that scream “foreign pitch” and get a quick delete:

⚠️ Holidays to remember: Thanksgiving week (4th week in November), July 4th week, and late August are near-dead times for US news. Oh, and if it’s election year – yeah it’s pretty rough out there for everyone – so just remember that elections upend everything.

Question for my international readers: What tips do you have for PR pros pitching to the UK, Australia, or other territories?

Do this now: Before you hit send on your next US pitch check

✅ Is there a US angle, data, or voice?
✅ Is the subject line under 50 characters and written using US spelling?
✅ Have you removed awkward percentages?
✅ Do the first three words of the subject line convey the news?
✅ What local time will it land? (9–11 a.m. local time is good.)
✅ Have you avoided Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays, and US holidays?
✅ Is everything linked rather than attached?
✅ Are key points bulleted, and are quotes easy to find?
✅ Dollars, miles, Fahrenheit, US dates?

Learn from others.

Martha dressing up as a homeless person is not helping her or people experiencing homelessness.

Martha Stewart, for some reason decided to dress up with a dirty face and ripped clothing, pretending she was homeless for Halloween. She then posted it alongside candles she was trying to sell. She said she was trying to raise awareness about homelessness.

The post went up on Halloween. The backlash was immediate. People called it out as mocking homelessness, which isn’t a small thing. In the US, more than 745,000 people experienced homelessness in January 2025. Stewart deleted the post, but screenshots last forever.

Her first apology was the “sorry you were offended” type. It was about her intentions. Her second apology, however, said “It’s hard to admit when you’ve really screwed up…I am very sorry.” Finally she took ownership, but it was a long time coming.

✍️ Key PR Takeaway: Apologize for the impact, not your intentions. Take ownership immediately and avoid the temptation to shift blame. Say what you are doing to make changes.

Better yet, don’t do something that puts you in that place in the first place. Run things by a team that is trusted and won’t just tell you what you want to hear. If you can’t write a good apology in the first round, get some help fast. The quicker the apology, the better.

If awareness was really the goal, don’t use a costume. Donate the candle proceeds to homeless charities, or use your media empire to spotlight great organizations. That’s something that would have gotten positive press.

Ritter is a 3-year-old Chihuahua–rat terrier mix who considers himself everybody’s friend. This adopted pooch has never met a stranger and is the ultimate attention seeker, according to his person, whom I met last week in North Carolina. Well, Ritter, she was right: you are a pretty good attention seeker. You caught my attention!

North Carolina, may I say: your foliage is stunning, your mountains are majestic, and your food is a bit undersalted. ⛰️ 🍂 🧂

Until next week, keep your shades on and stay cool.

Your fellow Seeker,
Keren

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