Got stories to pitch? We’ve got good news!

To celebrate our birthday, we’re giving PRs 30 days of unrestricted access to Synapse. Yep, that means unlimited pitch posting for a whole month.

Oh, and if you are already on a free account, you won’t want to miss this. And if you’re new to Synapse, now’s a great time to join.

Right, onto The Loop with live journo requests, what journalists want, PR tips and the news worth knowing this week. 👇

Unlock your 30 days of unrestricted access

👀 WHAT JOURNALISTS WANT

Your weekly look at what journalists are asking for on Synapse

TRENDING SECTORS THIS WEEK

  • Home & Garden – 19%
  • Lifestyle – 19%
  • Medical & Pharma – 12%
  • Health – 12%
  • Food & Drink – 12%

Something we spotted:

Home & Garden is back in the lead, with journalists looking for everything from cleaning experts to home appliances and electrical safety advice. Lifestyle is having a busy week too, while health-related requests range from specialist medical advice to real-life experiences.

Based on journalist requests posted on Synapse from 5 – 12 October 2026.

See all live journalist requests

🔥 MUST READ PR TIP

 …because the best PR advice comes straight from the people who know

Journalist Rosie Taylor has noticed more PR pitches landing in her inbox tied to awareness days. But does giving your story a calendar hook actually make it more newsworthy?

“Editors couldn’t care less about it being an awareness day/week/month.”

That doesn’t mean awareness days are always a bad idea. Rosie recently had a national news outlet commission a story using exactly that approach. The trick is making sure you’ve got a story worth telling in the first place. If the awareness day adds a timely reason to cover it, great, but if it’s the only reason you’re pitching, you might want to rethink it.

👉 Claim your free post here

🗞️ PR-Y STUFF

 The PR and media bits worth knowing this week

  • Getting into AI answers? Digital PR isn’t a shortcut – Siege Media founder Ross Hudgens tells BuzzStream that chasing links and AI citations alone isn’t enough. He argues that brand mentions, relevant coverage and relationships with the right journalists matter more than mass outreach. The big question for PRs is whether your campaign is reaching people who might actually become customers, or just getting coverage for the sake of it. read more
  • Reach and Google strike a deal to pay for news content – Reach, the publisher behind the Mirror, Express and more than 120 news brands, has joined Google’s news AI pilot, giving Google enhanced rights to its content in exchange for payment. With publishers looking for new ways to make money, it’s a positive step towards making journalism more sustainable. After all, PR relies on a healthy news industry, so finding ways for publishers to get paid for their work is good news for both. read more
  • AI could make PR’s measurement problem even worse – Ilex Content Strategies CEO Lucia Barbato warns that tracking brand mentions in ChatGPT and AI search could become just another set of numbers on the dashboard. Being visible in AI answers is useful, but it doesn’t automatically mean business results. read more
  • PR wants future leaders, but who’s training them? – New research from Baylor University suggests the PR industry is expecting too much from emerging leaders without giving them the support to get there. Stephen Waddington highlights gaps in communication, judgement and business skills, with remote and hybrid working making it harder to learn by watching experienced colleagues. read more

🔎 LIVE JOURNO REQUESTS

Here’s what journalists are currently looking for on Synapse:

Freelance:

Want to dive deeper? Have a nose through all the live requests on the marketplace

📆 NEXT MONTH’S HOOKS

…a little head start on what’s coming up in November.

  • 📰 2 Nov: Intl Day to End Impunity for Crimes against Journalists
  • 🏇 3 Nov: Melbourne Cup (AU) – Taking place at Flemington Racecourse in Melbourne, offering a staggering $10,000,000 in total prize money
  • 🏦 5 Nov: Bank of England MPC Summary, minutes & Monetary Policy Report
  • 🎬 6 Nov: “The Cat in the Hat” (Warner Bros) – An upcoming animated film directed by Alessandro Carloni and Erica Rivinoja.
  • 🏉 6 Nov: Rugby Union Nations Championship, Round 4 begins – Ireland vs Argentina takes place at the Aviva Stadium as part of the Round 4 weekend.
  • 💻 9 Nov: Web Summit 2026 – Taking place in Lisbon, the conference features 32 distinct industry tracks and includes programs for startups, creators, and investors
  • 🔬 10 Nov: World Science Day for Peace and Development
  • 📈 12 Nov: GDP first quarterly estimate, UK: Jul–Sep 2026
  • 📈 12 Nov: GDP monthly estimate, UK: September 2026
  • 🎬 13 Nov: “Ebenezer: A Christmas Carol” (Paramount) – starring Johnny Depp
  • 💻 17 Nov: Microsoft Ignite 2026 – At the Moscone Center in San Francisco, CA, with digital attendance available worldwide
  • 📊 17 Nov: UK Labour Market: November 2026
  • 📊 18 Nov: Consumer price inflation, UK: October 2026
  • 🏎️ 19 Nov: Formula 1 Las Vegas Grand Prix kicks off
  • 🎬 20 Nov: “The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping” (Lionsgate) – Takes place 24 years before the events of “The Hunger Games”
  • 🇬🇧  20 Nov: EU-UK Summit 2026 – The UK and EU will meet for a summit, with discussions expected to focus on their relationship and future cooperation.
  • 🎬 25 Nov: “Focker-in-Law” (Universal) – The film brings back Ben Stiller, Robert De Niro, Owen Wilson, with Ariana Grande joining the star-studded cast
  • 🛍️ 27 Nov: Black Friday
  • 🏎️ 27 Nov: Formula 1 Qatar Grand Prix – Formula 1 heads to Doha for the Qatar Grand Prix weekend.
  • 💻 30 Nov: AWS re:Invent 2026 – The conference heavily centers on agentic AI, Amazon Bedrock updates, and next-generation silicon
  • 🛍️ 30 Nov: Cyber Monday

 …and if November isn’t far enough ahead for you… 👇 

 

📆 PR CALENDAR 2026

 …for the PRs who like to be three pitches ahead. 

Still looking for your next PR hook?

There’s plenty happening between now and the end of 2026. Think big film releases, economic announcements, sporting events and all those dates that could give your next pitch a timely angle.

We’ve rounded them up in our free PR Calendar, so you don’t have to go hunting for them.

Get planning today!

Got something worth pitching?

 Got a story, expert, case study or bit of data journalists should know about? 

Head to the marketplace now or simply send it to pitches@synapse.media (or add us to your media list) and we’ll make sure it reaches the right journalists.

We are celebrating our birthday, so we thought we’d do something nice for you lovely PRs who haven’t joined us yet.

For a limited time, new PR users can get 30 days of Synapse completely free.

Yup, that’s 30 days to find live journalist requests, pitch your clients, get your experts in front of journalists and see what Synapse can do for your PR.

How’s the sound of that? You let us know!

Start your 30 days free

👀 WHAT JOURNALISTS WANT

Your weekly look at what journalists are asking for on Synapse

TRENDING SECTORS THIS WEEK

  • Medical & Pharma – 19%
  • Science – 19%
  • Technology – 19%
  • Arts & Entertainment – 13%
  • Food & Drink – 13%

Something we spotted:
Specialist expertise is leading the way this week. Journalists are looking for experts across neuroscience, cybersecurity, women’s health and technology, while Arts & Entertainment and Food & Drink are bringing a few lighter opportunities into the mix.

Based on journalist requests posted on Synapse from 28 September to 05 October.

See all live journalist requests

🔥 MUST READ PR TIP

 …because the best PR advice comes straight from the people who know

PR consultant and MODA PR co-founder Jennifer Delgado has a useful reminder for PRs: good media coverage rarely works to your timeline.

“The most important thing is communicating how these timelines could work with your clients.”

You might pitch on Monday and hear nothing on Tuesday, or the week after, and that’s totally normal. The important bit is making sure your clients understand that before the pitching starts.

👉 Read Jennifer’s full LinkedIn post

🗞️ PR-Y STUFF

 The PR and media bits worth knowing this week

  • PR briefs are busy, but winning them is getting harder – PRmoment’s latest pitch market review says demand is still there, but agencies need to get better at converting opportunities into wins. Specialist skills like GEO, AI, creator and influencer work are increasingly helping agencies stand out, with Andrew Bloch summing it up nicely: “You need to be famous for something.” listen to the episode
  • What do clients really want from PR agencies? – The Ministry of Justice’s strategic comms lead Emily Vickers shares what agencies should and shouldn’t do when pitching for public sector work. She covers the skills she values most, working with procurement and what makes a good client-agency relationship. listen to the episode
  • PR measurement needs to move beyond the dashboard – PRmoment looks at how agencies are being pushed to show what actually changed because of their work, rather than simply counting coverage and impressions. With AI creating a new discovery channel to measure too, the focus is shifting towards business outcomes, reputation and visibility, or, as Golin Ketchum’s Jonny Bentwood puts it: “Outcomes, not outputs.” read more
  • Bring the iced coffee, but do your homework – PRWeek asked agency leaders how formal PR interviews really need to be in 2026. The consensus? Relaxed is fine, iced coffee included, but preparation still matters. Know the agency, ask good questions, be yourself and don’t bluff your way through something you don’t know. read more
  • AI is breaking the billable hour, but PR has another problem – Stephen Waddington argues that AI gives agencies a chance to stop selling time and start selling value. The catch? You can’t price based on value if you can’t prove it. Better measurement and attribution could be what separates agencies charging for outcomes from those being asked for an AI discount. read more

🔎 LIVE JOURNO REQUESTS

Here’s what journalists are currently looking for on Synapse:

Mirror Online:

Future:

Freelance:

Want to dive deeper? Have a nose through all the live requests on the marketplace

📆 NEXT MONTH’S HOOKS

…a little head start on what’s coming up in November.

  • 📰 2 Nov: Intl Day to End Impunity for Crimes against Journalists
  • 🏇 3 Nov: Melbourne Cup (AU) – Taking place at Flemington Racecourse in Melbourne, offering a staggering $10,000,000 in total prize money
  • 🏦 5 Nov: Bank of England MPC Summary, minutes & Monetary Policy Report
  • 🎬 6 Nov: “The Cat in the Hat” (Warner Bros) – An upcoming animated film directed by Alessandro Carloni and Erica Rivinoja.
  • 🏉 6 Nov: Rugby Union Nations Championship, Round 4 begins – Ireland vs Argentina takes place at the Aviva Stadium as part of the Round 4 weekend.
  • 💻 9 Nov: Web Summit 2026 – Taking place in Lisbon, the conference features 32 distinct industry tracks and includes programs for startups, creators, and investors
  • 🔬 10 Nov: World Science Day for Peace and Development
  • 📈 12 Nov: GDP first quarterly estimate, UK: Jul–Sep 2026
  • 📈 12 Nov: GDP monthly estimate, UK: September 2026
  • 🎬 13 Nov: “Ebenezer: A Christmas Carol” (Paramount) – starring Johnny Depp
  • 💻 17 Nov: Microsoft Ignite 2026 – At the Moscone Center in San Francisco, CA, with digital attendance available worldwide
  • 📊 17 Nov: UK Labour Market: November 2026
  • 📊 18 Nov: Consumer price inflation, UK: October 2026
  • 🏎️ 19 Nov: Formula 1 Las Vegas Grand Prix kicks off
  • 🎬 20 Nov: “The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping” (Lionsgate) – Takes place 24 years before the events of “The Hunger Games”
  • 🎬 25 Nov: “Focker-in-Law” (Universal) – The film brings back Ben Stiller, Robert De Niro, Owen Wilson, with Ariana Grande joining the star-studded cast
  • 🛍️ 27 Nov: Black Friday
  • 🏎️ 27 Nov: Formula 1 Qatar Grand Prix – Formula 1 heads to Doha for the Qatar Grand Prix weekend.
  • 💻 30 Nov: AWS re:Invent 2026 – The conference heavily centers on agentic AI, Amazon Bedrock updates, and next-generation silicon
  • 🛍️ 30 Nov: Cyber Monday

 …and if November isn’t far enough ahead for you… 👇 

📆 PR CALENDAR 2026

 …for the PRs who like to be three pitches ahead. 

Three months. Plenty of stories still to pitch.

We’re into the final stretch of 2026, but your PR calendar is far from done. October, November and December are packed with economic updates, major events, film releases, sport and seasonal moments you can turn into your next story.

Our free PR Calendar has them all in one place. Save it, share it with your team and get planning before the year disappears.

Get planning today!

Got something worth pitching?

 Got a story, expert, case study or bit of data journalists should know about? 

Head to the marketplace now or simply send it to pitches@synapse.media (or add us to your media list) and we’ll make sure it reaches the right journalists.

Last week, we gave you a little reminder about our Expert Database, but wait, there’s more!

When you’re messaging a journalist on Synapse, you can @tag one of your experts directly in the conversation. Their full expert profile is linked into the message, so the journalist can quickly see who they are, what they know and why they’re relevant to them.

If you haven’t added your experts yet, now you’ve got another reason to.

Right, onto The Loop – live journo requests, what journalists want, PR tips and the news worth knowing this week. 👇

👀 WHAT JOURNALISTS WANT

Your weekly look at what journalists are asking for on Synapse

TRENDING SECTORS THIS WEEK

  • Home & Garden – 23%
  • Personal Finance – 14%
  • Health – 14%
  • Employment & HR – 9%
  • Public Sector & Legal – 9%

Something we spotted:

You can tell autumn has arrived. Heating bills, pensions and getting homes ready for the colder months are creeping onto journalists’ agendas, while Home & Garden continues its run at the top. Health is having a busy week too, with both experts and case studies wanted.

Based on journalist requests posted on Synapse from 21-28 September.

See all live journalist requests

🔥 MUST READ PR TIP

 …because the best PR advice comes straight from the people who know

Journalist and media consultant Nick Huber has a simple plea for PRs writing press releases: stop filling them with quotes nobody actually said.

“The problem with most press release quotes is that they are made up by the PR and filler.”

Instead of another “we’re delighted…” quote, Nick suggests actually speaking to the executive – even for a few minutes. Ask what they really think about the industry, the challenges they’re seeing or what’s changing.

👉 Read Nick’s full LinkedIn post

🗞️ PR-Y STUFF

 The PR and media bits worth knowing this week

  • AI is forcing PR agencies to rethink the billable hour – Stephen Waddington argues that as AI cuts the time needed to deliver PR work, charging clients based on hours makes less sense. The opportunity is to price around value and outcomes instead, but there’s a catch: agencies need to get much better at measuring the commercial value of their work before they can confidently make that shift. read more
  • How comms pros can get into politics? – Sunday Crunch author Noah Keate says comms pros should pitch the journalist writing the next edition directly, show exactly why the story matters to its Westminster audience and give as much notice as possible. Generic mass emails, tenuous political hooks and pitches that arrive too late are much less likely to make the cut. read more
  • What do clients actually want from their PR agencies? – Admiral Group’s Addy Frederick says the best agency partners challenge ideas, bring outside perspective and understand the business well enough to know what will actually work. Her biggest turn-off is a generic pitch that could have been sent to any company, so skip the jargon, understand the organisation and “talk to us like a friend”. read more
  • PR confessions get messy – PRWeek’s latest Am I the PR A*hole? episode tackles the questionable decisions comms people make when things go sideways. This week: inventing a car crash after a client bailed on a press briefing, resigning an account without the authority to do so, and accidentally insulting colleagues in a team bonding session. One for anyone who enjoys PR dilemmas with a side of chaos. listen to the episode
  • LinkedIn wants to edit your posts now – LinkedIn has rolled out a new Post proofreader for Premium Career and Business users. Rather than writing the post for you, it works on what you’ve already written, with three options: fix spelling and grammar, shorten the copy or make it clearer. read more

🔎 LIVE JOURNO REQUESTS

Here’s what journalists are currently looking for on Synapse:

Mirror Online:

Future:

Freelance:

Want to dive deeper? Have a nose through all the live requests on the marketplace

📆 NEXT MONTH’S HOOKS

…a little head start on what’s coming up in October.

💻 7 Oct: Open Source Summit Europe 2026 – It’s where maintainers, technologists, and community leaders come together to share knowledge, collaborate on solutions, and push open source projects forward.

🎬 7 Oct: BFI London Film Festival – The 70th edition brings 12 days of premieres, international films, Screen Talks and events to London and cinemas across the UK. It opens with Elsinore and closes with The Debut.

🎬 9 Oct: “Other Mommy” (Universal) – It adapts Josh Malerman’s novel Incidents Around the House from the perspective of an eight-year-old girl.

🎬 9 Oct: “The Social Reckoning” (Sony) – A companion piece to the 2010 film The Social Network, written and directed by Aaron Sorkin.

💻 13 Oct: TechCrunch Disrupt 2026 – At Moscone West in San Francisco, California. The three-day event gathers over 10,000 founders, VCs, and operators.

📈 15 Oct: GDP monthly estimate, UK: August 2026.

🎬 16 Oct: “Street Fighter” (Paramount) – Directed by Kitao Sakurai, the film is set in 1993, starring Jason Momoa.

🎬 16 Oct: “Whalefall” (Disney) – Directed by Brian Duffield, the film stars Austin Abrams as a scuba diver who is swallowed by a sperm whale, leaving him with just one hour of oxygen to escape.

📊 20 Oct: UK Labour Market: October 2026.

📊 21 Oct: Consumer price inflation, UK: September 2026.

💰 22 Oct: LSE Group Q3 Trading Statement

💡 23 Oct: River of Light – Liverpool’s free outdoor light festival returns to the waterfront with large-scale illuminated installations.

🕐 25 Oct: Clocks go back – British Summer Time ends, with the clocks going back one hour at 2am.

 💷 28 Oct: UK Budget 2026 – Chancellor John Healey will set out the government’s tax and spending plans, alongside updated economic and fiscal forecasts from the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR).

🎬 30 Oct: 4K cinema restorations – Pan’s Labyrinth celebrates its 20th anniversary with a 4K restoration from StudioCanal, while Donnie Darko gets a 25th anniversary 4K release from Arrow Films.

🎃 31 Oct: Halloween

 …and if October isn’t far enough ahead for you… 👇 

📆 PR CALENDAR 2026

 …for the PRs who like to be three pitches ahead. 

There’s plenty left on the calendar…

October’s nearly here, and the rest of 2026 is packed with moments you can build a story around. From major industry events and economic updates to big releases, sport and seasonal moments, our free PR Calendar gives you the dates worth knowing before they land.

Get planning today!

Got something worth pitching?

Got a story, expert, case study or bit of data journalists should know about? 

Head to the marketplace now or simply send it to pitches@synapse.media (or add us to your media list) and we’ll make sure it reaches the right journalists.

Did you know you can add your experts to our Expert Database? In case you missed the memo, it’s where journalists browse verified experts and find the right people to speak to for their stories.

It’s also very simple! Create a profile for each of your clients or spokespeople, add their areas of expertise, and give journalists another way to find them when they need a source.

There are already plenty of experts on Synapse, and it’s your turn to make sure yours are among them.

Right, onto “The Loop” 👇

👀 WHAT JOURNALISTS WANT

Your weekly look at what journalists are asking for on Synapse

TRENDING SECTORS THIS WEEK

  • Home & Garden – 32%
  • Beauty – 16%
  • Health – 16%
  • Food & Drink – 12%
  • Travel – 12%

Something we spotted:

Home & Garden is yet again on top, appearing in almost a third of this week’s requests. Gardening came up again and again, while journalists were also after stories around heating, energy bills and getting homes ready for the colder months.

Based on journalist requests posted on Synapse from 14-21 September.

See all live journalist requests

🔥 MUST READ PR TIP

 …because the best PR advice comes straight from the people who know

Daily Express journalist Steph Spyro deals with around one op-ed a day, and one of her biggest tips for PRs is simple: give journalists a reason to publish it now.

“An opinion piece shouldn’t just be ‘here is what I think about X topic’. Give journalists a timely reason to run the piece.”

A strong opinion alone isn’t enough. Tie your op-ed to something already happening in the news, new research or a timely issue, and think carefully about who you’re putting forward. As Steph points out, the biggest job title doesn’t always make the best author, someone with first-hand experience and an actual point of view can make a much stronger pitch.

👉 Read Steph’s Substack

🗞️ PR-Y STUFF

 The PR and media bits worth knowing this week

  • Fake ‘expert’ quoted by major media titles exposed – Press Gazette has found that a supposed art therapist quoted by Vice, Forbes, Glamour and other publications appears to be AI-generated and could not be verified as a real person. The case is another reminder of the growing headache around source verification, particularly when experts are supplied through journalist request platforms. read more
  •  Is AI actually creating more work for senior PRs? – New research highlighted by Stephen Waddington suggests AI is pushing some tactical work up the chain rather than removing it. Senior practitioners are increasingly having to fact-check and edit AI output, raising questions around efficiency, governance and how junior PRs learn the basics when AI does more of the first draft. read more
  • Google tests paying publishers for content used in AI results – Google is trialling an ‘AI contribution’ scheme that pays participating websites when their content significantly contributes to AI-generated answers in products including AI Overviews, AI Mode and Gemini. The early pilot involves dozens of publishers and could mark a shift in how publishers are compensated as AI search sends fewer people directly to their sites. read more
  • Junior PRs are feeling the pressure of ‘always-on’ news monitoring – New research shared by PRWeek found 72% of junior PR professionals feel overwhelmed by news monitoring, while 64% of all respondents find something they can actually use for a client just once a week or less. read more

🔎 LIVE JOURNO REQUESTS

Here’s what journalists are currently looking for on Synapse:

Mirror Online:

Reach PLC:

Freelance:

Want to dive deeper? Have a nose through all the live requests on the marketplace

📆 NEXT MONTH’S HOOKS

…a little head start on what’s coming up in October.

💻 7 Oct: Open Source Summit Europe 2026 – It’s where maintainers, technologists, and community leaders come together to share knowledge, collaborate on solutions, and push open source projects forward.

🎬 7 Oct: BFI London Film Festival – The 70th edition brings 12 days of premieres, international films, Screen Talks and events to London and cinemas across the UK. It opens with Elsinore and closes with The Debut.

🎬 9 Oct: “Other Mommy” (Universal) – It adapts Josh Malerman’s novel Incidents Around the House from the perspective of an eight-year-old girl.

🎬 9 Oct: “The Social Reckoning” (Sony) – A companion piece to the 2010 film The Social Network, written and directed by Aaron Sorkin.

💻 13 Oct: TechCrunch Disrupt 2026 – At Moscone West in San Francisco, California. The three-day event gathers over 10,000 founders, VCs, and operators.

📈 15 Oct: GDP monthly estimate, UK: August 2026.

🎬 16 Oct: “Street Fighter” (Paramount) – Directed by Kitao Sakurai, the film is set in 1993, starring Jason Momoa.

🎬 16 Oct: “Whalefall” (Disney) – Directed by Brian Duffield, the film stars Austin Abrams as a scuba diver who is swallowed by a sperm whale, leaving him with just one hour of oxygen to escape.

📊 20 Oct: UK Labour Market: October 2026.

📊 21 Oct: Consumer price inflation, UK: September 2026.

💰 22 Oct: LSE Group Q3 Trading Statement

💡 23 Oct: River of Light – Liverpool’s free outdoor light festival returns to the waterfront with large-scale illuminated installations.

🕐 25 Oct: Clocks go back – British Summer Time ends, with the clocks going back one hour at 2am.

🎬 30 Oct: 4K cinema restorations – Pan’s Labyrinth celebrates its 20th anniversary with a 4K restoration from StudioCanal, while Donnie Darko gets a 25th anniversary 4K release from Arrow Films.

🎃 31 Oct: Halloween

 …and if October isn’t far enough ahead for you… 👇 

📆 PR CALENDAR 2026

 …for the PRs who like to be three pitches ahead. 

Your next PR hook might already be in here…

September might already be flying by, but there’s still plenty to plan for. Our free PR Calendar has all the key dates through to December, ready for when you need a timely reason to get a story out there.

Get planning today!

Got something worth pitching?

 Got a story, expert, case study or bit of data journalists should know about? 

Head to the marketplace now or simply send it to pitches@synapse.media (or add us to your media list) and we’ll make sure it reaches the right journalists.