PR News: Why did we build the Synapse Expert Database?
Industry Trends & News, PR
Because journalists don’t have time to look at every questionable expert in their inbox. It’s a feature that puts it all in one place, with no email back-and-forth and no more “can you verify if this person is legit?”
Journalists need:
- verified PR contacts
- credible, media-ready experts
- clear bios and source links
- fast, direct responses
The Expert Database isn’t just a feature. It’s a shortcut for journalists dealing with the endless email chaos. And when it’s easier for them to trust and quote your expert, it’s easier for you to land coverage.
That’s the point.
Now, onto The Loop – your weekly scroll for live journo requests, media moves, and PR moments worth flagging.
🔥 MUST READ
…because we want you to hear it from the experts themselves
Niki Blasina, Deputy Editor of FT Globetrotter, shared exactly what works (and what doesn’t) when pitching the FT’s travel and lifestyle vertical.
Her key takeaway?
“Offer a sense of newness and nowness… why are we doing this now, and why should our readers care?”
No generic “best of” lists. No vague destination emails. Bring a clear angle, a strong headline, a tight structure, and explain why you are the right person to tell the story.
👉 Read Niki’s full post on LinkedIn
🗞️ PR-Y STUFF
Here’s what we think you should see this week:
- PRmoment Podcast: The best (or toughest) job in PR? – Ben Smith, Mark Borkowski, and Angie Moxham discussed several key topics including the difficulty of the Downing Street director of communications role and the need for a fresh perspective, Jim Ratcliffe’s controversial “colonialisation” comment, and the emergence of fake AI experts. listen to the episode
- Google promises ‘more focused deals’ with news publishers as FT joins AI pilot – Sulina Connal, Google’s managing director leading news and books partnerships in Europe, also set out how the tech giant is responding to publisher feedback and said it is planning to do “more focused deals” following its first AI-related news provider payments announced in December. read more
- WPP overhaul sparks Burson sale speculation – WPP’s ongoing strategic shake-up has fuelled reports that it could sell Burson as part of a broader simplification drive. For PRs, it’s another signal that consolidation, portfolio trimming and investor pressure are reshaping the global comms landscape. read more
- Beyond the spreadsheet: Omnicom’s PR agency mergers face EMEA integration test – Agency leaders, industry veterans and alumni of Ketchum, Golin, FleishmanHillard and PorterNovelli warn on integration complexity, client conflicts and talent retention. read more
🔎 JOURNO REQUESTS
Here’s what journalists are currently looking for on Synapse:
Daily Express/Daily Mirror:
Reach plc:
- Why cucumber is wrapped in plastic in the supermarket? Expert commentary needed
- Looking for expert comments on what to do if someone blocks my drive with their car?
- Looking for expert ISA comments
- Looking for contacts in the football industry ahead of the World Cup – pundits, ex. players and other people in the industry
- Looking for expert comments on Premium Bonds – are they still worth it?
- Looking for expert comments on HMRC late payment rate vs repayment rate
- Looking for expert comments on Premium Bonds and odds of winning
The iPaper:
- Looking to speak to an expert about student loan interest and/or someone who can look over some figures for me
- Looking to speak to an expert about student loan interest and/or someone who can look over some figures for me
- Looking to speak to solo homeowners who have decided to take on a mortgage without income protection
- Looking to speak to young people who are opting out of paying into a pension
- Looking to speak to ISA case studies, whether that be ISA millionaires or something el
Huff Post:
Triangle News:
PhilScience:
Mail on Sunday:
- Looking to speak to someone who is currently in council tax arrears and struggling to repay the debt
Freelance:
- Looking for a primary school teacher to talk about knife crime (can be anon) for a news report in a magazine
- Looking for an expert within the field of AI to talk about the benefits AI can bring to SMEs
- Looking for a fitness expert to discuss all things vibrator plates for an article I’m working on
- Looking for an energy specialist, someone who can talk about household energy costs, current trends, savings etc.
Or head to the marketplace now to look at requests yourself.
📆 NEXT MONTH’S HOOKS
…because we don’t want you missing out on stuff in March.
🚗 1 Mar: New Car Registrations – New car registrations from 1 March 2026 in the UK will feature the “26” age identifier plate, valid until 31 August 2026. This biannual release is expected to drive a surge in new car sales, with the market projected to rise by 1% to 2.032 million units in 2026.
📊 2 Mar: United Kingdom economic announcements – BRC Shop Price Index, Consumer Credit, M4 Money Supply, Mortgage Approvals.
🐾 5 Mar: Crufts begins – The world’s largest dog show, organised by The Kennel Club, takes place 5-8 March 2026 at the NEC, Birmingham.
📈 5 Mar: Bank of England interest rate decision released
📊 5 Mar: Business insights and impact on the UK economy are being released
🎬 6 Mar: Movie release (UK) – The Bride! – Drama / Horror / Romance, starring Jake Gyllenhaal
🏅 6 Mar: Paralympics 2026 – An international winter multi-sport event for athletes with disabilities, taking place in Milan and Cortina D’Ampezzo, making it the first ever Olympic Games to be officially co-hosted by two cities.
🎤 7 Mar: Brit Awards – Brit Awards content generated 18M views on Daily Mail’s socials last year.
🔍 8 Mar: Searches for Mother’s Day gifts peak, according to Google Trends.
📊 13 Mar: GDP monthly estimate, UK
🏆 15 Mar: The Oscars – The 98th Academy Awards, hosted by Conan O’Brien, will take place at the Dolby Theatre, Hollywood, Los Angeles.
🍀 17 Mar: St Patrick’s Day – 13M pints of beer are consumed worldwide every Paddy’s Day
🕋 18 Mar: End of Ramadan
🕌 19 Mar: Eid Al-Fitr – 2 in 3 members of the Muslim community say food is one of their favourite parts of Eid. 62% agree Eid is a great opportunity for brands to engage, according to MailMetroMedia.
📊 19 Mar: UK Labour Market release date
🎬 20 Mar: Movie release (UK) – Project Hail Mary (2026) – Sci‑Fi / Thriller, starring Ryan Gosling
🎤 20 Mar: UK release – Billie Eilish: Hit Me Hard and Soft – The Tour (Live in 3D) (2026) – Documentary
⚽ 22 Mar: Carabao Cup Final – The 2026 final will be held on Sunday 22 March at Wembley Stadium.
📊 25 Mar: Consumer price inflation, UK release date
🕒 29 Mar: Clocks go forward
FAQs
Registration is simple! Click here to here and then fill out your information. Our team hand verify all of our users within 24 hours. Once your account has been approved, you’ll receive an email inviting you to log in.
If you have any questions or problems, get in touch with support@synapse.media
Our team hand-verify every single one of our users. Synapse is designed for journalists, reporters, editors and those in the media sourcing stories. It’s also designed for PR professionals. We have our own verification process, but if required, we’ll always get in touch with you directly to get some more information on your day-to-day role and to make sure Synapse is right for you.
There are over 3000 amazing people on Synapse; all of whom want to revolutionise the media relations industry. Our PR user base is from across the UK and covers a mix of agency, freelance and in-house professionals. Our journalist user base is similarly broad. There are national publications, trades, regionals and freelancers all using the platform.
No! At the moment, Synapse is completely free to use for all users, so register today and try it out.
We’d love to. But we’re not quite there yet.
Synapse believes that journalists have the right to their own data, and that by giving journalists control over their data, PRs will receive more accurate and timely information that isn’t currently available on any other database.
This means that we need to work with journalists to register them on the platform, rather than adding every UK journalist without permission. This is something our team is working on every single day.
Have a journalist or publication you’d like to see on Synapse? Get in touch and let us know at support@synapse.media
We launched on 21st September 2023 with over 1800 users already pre-registered. Since then we’ve grown to over 3000 users, onboarded national publications and have more news to come. Watch this space!
Our users are so important to us. You literally keep us going each and every day so we’re always here to help. From solving tech issues, demoing the platform to posting pitches and requests on your behalf when you’re just having one of those weeks, we put our users at the heart of everything we do.
If you want to read more about our users’ experiences, you can check out their stories here or get in touch with support@synapse.media
Depending on whether you have a journalist profile or a PR profile, you’ll have access to slightly different AI tools.
For PRs, you can save time by exploring our intelligent recommendations of which journalists to pitch to. Our AI will make recommendations based on proprietary data, saving you hours of research time.
For journalists, our secure AI assistant is there to help you as you write your stories. You’re in control of whether you use the tool and to what extent with options of a bulleted summary through to a full generative article.
Get in touch
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