We hope you had a brilliant festive break and managed some proper time offline (and away from your inbox). We’re thrilled to pick up where we left off – helping you get your best stories in front of the right journalists.
To kick things off, we’ve pulled together a 2025 report on what worked best last year – what landed, what journalists loved, and what PRs nailed. It’s short, sharp, and downloadable.
📥 Grab the Synapse Yearly Report here
We’ve got plenty coming your way very soon, but for now if you’ve got something thoughtful, relevant, or worth shouting about, don’t wait.
👉 Post it in the Synapse marketplace or send it to pitches@synapse.media, and we’ll help get it seen.
Now, welcome back to The Loop: scroll on for fresh journo requests, media updates, and the PR trends we’re watching this month.
🔥 MUST READ
…new year, new reminders from the experts themselves
Steph Spyro, Deputy Political and Environment Editor at the Daily Express, asked five journalists what they want more of in 2026 as part of her newsletter Off The Record, and what they’re hoping PRs leave behind in 2025.
Her key takeaway?
“The same rules still apply: be helpful, clear, relevant – and don’t overpromise.”
From cutting down waffle to dropping generic comment offers, the message is clear: journalists want sharper, more useful PR. This post is full of simple truths to start the year right.
🗞️ PR-Y STUFF
Here’s what we think you should see this week:
- News leaders sum up 2025 (and predict 2026)… in emojis – Editors from The Telegraph, The Independent, MailMetro and more reflect on a turbulent year in media and share what’s coming next, using just emojis. Fun format, serious insight. For PRs, it’s a quick read on where newsroom heads are at heading into 2026. read more
- Get Featured: Press deadlines, the 2026 guide – In her Get Featured newsletter, journalist Rosie Taylor breaks down how long different types of stories need to land ahead of time. For you lovely PRs, it’s a great cheat sheet to avoid missing your moment, or sending it way too late. read more
- What did PR care about most in 2025? – From AI and measurement to mental health and media consolidation, PRmoment rounds up the themes that dominated PR conversations last year. A useful pulse check before you dive into 2026. read more
- Why critical thinking is your top professional skill? – Stephen Waddington makes the case that in a noisy, AI-saturated world, the ability to think clearly, challenge assumptions, and ask better questions is what sets great PRs apart. read more
- Media journalists’ top stories of the year and what it means for you in 2026 – Journalism.co.uk asked fellow top brains and experts on what’s stood out in their coverage in 2025 and what lessons news professionals can take into 2026. read more
- 2025 Review: The best thought leadership of the past year – Original research remains the most prominent form of marketing for most professional service firms, and particularly the PR industry, which continues to produces a wealth of surveys and studies covering a wide array of topics related to reputation. read more
🔎 JOURNO REQUESTS
Here’s what journalists are currently looking for on Synapse:
Reach plc:
- Looking for interior design experts to speak about what home trends are going to do well this year. Anything from furniture to paint colours, plants etc.
- Looking for expert comments, opinions, tips on Premium Bonds holders going into the new yea
- Looking for expert comments on whether BMI is a good health metric
- Looking for expert comments on £100 contactless card limit lifted
- Looking for comments on energy bills saving tips / winter solstice
- Looking for expert comments on Paul Doyle sentencing and road security at major events
- Looking for comments on changes to ISA allowances / how should ISAs be reformed
- Looking for expert comments on what you should do if you constantly have bad WiFi connection
- Seeking an expert comment on flu symptoms to look out for
- Seeking unusual/quirky homes for holiday lets across the UK where locals welcome tourists
- Looking for comments, opinions, interviews on how the modelling industry changed since the 1990s
Newsquest:
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 February.
🗓️ 1 Feb: GRAMMYs – Taking place at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, with two new categories added: Best Traditional Country Album and Best Album Cover
🏉 5 Feb: Six Nations Begins: France and Ireland will kick off the 2026 Six Nations Championship under the lights in Paris on Thursday 5th February. The opening round continues on Saturday 7th February, with Italy hosting Scotland in Rome, followed by England facing Wales at Twickenham.
🎬 6 Feb: The Strangers: Chapter 3 movie release – Starring Madelaine Petsch
🏔️ 6 Feb: Olympic Winter Games: takes place in Milano Cortina, ending on February 22nd.
🏏 7 Feb: Men’s Cricket World Cup – The 10th edition of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, co-hosted by India and Sri Lanka.
🏈 8 Feb: Super Bowl LX – Held in the San Francisco Bay Area with Bad Bunny headlining the halftime show
🔍 10 Feb: Searches for Valentine’s Day gifts peak, according to Google Trends
📊 12 Feb: UK GDP Report Announcement: Monthly GDP estimate for December 2025 and First quarterly estimate for Q4 2025
📦 13 Feb: Searches for ‘next day delivery’ peak
🎬 13 Feb: Wuthering Heights (2026) – starring Margot Robbie and Jacob Elordi
❤️ 14 Feb: Valentine’s Day – According to MailMetro, 47% of people said Valentine’s Day should celebrate all kinds of love
🔍 15 Feb: Searches for ‘late Valentine’s Day gifts’ begin to rise
📚 16 Feb: Half Term Begins
📈 18 Feb: Lloyds Banking Group plc Annual Report published
✝️ 18 Feb: Ash Wednesday (Lent Begins)
🎬 20 Feb: Splitsville (2025) movie release – Comedy starring Dakota Johnson, Michael Angelo Covino, Adria Arjona, and Kyle Marvin
🎞️ 22 Feb: BAFTAs – 10% of MetroMedia’s audience say a BAFTA win makes them more likely to watch a film
🐲 24 Feb: Lunar New Year: Year of the Horse – People born in a Year of the Horse are said to be energetic, independent and charismatic
🍿 26 Feb: Scream 7, UK movie release date – Horror/Mystery starring Neve Campbell, Courteney Cox, Isabel May, Jasmin Savoy Brown
