PR News: Silly season doesn’t mean the pitches stop

Hey there,

Silly season is here, but that doesn’t mean the pitches stop.  

Now more than ever journalists need stories to fill those lighter news pages, and ideally, they’re looking for something with a longer shelf life. Think campaigns that can resonate for the whole of summer (not just July). 

Drop your story into the Synapse marketplace or send it to pitches@synapse.media and we’ll post it for you!

Now welcome back to The Loop – your favourite weekly scroll of live journo requests, media relations tips and news you don’t want to miss.

Here’s what’s hot this week…

🔥 MUST READ

…advice we’ve spotted from the experts

“Journalists want to speak to spokespeople directly, not just accept written statements.”

Talia Hatch’s takeaways from our Spotlight Session: AI, Public Relations and Building Trust: prioritise real voices, use AI to sense-check relevance, and never underestimate the power of a coffee meeting.
👉 Read the full LinkedIn post

🔎 JOURNO REQUESTS

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

Insider Media:

• Looking for all dealmaking-related announcements from B2B press teams in the West Midlands area – legal, accountancy, and corporate finance advisers
• Seeking dealmaking news from Dorset-based professional services – legal, accountancy, and corporate finance firms.

The i Paper:

• Looking for expert comments/case study of someone in one of the vulnerable groups that have lost out on the winter fuel payment u-turn for
• Looking to speak to someone who keeps physical cash at home, hidden away safely, for emergencies. 
• Looking to speak to someone who received a higher inheritance tax bill because they disputed the value of their property.
• Looking for someone who is less likely to use a cash ISA if Reeves cut the annual allowance.

Newsquest:

• Looking for expert comments on why is it dangerous to enter a motorway slowly.

Real Home/Future:

• Looking for gardening pros to comment on why mushroom water can help plants survive in a heatwave.

Metro:

• Looking to hear from couples who bought a house together about their deposit.
• Looking to chat to couples of all ages about how they split their money.

Triangle News:

• Looking to speak to young people who have very successful businesses talking about how they managed it.
• I am looking for parents who pay their own parents a salary to look after their pre-schoolers because it’s cheaper than sending them to nursery. 

Express:

• Looking for exclusive new UK showbiz and celeb stories/interviews/screenings/events.

LADbible:

• Looking for urgent doctor commentary on the reality of what rubber bullets can actually do to your body.

Daily Mirror / Express / Reach titles: 

• Looking for real-life true crime stories.

Or head to the marketplace now to look at requests yourself.

🗞️ PR-Y STUFF

Here’s what we’ve read this week so that you don’t have to:

• PR pay gaps fuel major PRWeek project – PRWeek is gathering comprehensive salary data from agencies to spotlight pay disparities and drive transparency across the industry. read more
• Why PR beats advertising in the AI age – As AI starts churning out ad copy and creative at scale, PR pros can breathe easy. read more
• Google accused of causing “serious irreparable harm” to the UK news industry. – a legal claim has been submitted to the CMA over the impact of Google’s AI overviews on news publishers read more
• PR salaries grow in 2024 – Average PR salaries rose last year, agency employers in an attempt to retain staff, according to the latest survey by The Works Search. read more
• Nearly half of UK adults have used AI tools to stay up to date with news and current affairs – that’s according to research from PR agency Portland. They also found that 81% of ‘decision-makers’ are using AI to access news. read more

📆 NEXT MONTH’S HOOKS

…just because we don’t want you missing out on stuff.

• 1 August: Edinburgh Fringe Festival begins
• 1 August: ‘The Bad Guys 2’ movie release date for the UK
• 7 August: Bank of England MPC Base Rate decision – It will be reviewed to determine interest rates set by lenders and savings providers
• 8 August: ‘The Naked Gun’ release date – A reboot starring Liam Neeson, directed by Akiva Schaffer. 
• 9 August: Edinburgh International Book Festival begins – featuring everyone from the rising stars of fiction to Nobel Prize-winners
• 14 August: University Clearing search peak – Searches for ‘Clearing’ spike here. Smart PR timing for universities, fintechs, student accommodation and retail brands aimed at young adults.
• 14 August: UK economic announcements – Balance of Trade, Gross Domestic Product, Index of Services and Industrial Production announced.
• 21 August: GCSE Results Day – MailOnline’s social platforms reach 2 in 5 school leavers. BBC’s informed that students will receive their results via the Education Record app this year.
• 21 August: Reading & Leeds Festival begins
• 22 August: Women’s Rugby World Cup starts – London, Bristol, Sunderland, Brighton, Northampton, Exeter, Manchester and York are the host cities.
• 24 August: Notting Hill Carnival
• 27 August: ‘School shoes’ searches peak – According to MailMetro Media, 46% of parents use payment schemes for back-to-school items.
  

✨ BEFORE YOU GO

Got something great but in a rush?

Send it over to pitches@synapse.media and we’ll get it in our marketplace for you.