Media relations - the secret to effective business communication

Media relations is the systematic building of relationships with journalists and newsrooms, so that the company becomes a credible source of information for them and not just another sender of advertising. In practice this means regular contact, tailored topics and quick replies, not just sending a press release once a quarter.

What are media relations?

Media relations to zespół działań mających na celu budowanie i utrzymywanie relacji z dziennikarzami, redakcjami i innymi przedstawicielami mediów. To szersze pojęcie niż samo public relations – dotyczy konkretnie komunikacji z mediami, podczas gdy public relations obejmuje też relacje z pracownikami, klientami czy inwestorami. Media relations wykraczają jednak daleko poza proste wysyłanie informacji prasowych: obejmują też odpowiadanie na pytania dziennikarzy, organizację wywiadów, przygotowanie eksperta do rozmowy i reagowanie na sytuacje kryzysowe.

Media relations is now evolving to include contact with online creators and social media, which have become the main source of information about companies for many audiences. This does not change the basic rule, however: a journalist expects a story, not an advertisement disguised as news.

Elements of a media relations campaign

1. Communication strategy – określa, jakie tematy firma chce poruszać w mediach i do jakich redakcji trafiać w pierwszej kolejności.
2. Baza kontaktów dziennikarskich – lista redakcji i osób, które faktycznie piszą o tematyce firmy, regularnie aktualizowana.
3. Materiały prasowe – informacje prasowe, komunikaty, materiały eksperckie i wzmianki, gotowe do wykorzystania przez redakcję.
4. Media monitoring – śledzenie, gdzie i jak firma jest wspominana, żeby reagować, zanim pojedynczy komentarz zamieni się w kryzys.

Media relations step by step: how to start in a company without a PR department

A company without an in-house PR department can build the basics of media relations in a few steps before deciding on its own team or an agency.

1. List 10–15 topics the company can speak about competently, not only about itself but about phenomena across the whole industry.
2. Find the newsrooms and journalists who write about these topics and check what kind of material they publish.
3. Choose one person in the company to act as the expert for talking to the media, ideally someone who can speak clearly, not just knowledgeably.
4. Start with one specific topic and one newsroom instead of a mass mailing, so it is easier to judge what worked.
5. Record every contact and its outcome, so that after a few months you have your own proven database and do not start from scratch every time.

An example of an effective media relations campaign is Apple with the introduction of the first iPhone in 2007. The company employed a comprehensive communications strategy that went beyond the presentation of technical specifications. An important element was Steve Jobs' iconic presentation at the Macworld conference, which became a media event in its own right. Apple also organised a series of exclusive interviews with iPhone designers and workshops for journalists to experience the new technology first-hand. The company focused on telling stories about how the iPhone would change users' daily lives. This, combined with strategic information management ahead of the launch, created an atmosphere of anticipation. The campaign secured extensive media coverage, but also established Apple as an innovator in the technology industry, contributing significantly to the iPhone's huge success!

How to implement media relations activities?

Carrying out effective media relations requires consistency. A single, well-prepared press release will not build a relationship with a journalist if the next contact comes only half a year later.

Building relationships with journalists

The basis of effective media relations is establishing and maintaining contact with journalists who write about the company's industry. It is not about sending everything to everyone, but about matching the topic to a specific newsroom and to the person who actually covers it.

Creation of valuable content

Journalists look for unique, interesting topics, not a summary of a company's offer. Market data, a research result or an expert's comment on a current industry event have a much greater chance of being published than information about the company itself.

Use of various formats

Warto eksperymentować z różnymi formatami treści: informacją prasową, krótką wzmianką prasową, komentarzem eksperckim czy zaproszeniem na konferencję prasową. Różne redakcje wolą różne formy – jedne potrzebują gotowego tekstu, inne wolą samodzielnie porozmawiać z ekspertem.

Responding to crisis situations

Szybka, transparentna i spójna komunikacja może znacząco ograniczyć skutki sytuacji kryzysowej. Więcej o przygotowaniu na taki moment piszemy w artykule o procesie zarządzania kryzysowego.

Measuring effects

Effective media relations require regular analysis of what has been achieved: the number and quality of publications, their sentiment and whether they translated into real interest in the company, for example a rise in enquiries.

Media relations in crisis situations

Crisis situations are a real test of how effective the media relationships built earlier are. A company that never answered journalists before the crisis, or answered late, has a much smaller chance in a difficult moment that a newsroom will wait for its position instead of publishing a piece solely from the other side's perspective.

A well-prepared company has already decided who is responsible for media contact in a crisis, how fast the first reaction must come (ideally within hours, not days) and which facts can be given straight away and which still need confirming. Without this preparation every decision is made under time pressure, which raises the risk of error.

A simple example: a manufacturing company learns of a defect in one batch of a product before the story reaches the media. Instead of waiting for journalists' questions, it publishes a short statement saying what happened, who is affected and what steps the company has already taken. A journalist who receives such information in advance more often quotes the company's position in full, instead of building the piece solely on the comments of dissatisfied customers on social media.

Media relations and social media

Social media has changed how journalists look for topics. Many of them monitor company profiles and industry discussions before they even contact the PR department. This means a company's social media communication and its materials for journalists should speak with one voice: a journalist will notice contradictory messages across these two channels and use them as an additional angle instead of overlooking them.

What do journalists expect from PR departments today?

According to Cision's “2026 State of the Media Report” (a survey of 1,899 journalists from 19 markets, published 13 May 2026), 66% of journalists base their story ideas on content supplied by PR professionals. This shows that well-prepared media relations still have a real influence on what appears in the media. The same report shows the other side, however: 72% of journalists admit that less than a quarter of the story pitches they receive are relevant to them at all. In other words, the number of materials sent does not matter if they are not matched to the specific newsroom.

For a PR department this means a concrete change of priorities: less time on mass mailings, more on matching a topic to 5–10 newsrooms that actually write about the industry. A shorter, better-targeted contact list usually brings more publications than a long database mailed indiscriminately. It is also worth remembering that the report describes one survey at a specific moment, but the direction of change (less attention for off-target pitches) is consistent with what Polish newsrooms have been observing for several years.

In practice a good starting point is a table with three columns: the newsroom, the journalist responsible for the topic and the date of last contact. Such a simple register, updated after every mailing, quickly shows which relationships are alive and which exist only on paper.

Key principles of crisis communication include:

1. 1. Preparation - It is important to have a crisis plan in place that includes clearly defined operating procedures, a list of people responsible for communication and contacts to stakeholders such as the media, customers or business partners.
   2. Speed of response - The first 24 hours are a priority for controlling the narrative. Today's social media can spread negative information quickly, so issuing a statement and providing facts immediately is essential. Failure to respond can be perceived as a lack of control or ignoring the problem.
   3. Transparency - Openness and honesty in communication build trust. Attempts to hide information or manipulate facts often end in an even bigger crisis. If a company does not have complete data, it should clearly communicate that it is gathering details and will provide more information soon.
   4. Empathy - When facing a crisis, it is important to show the human face of the organisation. Messages should include the perspective of those affected by the crisis, whether they are customers, employees or local communities. Authenticity and caring help to mitigate negative emotions and build a positive corporate image.
   5. Consistency - A consistent message across all communication channels is essential to avoid confusion. It is important that all company representatives - from the PR department to the board of directors - speak with one voice. Divergent information can exacerbate a crisis and reduce trust in the organisation.

The most common mistakes in media relations

The common denominator of these mistakes is treating media relations as a one-off mailing action rather than a relationship that takes time. Repairing a neglected relationship with a newsroom usually takes longer than building it carefully from scratch would have.

Media relations in B2B companies

In B2B companies media relations looks slightly different from communication to consumers. The topic that interests trade newsrooms is less often the product itself and more often market data, trends in the sector or the experience of an implementation at a specific client. A journalist writing for business media looks for specifics: figures, examples, the names of experts, not general statements about “modern solutions”. B2B companies that regularly share such data find it easier to build an expert image in their industry than those that communicate with the media only on the occasion of their own launches.

Media relations tools

Skuteczne media relations opierają się na kilku powtarzalnych narzędziach: aktualnej bazie kontaktów dziennikarskich, kalendarzu tematów powiązanym z wydarzeniami branżowymi, gotowych materiałach o firmie (nocie „o firmie”, zdjęciach w dobrej rozdzielczości) oraz systemie monitoringu wzmianek. Więcej o pełnym zestawie takich narzędzi znajdziesz w artykule PR tools that really work.

How do you measure the results of media relations?

The number of press releases sent says nothing about the effectiveness of media relations; what counts is what came of them. Instead of counting mailings alone, it is worth tracking a few specific indicators at a regular rhythm, for example every month.

• Liczba i jakość publikacji – ile tekstów powstało, w jakich mediach i czy trafiły do redakcji, na których firmie zależało.
• Wydźwięk publikacji – czy przekaz był zgodny z tym, co firma chciała powiedzieć, czy wymagał sprostowania.
• Ruch i zapytania po publikacji – porównane z okresem sprzed niej, żeby odróżnić realny efekt od zwykłej zmienności ruchu na stronie.
• Czas odpowiedzi redakcji – jak szybko dziennikarze odpowiadają na kolejne materiały; skracający się czas odpowiedzi to sygnał rosnącego zaufania.

Do not convert publications into so-called advertising value equivalency (AVE), that is, what an advertisement of the same size would have cost. It is an outdated indicator that Commplace does not use, because the AMEC standard (an international association dedicated to measuring communication) rejects it as saying nothing about the real impact of publications on the business. It is better to set one goal before starting activities and check it after the campaign ends.

How does Commplace help with media relations?

Commplace prowadzi media relations jako stały proces, nie jednorazową akcję: od budowy i aktualizacji bazy kontaktów dziennikarskich, przez przygotowanie materiałów i eksperta do rozmowy, po pomiar tego, co dana publikacja faktycznie zmieniła. Zobacz, How we conduct public relations dla naszych klientów. Wyniki działań medialnych – publikacje, wzmianki, zapytania od dziennikarzy – widać na bieżąco w kokpicie Commwork®AI, Alongside team tasks and deadlines.

It is also worth reading: public relations instruments and What does the PR agency do. Wiele pytań, które dostajemy od klientów na starcie współpracy, dotyczy tego samego problemu, co pytania czytelników tego artykułu: skąd wiedzieć, że wysyłka trafia do właściwych osób. Odpowiedź jest zawsze ta sama – trzeba to sprawdzić w danych, a nie zakładać z góry, że duża baza kontaktów daje lepszy wynik niż mała, ale trafna.

Sources: Cision, „2026 State of the Media Report”, publikacja 13.05.2026 (badanie 1899 dziennikarzy z 19 rynków).