Do you know what makes a good news story? Something that matters to a company is not automatically news. A strong media story emerges when new information meets an audience need, a current conversation and credible evidence. These questions help you assess whether a topic is worth pitching to the media.
A new CEO, an international award, a product launch or a company anniversary may feel like major news inside an organisation. A newsroom looks at the matter from a different angle: what does this mean for our audience?
The gap between these two perspectives explains a large share of unsuccessful media pitches.
Finnish newsrooms are currently assessing story ideas particularly carefully. Newspapers and editorial teams have been merged, the number of journalists has declined over the long term, and an individual journalist’s work often spans text, video, audio and social media. A story needs to demonstrate its value quickly.
The more of the following criteria a topic meets, the stronger it is likely to be.
1. Is there something genuinely new?
News is about change. Something has happened, is beginning or is coming to an end. A previous assumption turns out to be wrong, or a familiar phenomenon takes on a new scale.
“Our company provides sustainable solutions” is not news. A news story may emerge when a company has demonstrably developed a new solution, introduced it in Finland for the first time and can show how it changes the way a customer operates.
A simple way to test novelty is to ask: what will the audience know after reading this that they did not know yesterday?
2. Does it affect people, businesses or society?
The more people an issue affects, and the greater the impact, the higher its news value tends to be. The impact does not need to be nationwide, however.
News value may come, for example, from an impact on:
- jobs or investments
- prices, costs or competition
- people’s health, safety or everyday lives
- the environment and emissions
- practices within a particular industry
- the vitality of a city or region
- the consequences of legislation or political decisions.
The company’s task is to make the impact understandable. How many jobs are we talking about? How large is the investment? What does the change mean in euros? When will the effects become visible?
3. Is there a clear connection to Finland?
One of the most common pitfalls for an international company is assuming that global significance will automatically be understood in Finland.
The Finnish angle may come from a customer, an investment, research data, an expert or the consequences of a wider phenomenon. International comparisons can also work: why does Finland differ from the other Nordic countries, where is Finland leading the way, or where are Finns falling behind?
A strong local angle explains why a Finnish audience should spend its time on this particular topic.
4. Can you prove your claims?
A media story becomes stronger when it is supported by research, statistics, customer results, official data or a transparently explained calculation.
A percentage alone is not enough. A newsroom will want to know:
- who collected the data
- how large the dataset is
- how and when the research was conducted
- what the comparison is based on
- who funded the research
- whether the data and methodology can be examined.
Claims about sustainability, the benefits of technology and market leadership in particular require evidence. The bigger the claim, the stronger the proof it needs.
5. Does the topic involve change, a problem or tension?
Journalists often look for the point where the current situation and the desired future collide. This may involve an unresolved problem, a surprising development, conflicting interests or simply the fact that an old way of doing things is no longer sufficient.
“We have launched new software” is a product announcement.
“Finnish construction companies lose millions of euros every year because of outdated data-processing practices – new data reveals the scale of the problem” opens up a much more interesting economic and societal angle.
A solution only becomes interesting once the significance of the problem is understood.
6. Is the timing right?
Even a strong story can fail at the wrong moment. News value increases when a topic connects with a decision, change, event or discussion that the audience is already aware of.
A current situation may create an opportunity for a company expert to provide information quickly. It may also consume all of a newsroom’s attention and push a planned corporate story aside.
That is why it is worth thinking not only about the day a press release is sent, but also about when the topic is most relevant to the audience and when a journalist is most likely to need it.
7. Can the story be told through people?
Numbers demonstrate the scale of a phenomenon, but people make it understandable.
A customer, employee, entrepreneur, patient or local resident can show what a change means in practice. A good example becomes part of the evidence behind the story.
Using a customer as a reference naturally requires their consent. The interviewee must also be able to talk about their experience in their own words. Overly scripted comments quickly lose credibility.
8. Can the company offer something others cannot?
A story becomes more valuable when a company has access to new information, a unique expert, an interesting location or an opportunity to demonstrate a change in practice.
A newsroom may be interested, for example, in:
- research findings offered in advance
- the first Finnish customer case
- an opportunity to visit a production facility
- an interview with an international executive or researcher
- illustrative material or data
- a perspective that challenges the prevailing view in the industry.
Exclusivity can strengthen a pitch, but it cannot rescue a weak story. Even unique information must still be relevant to the audience.
The seven-question news test
Before pitching a topic to the media, try summarising it by answering the following questions:
- What has happened that is new?
- Who does it affect?
- Why does it matter specifically in Finland?
- Why is the topic relevant right now?
- What are the key claims based on?
- Who can speak about the topic credibly?
- Why would the audience of this particular media outlet be interested?
If the answers are concrete and easy to understand without lengthy explanations, the topic probably has news potential. If the answers remain vague, the idea still needs development.
It is also worth remembering that not all effective content needs to meet the journalistic threshold for news. In that case, the content may work better on the company’s website, in a newsletter, in customer communications or on social media.
The best corporate news stories are about a change that the company understands particularly well and that also matters to others.
Identifying this perspective requires an understanding of the business, Finnish society and the needs of the media. Mailand helps Finnish and international companies identify the newsworthy topics within their own operations, test their potential and pitch them to the right newsrooms at the right time.