New Research · May 2026

The Pitch
Report

From pitch to coverage, we talked to 350 tech journalists to discover what they really think about PR, and what it takes to actually break through their inbox in 2026.

350 JournalistsU.S. + U.K.

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Introduction

Inside the tech newsroom.

PR has long occupied an uneasy place in journalism culture. In many newsrooms, taking a pitch has traditionally been viewed as the easy route. That perception has always been unfair — but it has shaped the dynamic between the two sides in ways that still surface today.

At the same time, the practical reality is shifting. As editorial teams shrink, news cycles accelerate, and beats widen, reporters need reliable sources, original data, and expert access more than ever. The PR–journalism relationship isn’t going away. It’s becoming more load-bearing whether the industry wants to admit it or not.

What follows is what 350 tech journalists told us: candid, specific, and intended to help PR teams close the gap between what they’re sending and what works.

01 The Inbox Problem

The inbox problem is bigger than anyone’s admitting.

For many tech journalists, managing PR outreach is itself a big part of the job — a time sink that competes with reporting, writing, and source development.

of tech journalists spend 3+ hours per week managing PR-related email.

say a meaningful share of that time is spent on pitches with no realistic chance of coverage.

have “almost certainly” missed a story because it got lost in pitch volume.

The volume problem is compounding. Nearly two-thirds of journalists (65%) say the number of pitches they receive has increased compared to two years ago — and among the highest-volume recipients, that figure rises to 72%.

Top Pitch Frustrations

Mass-distributed, no personalization

46%

Misrepresents what the story would be

44%

Not written for their beat

39%

Excessive follow-up after no response

38%

02 A Changing World

A journalist’s world is changing — and PR pros need to understand that.

Journalists are being asked to absorb more pitches at the exact moment they have less capacity to do anything with them.

expect pressure on journalists to increase further in the coming year.

are seeking or already have supplemental income outside their staff role.

say compensation is not equitable for the work they do.

Sixty-three percent of tech journalists say their beat has widened to the point where it’s hard to maintain deep expertise across everything they’re expected to cover.

03 What Actually Works

What actually gets a journalist to open and reply.

Despite the noise, journalists aren’t unreachable. The challenge is that most pitches never clear the first bar.

are more likely to respond to a research-backed pitch than to a product announcement with the same news value.

always or usually open pitches from PR contacts they have an established relationship with.

can tell within the first sentence whether a pitch was written specifically for them.

say referencing their recent work makes them meaningfully more likely to respond.

04 The Beat Breakdown

Not all journalists are frustrated the same way.

Frustration with pitch quality is nearly universal — but the specific pain points and preferences shift meaningfully depending on what someone covers.

Cybersecurity

Credibility is currency.

The most credibility-driven beat in the sample — and the most demanding on speed.

AI / Machine Learning

The irony isn’t lost on them.

“AI” in a subject line now triggers immediate skepticism without something to back it up.

B2B SaaS

Lead with the angle.

Willing to read a longer pitch — but only if the news angle is clearly defensible.

Workplace Tech

The highest time burden.

Spends more weekly time on PR-related email than any other vertical we surveyed.

05 The Mechanics

The mechanics of a pitch that works.

Tone and intent matter — but so do the structural details most PR teams treat as afterthoughts: channel, length, lead time.

Preferred Pitch Channel

62%

10%

Phone

X (Twitter)

Other

12%

have passed on a story they wanted to cover because embargo terms were too restrictive.

say PR teams underestimate how quickly the coverage window closes after an announcement.

06 AI in the Inbox

AI in the inbox: what journalists perceive.

Whether the instinct is always accurate matters less than the fact that the perception exists — and is already shaping how journalists engage.

say they can usually tell when a pitch has been AI-generated or heavily AI-assisted.

How Journalists Identify AI-Generated Pitches

Overly formal or unnatural sentence structure

47%

Generic phrasing applicable to any reporter/beat

42%

Reads like a press release, not a personal note

42%

High volume from single contact in short window

36%

Excessive use of em dashes

32%

Excessive use of bulleted lists

31%

07 Who Breaks Through

The PR pros who break through.

Journalists are specific about what distinguishes the contacts they trust from the ones they filter out — and it’s less about tactics than professional culture.

What Makes Trusted PR Contacts Stand Out

Treats the relationship as long-term, not transactional

62%

Follows through on promises

57%

Deep understanding of journalist’s beat

48%

Doesn’t pitch things the journalist wouldn’t cover

39%

have recommended a PR contact based on positive experience.

have warned a colleague away from a PR contact after repeated bad experiences.

have blocked or filtered a PR contact due to excessive follow-up.

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