No matter what sector, brand or product quality stories are what all media and online news outlets want. But, right now, it is more important than ever to create outstanding stories and here’s why:
People often ask me if we still do ‘press releases’ or if there’s some other more digitally advanced way of communicating. In reality we use a whole box of tricks to get our stories noticed – and we need to because it has never been more competitive to get into the press.
Many different bodies are all fighting over the same space in rapidly reducing newspapers. Papers themselves are smaller than ever with less advertising and more expensive printing costs, the number of pages in a newspaper has been reduced across the board by an average of nearly 20 per cent making it harder than ever to land coverage.
We know about the switch online, but when you consider that the front pages of all newspapers contain the biggest international news of the day, the back is dedicated to sport and the middle to lifestyle features, you can see how the space for products, brands and people is massively reduced and therefore only the most outstanding stories will land successfully.
Reduction in national newspaper space:
| Publication | Number of pages November 2019 | Number of pages November 2020 | Difference in pages | Percentage difference in pages % |
| The Sun | 64 | 56 | 8 | -12.5 |
| Daily Mirror | 72 | 60 | 12 | -16.7 |
| Daily Star | 56 | 48 | 8 | -14.3 |
| Daily Express | 72 | 60 | 8 | – 16.7 |
| Daily Mail | 100 | 88 | 12 | – 12 |
| Daily Telegraph | 40 | 34 | 6 | – 15 |
| The Times | 76 | 72 | 4 | – 5.3 |
| Metro | 72 | 36 | 36 | -50 |
| Guardian | 56 | 40 | 16 | – 28.6 |
| Average page decrease | 19% |