Pitching US journalists from the UK? What to know before running your first campaign

Key Takeaways

• Lauren Shelley from Marketing Signals explores the differences between digital PR in the UK and the US, with insights from her colleague Bruna Barbosa.

• Regional and lifestyle publications can offer the most consistent opportunities for coverage in the US, particularly when campaigns include relevant findings for individual states.

• US journalists tend to favour concise pitches with bullet points and a link to a media kit containing data, images and other assets.

• PR teams should schedule outreach around each journalist’s local time zone and allow more time for coverage to land.

• Agreeing how syndicated coverage will be counted before a campaign begins can help avoid confusion when reporting results to clients.

Digital PR in the UK is fast-paced - you can send a pitch on a Monday morning and have it live on multiple sites by the end of the week, and if you’re reacting to something topical, such as fuel costs, the latest storm or the Autumn Budget, it can be even quicker. 

But if you try to mirror your UK digital PR strategy across the pond in the US, then it’s not going to work. BuzzStream’s State of Digital PR 2026 report found that 70% of UK Digital PR professionals see coverage within five days, compared with just 37% in the US. Around 60% of US respondents said it can take between one and three weeks to secure coverage. 

I wanted to understand why this was and how the US differs from the UK, so I spoke to my colleague Bruna Barbosa, Senior Digital PR Manager at Marketing Signals, who lives and works in the US, to see how she approaches the American market. 

There are more PRs and fewer journalists

You’d think that a bigger country would mean a lot more journalists, but per head, it’s the opposite. BuzzStream puts the UK at roughly one journalist for every 1,280 residents, compared with one for every 3,840 in the US. In the US, there are between 1.8 and 7.2 PRs for every journalist, and in the UK, the figure is 1.2 to 1.5. That’s a lot of PRs for every journalist. 

Bruna describes the US landscape as “fragmented, commercial and subscription-driven”. Publications are spread out across 50 states and are under a lot more pressure to show a return on every story, so each inbox is much more crowded than UK teams are used to. 

Regional and lifestyle titles are the most reliable targets

In the UK, top-tier national sites publish content at a higher volume and are open to data-led stories, expert commentary and fluffy reactive pitches. However, according to Bruna, the most consistent results come from lifestyle publications, regional and hyper-local press. Many national outlets can be very hit or miss, and tend to bite only when the story has broad cultural relevance or is genuine breaking news. Data-led campaigns do work, but regional sites are where you’ll see most of your success. 

Keep the pitch short 

In the UK, I’ve found that many journalists are happy to see a full piece of expert commentary or a press release pasted within the body of the email as they’re short on time and need everything in one place. However, Bruna explained that US journalists tend to favour shorter, bulleted pitches with a link to a media kit that contains any imagery, the raw data and any other assets. According to the BuzzStream report, only 11.6% of US digital PRs paste a full press release into their pitches. This was the biggest surprise for me. 

Although it seems that when it comes to subject lines, we have a lot in common, as they tend to carry a lot of weight. Many journalists read emails on their phone, so Bruna says to keep these short and put the strongest number at the front in case it gets cut off. She also matches the tone of the pitch to the story and leans into a clear emotion, whether that’s curiosity, humour or shock.

Simplify the data

“Innovation wins in the UK, but clarity wins in the US,” Bruna told me. If a journalist has to cross-reference five metrics to find the point, the pitch will be too confusing and most likely be ignored. It doesn’t mean to say ambitious campaigns won’t cut through - you just need to make sure you can explain your story in a couple of sentences. 

I think her test is a useful one for any market, though. Before writing your pitch, whether you’re pitching for the UK or the US, ask yourself, can you explain your finding or main story to a friend in one or two sentences? If not, it needs simplifying. 

UK data can travel, but it always needs a US hook

A study doesn’t need to be entirely US-based to secure coverage across the pond, but it does need an angle that Americans care about. Bruna suggests framing global data as a comparison, as the US readers will be interested in knowing how its habits compare with those in other states and countries. 

State-by-state data is particularly useful. It doesn’t need to be a best-and-worst ranking either. If you have a genuine angle or meaningful findings for every state, then you have up to 50 local angles you can pitch. Something you can update every year works really well too, especially if it’s using data that only your client can provide. This makes journalists want to cover it year after year, with them eventually coming to you to ask when it’ll be available. 

Time sends for the journalist’s time zone

Something that sounds simple, but is often forgotten when translating UK campaigns for the US market, is the time difference. The US spans four time zones, and that increases when you include Alaska and Hawaii. So when sending a campaign out in the US, always check what time would be best for that specific state. Early mornings are standard, but Bruna says she gets strong results from post-lunch windows, starting at around 11.30am ET and running up until around 2.30pm. Much like the UK, she avoids sending anything close to 5pm in any time zone, and schedules sends specifically depending on where the newsdesk or journalist is based. 

Be patient when it comes to new brands

According to Bruna, close relationships with journalists aren’t important. Although they can be beneficial, she says that recognition is what matters more. When a brand is new, the first few campaigns rarely land, but trust will build the more journalists keep seeing the same name attached to good data. 

Personalisation will always matter, though. BuzzStream found that 58% of US digital PRs always personalise their pitches, compared with just 42% in the UK. 

Agree how you’ll report on syndication

Many US campaigns depend heavily on syndication networks, including Tribune, Patch and Yahoo. Much like the UK, with the Reach PLC and Newsquest regional networks. A single piece of coverage can lead to up to 50 pieces of coverage across affiliate sites. Some agencies count them all individually, but some don’t, so it’s worth deciding on this before every campaign to avoid confusion when reporting on numbers to your clients.

Check that a trend actually is a trend

A mistake Bruna often finds, and something I’ve noticed in the UK too, is assuming journalists and their readers already know about a trend. Something that is gaining momentum all over your social media or that’s common among your friendship group may not actually be that big of a trend, and may not be important to a journalist in Florida. Double-check anything you’re reacting to or newsjacking on, and make sure that it’s worth your time. If you’re not sure, it’s best to leave it. If you’re going to jump on any trend, it’s always worth explaining the trend clearly, along with why it matters and why your client in particular is commenting on it. 

Final thoughts 

Most of what works in the UK still works in the US. Essentially, most journalists are always looking for an interesting story, clean data and a concise pitch with a good subject line. The difference is mainly how much longer it can take to see results, how it’s pitched and how important regional media is. 

Looking for more tips on running a US digital PR campaign? You can see read our blog post with Gretchen Andsager on Digital PR in the US, or Mady Lanni on Data-Led Campaigns in the US or read the full Q&A on the Marketing Signals website.