I’m currently a third-year pr student, but I’ve dabbled in the world of public relations outside of school quite a bit, and I hear rules like these all the time. I’m glad to see them applied, focused and shaped further to fit a specific industry. There is much power in knowing how to customize general techniques to fit an industry- much like power exists in knowing how to customize a pitch to a journalist!

The journalists and other media affiliates we pitch to, as pr professionals, tend to all share the same characteristics, regardless of the industries in which they work: they are busy, impatient, and hungry for a good story with an easy lead.

To further support your list and to represent the needs and wants of ALL journalists, I will summarize: they don’t like their time wasted, they hate being polluted with irrelevant pitches, they won’t wait for you to get the information to them, they will spot gaps immediately and call you on it, and they will forward anything (positive and negative) you say.

I do feel there is at least one more key reminder to add to your list, and I’ve certainly learned it’s importance the hard way. To add to your existing seven, most journalists decide whether or not a pitch is “worth it” within their first 25 seconds of reading and/or hearing what you have to say so, focus on exact word usage and intrigue immediately, make it quick, interesting, and captivating so THEY ask for more and YOU become the chased rather than the chaser.

Stumbling with your sentence structures and using the wrong words can make or break a pitch and can immediately affect your initial credibility as perceived by the journalist you are speaking or writing to. When calling, it doesn’t hurt to practice exactly what you’re going to say and what words you’re going to use to be most effective. When writing, taking the time to rewrite your opening few sentences to make sure you’re using the most effective words will certainly prove to be worth your while.

Your rules are great, but I’ve learned that something as small as one word can destroy a pitch, so I think it would be beneficial for your readers to not underestimate my rule #8.