Maintaining reporter relationships
Use this page when you want to keep a productive connection with reporters after an initial pitch, inquiry, or story.
Start here
Build relationships before you need coverage.
Reporter relationships make future pitches, questions, and event invitations easier. The goal is to become a useful, trustworthy source, not just someone who reaches out when you need something covered.
Prioritize reporters who
- Cover your campus, city, food, education, students, community events, or local features.
- Have written about a similar topic recently.
- Responded to a previous pitch, attended an event, or asked a thoughtful follow-up question.
- Could realistically use Chartwells as a source for future stories.
Relationship mindset
- Be helpful even when you are not pitching.
- Try not to be too transactional.
- Get to know what they care about.
- Respect their time, deadlines, and beat.
Research
Learn what they cover before you reach out.
A little research makes every future email stronger. It helps you offer the right story, source, event, or context at the right time.
Read recent stories
Review the journalist's recent stories to see if they are covering topics where you could offer a useful source, local angle, or campus dining perspective.
Check social channels
Glance at their social media to understand their personality, recurring interests, and any commonalities you can use to personalize communication.
Find the overlap
Look for the intersection between what they cover and what your campus can credibly offer: people, data, events, visuals, access, or timely expertise.
Save the context
Add notes to your media list so the next person can understand the relationship and avoid starting from scratch.
Check in
Reconnect with a reason, not just a request.
Check in every so often to see how they have been, ask what they are working on, offer help, and share story ideas when they are relevant.
Good reasons to reconnect
- You saw a recent story and have a useful related source or perspective.
- You have a seasonal, timely, or campus-relevant idea that fits their beat.
- You can offer access to a chef, dietitian, student-facing event, or campus dining expert.
- You want to thank them for recent coverage and keep the door open.
If it has been a while
- Reply to your last email thread so they can connect the dots on your history.
- Briefly remind them who you are and why you are reaching out.
- Keep the note short, warm, and useful.
- Offer a clear next step, but do not pressure them.
Be useful
Position yourself as an available resource.
The strongest media relationships are built on relevance, reliability, and speed. Supply timely, useful information when possible, and be clear about what you can and cannot provide.
Do
- Send timely, relevant information when it matches their coverage.
- Respect deadlines and respond quickly when you can help.
- Offer background, photos, interview options, or local context when useful.
- Be honest when you need to confirm details before answering.
Do not
- Send every update to every reporter.
- Pitch without checking whether the idea fits their beat.
- Make the relationship feel purely transactional.
- Ignore deadlines or send incomplete information late.
A useful check-in can be as simple as: "I saw your recent story on campus wellness. If you ever need a local dining source on student nutrition or food trends, I can help connect you."
Track it
Keep relationship notes where the team can use them.
Reporter relationships are more valuable when the history is visible to the team. Keep notes simple, current, and practical.
Track these details
- Name, outlet, email, phone, social handles, and beat.
- Recent stories or topics they care about.
- Past pitches, responses, coverage, or preferences.
- Deadline notes and best ways to reach them.
