11 Ways to Spot Media Coverage Opportunities: A Practical Guide

A comms pro's guide to spotting newsworthy signals

Steph Spyro is the founder of Off the Record

“Steph, how do I spot coverage opportunities?” was a question I got asked a few days ago. It stuck with me because if one person is asking it, plenty of others probably are too.

So this edition of OTR is all about that: how to spot the signals that can turn into stories, lead to fresh angles and create opportunities for meaningful coverage.

1. Think in hooks, not topics. Is there fresh data, clear conflict or a compelling case study? Is there something that gives the story a reason to exist now?

2. Spot and share trends with reporters before they become headlines. Have you noticed something bubbling away? Are campaigners, businesses or communities starting to voice concern or frustration?

3. Engage with adjacent beats. For example, pitch diet shifts to health reporters. Agriculture works brilliantly for political journos at the moment. You could also frame climate impacts as economic risk and pitch to business/finance desks. The obvious for all of these is to pitch to an environment reporter but there are opportunities in approaching others.

4. Use unexpected voices. This can help reframe a familiar story in a fresh and credible way. For example, get a former military strategist to discuss misinformation campaigns or tech engineers to analyse workplace burnout culture. Economists talking about the impact of diet shifts and even farmers advocating for plant-based transitions also do the trick. This can help unlock pitches to different editorial desks.