Glossary: Getting Press

Every key term from the course, in plain English. When a lesson says a word you don't know, it lives here.

The News Peg

The timely reason your story matters right now — a season, a trend, a new rule, a local event, or a fresh statistic. No peg, no news.

The 150-Word Pitch

The maximum length of a cold pitch email before a journalist stops reading. Five parts: why them, the story plus peg, why you in ten words, the offer, and your phone number.

The Credibility Flywheel

The compounding loop where each press hit makes the next pitch easier: prior coverage becomes the proof in your subject lines, your press page, and your credibility.

Earned media

Attention someone else gives you for free — a journalist writes about you, a podcaster invites you on. The highest-trust media because a third party chose you.

Paid media

Attention you buy: ads on search, social, or billboards. Highest control, lowest trust — everyone knows you paid to say it.

Owned media

Attention you control: your website, email list, and social accounts. More trusted than ads, but limited to people who already found you.

Beat reporter

A journalist assigned to cover a specific topic area — business, lifestyle, local news. Pitch the reporter whose beat matches your story.

Media list

Your spreadsheet of pitch targets: name, outlet, beat, audience fit, contact, a recent story they did on your topic, and pitch tracking columns.

Pitch

A short email proposing a story to a journalist or host. One story per email, personalized, with a clear next step.

Subject line

The first impression of your pitch — six to ten words naming the story and its peg, not your company. Specific beats clever.

Follow-up

One second touch, four to five days after the pitch, adding new information. Never 'just bumping this' — and never more than two touches total.

Press kit

The package that lets a journalist feature you without chasing you: a 50-word bio, headshot, your go-to topics, company one-liner, and contact info.

Press page

The 'As featured in' page on your site: every mention linked, with logos and best quotes. Journalists check it to decide if you're legitimate.

Soundbite

The quotable line you say first, then explain — under fifteen seconds. The sharp line gets clipped, quoted, and remembered.

Angle

The shape of the story — the reason a reader cares. The five reliable shapes: data, contrarian, local, human story, milestone.