• by Ray Schultz , July 26, 2023

Publishers worried about efficiency in the newsroom should check out the Q3 Propel Media Barometer. It will tell them how hard journalists are working. 

It looks like they are doing pretty well despite being overworked.   

The study found that journalists opened 49.14% of the email PR pitches they received in Q2 2023. This marked a 10% increases YoY. 

In addition, reporters responded to 2.99% of the pitches they got, and three-quarters were looked at within the same day. Of those who responded, 66.42% did so the same day the pitch was received. 

Generally, 32.55% of email pitches were opened within 10 minutes.  

And 69.31% of the resulting stories were published within seven days. 

The study notes that the time it take for stories to be published has increased in tandem with “mass journalist layoffs and dwindling media resources.” 

For example, 59.51% of news stories were publishing within three days of the initial pitch in Q1. But in Q2, that fell to 50%.  

The best day to blast to journalists is Tuesday—it draws 27.73 or all journalist responses. 

The report is based on 485.722 pitches sent in Q2 of 2023.