- Journalists are increasingly rejecting AI-generated PR pitches because they lack originality, editorial value and a genuine understanding of their audiences.
- More than 53% of journalists surveyed by Cision report actively opposing AI-generated pitches, reflecting growing resistance to automated media outreach.
- Strong journalist relationships remain central to successful media relations. Trust, personal communication and an understanding of individual reporters’ interests carry more weight than mass email distribution.
- Relevance is critical: Muck Rack’s 2026 data indicates that 88% of journalists immediately reject pitches that do not align with their coverage areas.
- PR professionals should prioritise tailored pitches of fewer than 150 words, demonstrate familiarity with journalists’ recent work and focus on meaningful relationships rather than the volume of media outreach. *
Imagine for a moment what it is like to be a journalist. Media members manage overstuffed, under-read inboxes. I can only imagine that the influx of generative text has made that environment significantly worse.
Reporters I speak to say they face a deluge of communications with zero editorial value. They are actively pushing back against this wave of automated spam. The media ecosystem is rejecting the output of these tools.
“I don’t really keep track of the number of AI-generated pieces I get. All I can say is that it’s usually pretty easy for a seasoned journalist to spot the difference between genuine, expert-led content and AI-derived slop,” Garth Theunissen of News24 tells me.
“I’m sure 80% of those I reject are AI-generated. I receive around 30 pitches a day. If it doesn’t hook me in the first para, I’m out,” says Caiphus Kgosana, the editor of Sunday World. “Relationships with PR execs absolutely influence my decisions. When we have a good relationship, they are able to better pitch a press release or op-ed better rather than those who send via email and then hope I will be interested.”
The global data paints a stark picture of this deteriorating relationship. According to Cision, more than 53% of journalists report actively opposing these generated pitches.
Global issue
A Global Results Communications survey found that 43% of media professionals view this practice negatively. They note that the outreach reads like it was written by a bot. These journalists argue that algorithmic pitches lack any unique perspective and fundamentally erode editorial trust.
In the US, prominent reporters are publicly expressing their absolute frustration. I read about this in a piece called AI-written pitches are hurting PR and media is saying it out loud, by Roger Johnson on PR Daily.
Johnson relays that Diane Brady at Fortune said the volume of automated pitches in her inbox has increased fivefold over the past year.
Mike Isaac at The New York Times recently noted on social media that he sends these messages directly into the trash without a second thought. Sam Blum at Inc. went further. He compared professionals relying on these tools to someone wearing clown shoes.
Jordyn Holman at The New York Times added that journalists value time spent communicating with real people over algorithmic text that wastes their time.
The telltale signs of generated slop
Agency executives must understand how quickly reporters spot these shortcuts. Default models produce highly formulaic text. It uses predictable structures and robotic phrasing that immediately signal a lack of effort.
Once a journalist identifies these patterns, the sender is often permanently blacklisted. Roberto Torres of CIO Dive specifically warned against certain rhetorical framings. Pitches that attempt to sound clever with contrasting setups are a dead giveaway.
Another common error is a bulleted list that details exactly what a specific executive can speak to on a given topic. Reporters see these identical formats dozens of times a day.
The best professionals in this industry treat media relations as a genuine partnership. A successful strategy requires getting to know journalists, studying their recent articles, and engaging with them regularly without always asking for a favour.
Nick Lichtenberg at Fortune summarised this dynamic perfectly. He noted that if a PR professional builds a genuine relationship with him, he will welcome a text message. He prefers a quick mobile message from a known contact over a lengthy email pitch. Business is conducted between people. Trust is the currency that matters in publishing.
Rebuild trust through targeted relevance
Julie Hyman of Yahoo Finance reinforced this exact point. She receives hundreds of emails daily from people she has never met. She opens and responds to emails only from people she already knows.
The person comes first. The pitch comes second. The only exceptions are proposals featuring major chief executive officers or timely global topics. Without an existing relationship, the barrier to entry is extraordinarily high.
To cut through the noise, teams must abandon volume and focus on strict relevance. Recent Muck Rack data from 2026 reveals that 88% of journalists drop off-beat pitches immediately. Reporters judge relevance in the first few seconds. Successful outreach requires citing the reporter’s recent articles in the opening lines to show you understand their coverage.
The mechanics of a strong pitch are incompatible with automated mass distribution. Keep communication under 150 words, focus on a single tailored angle, and send it between Tuesday and Thursday mornings. These constraints force PR professionals to think critically rather than relying on software.
* Summary created by AI
Nkateko Khosa is business unit director at BOLD, bringing 25 years of experience in public relations and strategic communications. A trusted practitioner who has worked at senior management, EXCO, and board levels, Khosa has advised clients across banking, energy, telecommunications, and government. Before joining BOLD, she played a pivotal role in the Namibia International Energy Conference, spearheaded media relations for the Council for Geoscience, and supported TEDA during the Urban20 Sherpa Meeting. Her portfolio includes work with blue-chip entities such as the JSE, Eskom, Standard Bank, Sanofi, and Transnet. At BOLD, Khosa leverages her core strengths in crisis management, stakeholder relations, and integrated marketing to serve a growing client list that includes African Bank, GEPF (Government Employee Pension Fund), AECI, Dermopal, Peermont and Accenture.
