By: Hannah Klaassen and Katherine Oliveri
The media panel at PRSA Silicon Valley's annual Media Predicts Gala reinforced what we've observed throughout the year: AI is here to stay and will continue to be a main focus for tech reporters in 2025. But this wasn’t the only takeaway from the event. Here are some of the notable insights shared by Business Insider’s Rosalie Chan, ABC-7’s Dion Lim, The New York Times’ Don Clark, and Techstrong’s Jon Swartz.
AI will remain a key focus for tech reporters in 2025
Journalists and public relations professionals alike can agree that the AI frenzy has grown to be more than anyone could have anticipated in 2025. Rosalie shared that an overwhelming amount of the tech she learned about this year was AI focused.
A common theme across the panel was the need for society to better understand AI's lasting and permanent impacts. For example, Don pointed out that many people may question the value of reading the newspaper if they can simply ask AI for a summary of the news. He clarified that despite AI's relevance, there is still an appetite for stories written by real journalists. This further reiterates the importance of a human connection for a reader, and not just simply reading to find out answers, but because you want to hear a person’s perspective.
Naturally, AI will continue to remain a key coverage driver in 2025 as Jon shared that he is keen to write more about how AI is helping “real people” and driving true impact on a micro level in 2025.
Reporters anticipate a shift in how they use social media in 2025
One standout discussion point was how reporters use social media for their work, and the benefits and pitfalls that they have observed across the various platforms.
Dion believes that X is "divisive," as she has a love/hate relationship with the platform. She did acknowledge that it remains an impactful tool for breaking news.
Separately, Jon shared that he uses X more as a "newswire" than for connecting with sources. He has shifted to identifying sources for stories on LinkedIn and has seen great success with this approach.
Journalist’s 2025 Predictions
Predictions season for PR professionals and journalists alike is a whirlwind of pitches before the end of year. Some reporters, like Jon, sourced predictions from experts, but ultimately ended up killing the story due to the overwhelming amount of pitches he was receiving and he was finding it difficult to sort through what was compelling.
While industry professionals share their own theories of what the biggest trends in 2025 will be for their respective industries, journalists have their own view of what the next big stories will consist of in their corresponding beats.
Local Bay Area broadcast journalists, like Dion, have followed the development of autonomous vehicles since the cars were first allowed on California roads, and she anticipates the story to continue to grow as more companies gain approval to test their vehicles, an increasing amount of people willing to try them and growing frustration resulting in vandalization.
Rosalie anticipates universities to ride the AI wave by offering classes solely focused on how to work with the new technology. She also highlighted that she hopes in 2025 she is able to write more stories on Silicon Valley personalities and the construction of data centers as the demand for AI only increases.
Appetite for Vendor Events Persists
Interest in reporters attending vendor events remains a major question mark for many public relations professionals, especially as we work to develop our 2025 strategies. As such, it was a hot topic on the panel.
Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, most reporters on the panel confirmed they are still interested in attending in-person events. Panelists highlighted aspects to them that stuck out from recent conferences like AWS’s Re:Invent, like the importance of an established press room and quiet areas to conduct briefings while at these events.
Tactical Pitch Feedback
The question every communications professional has is ‘how do I get my pitches to stand out and get responses from reporters?’ The one theme that all panelists agreed on was that all pitches must be tailored to the individual journalist. Beyond just looking at what beat they cover, going to recent stories and see what they are currently interested in. The goal should be to make it easy for the reporter to understand what the story would be and how it is relevant to their audience.
Beyond customization Dion stressed the importance of a short pitch with a strong headline. Reporters do not have time to read through multiple paragraphs when their inbox is full of hundreds of pitches. Having an easy to scan pitch with an eye catching subject line is crucial to getting your foot in the door.
Lastly, reporters were in agreement that the amount of survey reports is overdone. While survey data can serve as a supplement to a piece, reporters like Don emphasized that surveys aren’t new and unless one is particularly compelling and not self serving, he more than likely won’t look at it.
Where does this fit into your PR strategy?
While this is only a small sampling of the vast journalism world, the tips and larger trends are great call outs to consider when developing your 2025 strategy. One immediate take away that your team can activate in 2025 is to keep a close pulse not just on X but also LinkedIn for potential opportunities to comment on industry stories, as well as using it as a resource to stay up to date on breaking and relevant news in your focus areas.
Recognizing the importance of tailoring pitches to a journalist’s beat will be even more critical in 2025 as newsrooms continue to get smaller and budgets are getting tighter, the number of targets for a potential story is limited so being intentional with pitches is crucial to getting results.
With how much the PR and journalism industry have shifted just within 2024, we are looking forward to seeing the new developments that come in the new year.
If you’re interested in connecting with Highwire to talk about how you’re looking to shape your own PR strategy in 2025, click here.
