Find the evidence that makes your company story useful

Journalists want relevance and something they cannot get elsewhere. How to audit your own data, customer questions and experts for stories worth telling.

Most company stories fail with journalists for a simple reason. They are about the company, not about anything the journalist’s readers need to know.

The fix is not better adjectives. It is evidence: facts, data and experience that help a reporter explain something to their audience.

This article sets out how to find that evidence inside your own business.

What journalists say they want

Two large surveys of journalists point in the same direction.

Muck Rack’s State of Journalism 2026 surveyed journalists between January and March 2026, with 897 responses in the final analysis. Most respondents were in the US, with others in the UK, Canada and India.

It found that 86% of journalists said at least some of their stories come from PR pitches. Yet 88% said they immediately disregard pitches that miss their beat.

The most valuable elements of a pitch, according to the survey, were clear relevance to the journalist’s beat, access to relevant sources, original research or data, and high-resolution images.

Cision’s 2025 State of the Media report surveyed more than 3,000 journalists across 19 markets. It found 86% would reject a pitch that was not aligned with their beat or audience. It also found 72% worried about factual errors in AI-generated PR content.

The message is consistent. Relevance first, then something the journalist cannot easily get elsewhere.

Where useful evidence hides

Most organisations already hold material that would interest a reporter. It is usually scattered across teams.

Operational data. Order volumes, booking patterns, support tickets, delivery times or regional trends. Aggregated and anonymised, these can show a change before official statistics do.

Customer questions. What customers ask your sales and service teams is an early signal of what the public is worried about.

Expert experience. Engineers, advisers, clinicians or analysts who can explain a complex issue clearly and on the record.

Surveys. A well-designed survey of customers or a defined group can produce original findings, if the method is sound and disclosed.

Before-and-after results. Documented outcomes from real projects, with the client’s permission.

Run an evidence audit

Spend one afternoon with a small group from sales, service, operations and finance. Ask four questions.

1. What do we know about our market that most people do not?
2. What has changed in the last six months in the data we see?
3. Which questions do customers ask us most often right now?
4. Who on our team can explain a topical issue in plain language?

Write each answer down with its source and how it could be verified. Discard anything you cannot stand behind.

Test each story for usefulness

For every candidate story, ask whether it passes three tests.

The reader test. Would a reader of the target publication learn something useful, even if your company were not named?

The evidence test. Is there a number, a document or a named expert that supports it?

The timing test. Does it connect to something people are already discussing?

If a story fails the reader test, it is advertising, and journalists will treat it that way.

Handle data honestly

Original data is valuable only if it is trustworthy.

Disclose the sample size, dates and method. Avoid presenting a survey of your own customers as if it represented the whole market.

Do not round numbers in your favour or pick the one statistic that flatters you. A journalist who finds a flaw is unlikely to trust your next pitch.

If AI tools help draft material, check every fact. Cision’s finding that 72% of journalists worry about AI factual errors suggests reporters are watching for this.

Prepare your experts

Evidence becomes a story when someone can explain it.

Choose two or three people who know the subject and can speak clearly. Agree in advance what they can and cannot discuss, and how to handle questions about clients or confidential data.

Give each one a short briefing note: the key facts, the sources and the three points they most want to make.

An illustrative example

The following example is hypothetical.

A Spanish freight forwarder notices that its customers’ requests for rail options between Spain and Germany have risen sharply over six months. Its finance team confirms the pattern.

Rather than pitching “Company launches rail service”, it shares an anonymised trend summary with logistics and trade reporters, with an operations director available to explain the reasons.

The story is about a shift in how goods move across Europe. The company is the source, not the subject.

Keep a story bank

Record each evidence-based story idea in a shared list: the finding, the source, the expert, the relevant beats and the date it was last checked.

Review it monthly. Data goes stale, and a story that was useful in spring may be wrong by autumn.

The test

Before any pitch goes out, ask one question. If our name were removed, would this still be worth reading?

If the answer is yes, you have a story. If it is no, keep looking.