Kamalanominon

This week’s Democratic National Convention is hosting the coming out party for what is perhaps the country’s TikTokiest campaign to date, that of “Coconut Meme Queen”/”Brat” Vice President Kamala Harris. 

The campaign that launched a thousand memes is headlining a convention that has made great strides in the online space since 2008, when it first credentialed bloggers along with the traditional press corps.

This year, we can report from onsite at the convention that “content creators” are ubiquitous, with their own dedicated “lounges” off the floor and special receptions. More than 200 digital creators have special access to the convention’s first-ever Creator Platform, positioned right on the convention floor. The platform, which lets creators capture 360-degree views of the convention space and conduct interviews with prominent attendees for their audiences, represents a new step forward in how campaigns are covered—and how that coverage is prioritized by convention organizers.  

The Trump campaign is no stranger to engaging content creators either, having worked with influencers from Logan Paul to Elon Musk and claiming several million followers on TikTok. Certainly, the platform Musk now owns—created as Twitter almost 20 years ago, in 2006—has played an outsize role in politics since its inception. And FGS politicos note online voices have been represented at the convention for several years now. 

But the prominence of their platform this year—right on the convention floor—combined with the laser focus of the convention’s keystone campaign on courting Gen Z through TikTokvoices – represents a brave new world in campaign communications. And perhaps a model that other organizations will emulate.

Journalists receive multiple pitches a day (some more than 20!), so it’s critical to ensure yours is as eye-catching and efficient as possible to increase the chance of a response. Our colleagues at the Health Media Insights newsletter combed through the findings from MuckRack’s recently released 2024 State of Journalism Report surveying more than 1,100 U.S.-based journalists to determine what makes the perfect pitch: 

• Make it personal. It may seem obvious, but it’s essential to make sure your pitch gets to the right person in the right way. The report found that 73% of journalists said the top reason why they reject a pitch is because it doesn’t match their coverage, and 83% prefer to be pitched via 1:1 email versus a mass email blast. Before landing on a target, take a moment to review the reporter’s latest coverage and social media posts to confirm your news fits their beat, then tailor your pitch to give your story the best chance of receiving coverage.

• Pique their interest. While keeping your note short is key (65% of journalists said they prefer pitches under 200 words), it’s also important to provide enough information to make a reporter want to learn more. Highlight the significance of your news to their audience and, where possible, offer an interview with a spokesperson or subject matter expert (SME) – according to the report, journalists strongly prefer SMEs, researchers and CEOs as sources. It goes without saying, but take a minute to reread your pitch before sending to ensure it doesn’t include any embargoed information before a journalist has agreed to the terms.

• Timing is (almost) everything. When it comes to pitching, the early bird truly does get the worm: 44% of reporters surveyed said that they want to receive a pitch before noon. Most reporters don’t care which day of the week you pitch them – but for those who do, they prefer to receive pitches on Monday. While the timing of most pitches is dependent on when your news is going live, if you have leeway try to pitch on a Monday morning to have the best chance at getting a response.

• Follow up, but not more than once. It’s natural to want to send follow-up emails in hopes of receiving a response, but 51% of reporters surveyed said one follow up is sufficient – and 48% recommend following up between 3 and 7 days later. If you don’t get a response, it’s likely not you – 49% of surveyed journalists say that they seldom or never respond to pitches. 

To sign up for Health Media Insights, email health@fgsglobal.com.

Recent research highlights changing views on the role of higher education in American life. Our Research and Insights team examined recent polling to see what Americans on both sides of the aisle think. Here’s what they found:

• Americans are more confident in community colleges (48%) than four-year universities (33%).

  • Over half of Americans (58%) feel that community colleges provide an affordable education compared to 11% who say the same about four year schools.

• Nearly half of Americans say having a college degree is less important today than it was 20 years ago.

  • Republicans (57%) are more likely to say college is less important than it was 20 years ago than Democrats (43%).

• Confidence in higher education is split with about a third of Americans feeling a lot of confidence (36%), some confidence (32%), and very little to no confidence (32%).

• Views on higher education fall along partisan lines with half of Republicans (50%) feeling very little to no confidence in college, compared to about one in ten Democrats (12%) who feel the same way. 

  • Republicans’ views on college have recently shifted. In 2015, over half (56%) of Republicans said they had a great deal or quite a lot of confidence in higher education, compared to 2024 where only a fifth of Republicans (20%) say the same.