Why media coverage matters more than ever

When I first started in PR, many moons ago, the most exciting moment of each day was when the papers and post arrived, bringing the days media to our desks ready, for the coverage hunt.

The thrill of flicking through the national newspapers, lifestyle magazines and trade titles is something I’ll never tired of (when I do, I’ll retire!)

All the hard work building media relationships, crafting stories, pitching, persuading and (hopefully) securing coverage leads to this moment, when you got to finally find out if you made it into print.

These says, there’s obviously less onus on physical print coverage, but the thrill of publication still matters, because there is always something quietly powerful about a piece of media coverage.

It’s about reputation, visibility, influence, and trust. Strategic communications has always played the long game through shaping perception, building credibility, and helping organisations and their spokespeople appear in the right conversations at the right time.

Media coverage, as an output of media relations, itself a tactic of your communications strategy, matters because it is earned. It’s not advertising, it’s not paid for, it’s not wholly defined by you. As embattled a time journalists have had over the last decade, and continue to have, they too matter greatly because they are the ultimate gatekeepers that bring independent, third-party oversight, deciding what is and isn’t a story, and what makes it onto the proverbial page.

What’s fascinating right now is how media coverage looks set to have a renaissance, thanks to the rise of AI agents.

The way people search, find, and make decisions is being redefined by generative AI, and it’s giving earned media a whole new level of importance.

AI search is changing how B2B buyers discover brands

While we’re all used to going to Google to find something, there’s a shift taking place. Increasingly, we’re asking AI assistants like ChatGPT, Gemini, or Microsoft’s Copilot to search for us.

But unlike traditional search engines, these tools don’t just link to websites; they generate answers based on what they already know from trusted sources.

That’s where earned media comes in. AI doesn’t typically scrape your website in real time. Instead, it leans on third-party content: credible news outlets, trade press, analyst reports and reviews. So suddenly, if you’re not in those, you’re probably not in the AI’s answer either.

Credibility could trump keyword optimisation

SEO still has its place, but in the world of generative AI, credibility might start to matter more.

AI tools aren’t ranking pages based on keywords anymore. They’re drawing from sources they consider trustworthy. Think journalists, analysts, and industry commentators, not simply your latest blog post or marketing page.

If your business is cited as a thought leader in respected publications, you’re more likely to be surfaced by AI as an expert, a supplier, or a credible voice.

Trade media is having a moment

For years, trade titles have been beavering away in the background, read religiously by people in the know, but often overlooked in favour of big-name media.

That looks set to change, because AI models have realised that trade publications are rich, credible, and deeply focused. In fact, there’s increasing evidence that AI tools are more likely to quote a niche trade title than a generalist site when answering sector-specific queries.

What’s the best approach?

Start by asking yourself the following.

·       Which credible trade and business titles are most influential in my space? And do I have relationships with the journalists behind them?

·       Is my thought leadership offering genuine insight that adds value to my audience? Or does it drift into self-promotion that both AI and journalists will overlook?

·       Have I checked what AI tools actually say about my brand? And am I adjusting my comms strategy based on any gaps or blind spots?

·       Am I consistently generating earned media coverage, through press releases, opinion pieces, and expert commentary, to maintain a steady presence in the market?

·       Am I budgeting for paid editorial opportunities alongside the earned ones, using them to secure placements that strengthen your visibility with both AI models and human decision-makers?

Or better still, have I asked Phil and Susie at Woosah to help me?

Earned media matters

We used to talk about media coverage as a reputation-builder, and it still is. But it’s also becoming important in new and exciting ways.

In a world where AI tools act as researchers, product advisors, and gatekeepers, showing up in the right media is foundational. If your business isn’t being talked about by the right people, in the right places, there’s a real risk it won’t be talked about at all.

So yes, media coverage still matters. In fact, it might just matter more than ever.