Audience: Writing for Readers, Not Journalists

One of the most persistent misconceptions in PR is that we write for journalists.

We don’t. Journalists are the conduit, not the destination. Every editorial decision they make is shaped by the audience they serve, and every story they choose to pursue is filtered through that lens. When PR writing forgets this, it tends to drift into language that is technically correct but emotionally flat, relevant to the brand but not to the reader.

Understanding the audience is not about demographics in the marketing sense. It is about recognising what a publication’s readers care about, what they already know, and what they are trying to make sense of in the world. A business audience reads differently to a consumer one. Investors look for different signals than policymakers. Regional readers respond to different pressures than national ones. Good PR writing starts from that reality, not from the organisation’s internal priorities.

This is why simply securing coverage is no longer a reliable indicator of success. A story can appear in the right publication and still miss the mark if it doesn’t speak to the concerns or interests of the audience reading it. Journalists are acutely aware of this. They know when a pitch aligns with their readership and when it feels forced. PR writing that demonstrates audience awareness makes their job easier and their coverage stronger.

Audience thinking also influences what information is foregrounded. Business readers may care most about scale, growth, or commercial impact. Public sector or community audiences may be more concerned with outcomes, accountability, or long-term effects. The same announcement can be framed in multiple valid ways, but only one will feel natural to a particular readership. Choosing that framing is an editorial decision, not a stylistic one.

Looking at coverage through this lens often reveals why some stories travel further than others. Media monitoring and narrative analysis help teams understand how different audiences respond once a story moves through press release distribution. PR reporting tools make it possible to see which messages resonate, which are ignored, and where tone or emphasis may be misaligned with reader expectations.

For PR agencies, this insight strengthens pitching and reduces guesswork. For in-house teams, particularly those working across multiple stakeholder groups, it supports more precise communication and more credible reporting. In both cases, audience understanding shifts PR from output-driven activity to outcome-driven strategy.

At its best, PR writing sits at the intersection of clarity, relevance, and restraint. It respects the journalist’s role, but it prioritises the reader’s perspective. When that balance is achieved, stories feel less like announcements and more like contributions to a wider conversation.

That, ultimately, is the difference between being published and being read.