Ceci Connolly, award winning reporter for the Washington Post recently participated in a media relations panel sponsored by the Public Relations Society of America’s National Capital Chapter in Washington, DC.  Connolly offered further evidence that today’s reporters are often chained to their desks, working longer hours on more stories: Gone are the days when reporters could grab lunch with sources-there’s just no time for that. Lunch has been downgraded to a cup of coffee. (I’ll drink to that!)

But seriously, Connolly brought up an important point that bears mentioning, and that is, news organizations are still trying to find their value-added especially with the proliferation of online content providers. So while you may think sending a pitch automatically means you can score coverage, sometimes it’s not that simple.

“It’s pretty rare for somebody to pitch me on a single story and you say here’s what your story should be and I turn around and do it…That’s just not how we operate any more,” Connolly said.

“We use [pitches] as the foundation for the story and we think about what more we can bring to this.”