What 1,500 journalists just told us about PR

Here are my top takeaways from the State of Journalism 2025 report, released this week by Muck Rack.

It reflects responses from 1,500+ verified journalists, especially regarding how they work with PR pros. Check out the full report.

LinkedIn is the hot social network for connecting with (many) journalists

It’s no surprise X is in decline among journalists, but I was struck that it’s LinkedIn that’s filling that vacuum. Check out these stats:

• 49% of journalists said they spent more time on LI last year than the year before, higher than any other platform (even media-darling Bluesky)
• 60% trusted LI to treat journalistic content fairly, highest of all platforms
• LI now ranks #3 on “most valuable platform,” just behind X, and a bit further behind Facebook

Obviously, if your targets are all lifestyle creators, they won’t be posting to LI. But if your biz, tech, policy, and other contacts have been silent on X, see if they’re warming up to LI.

AI adoption is now a baseline

It’s only taken us about a year to go from journalists posting “I’ll get fired if PR people email me stuff they wrote with ChatGPT” to these stats:

• 77% of journalists are using AI tools in their journalistic work
• 42% specifically use ChatGPT
• 40% use AI transcription tools

Some Inner Circle members already offer AI transcripts of journalists’ interviews with their spokespeople – usually appreciated. Sounds like most journalists will be doing that for themselves before long.

Don’t feel ghosted – adjust your lists

Fifty-four percent of respondents said they seldom or never respond to PR pitches. This highlights the importance of finding the “starving crowd” of media members who both cover your topic and value PR contributions.

Stop chasing people who’ve never engaged. Focus your energy on uncovering the exact right 5-10 news creators most likely to care.

Through the ages, journalists have been telling us exactly what they need. It’s in the content they publish, day after day. Now we have even tighter intel on how they like it delivered. It’s on us to listen, adapt, and meet them where they are – whether that’s LinkedIn, a clean transcript, or a pitch that actually fits.

Respect earns replies. Let’s earn more of both.

P.S. I’m a brand ambassador for Muck Rack, but am not compensated for this message. I think this report is valuable for every PR pro.