Before You Write a Word — Find Out If Your News Is Actually News
The Ump scores your announcement's newsworthiness and calls it straight: wire-worthy, trade press only, owned channels only, or not a press release at all.
Answer the seven questions below about your announcement. The Ump scores each answer and delivers a verdict with a specific distribution recommendation — so you know exactly what to do before you spend a dollar on wire services. No right or wrong answers — just honest ones.
1
Who does this announcement affect beyond your own company?
2
Does your announcement include specific numbers?
If your numbers come from research or a survey: findings are newsworthy as long as they support your position or your solution addresses the problem they reveal. Data that works against you — without a solution to offer — is not a press release story.
3
Does it involve a named external person or recognizable organization?
4
Does it represent a "first," a significant milestone, or a market record?
If this is a company anniversary: only the 25th, 50th, and 100th are typically newsworthy to journalists and outside audiences. A 5th or 10th anniversary is meaningful to your team — but it's an internal milestone, not a press release story. Score it accordingly.
5
Does it signal meaningful change — competitively, strategically, or in the market?
6
Is there a measurable, concrete benefit to someone outside your company?
7
Would a trade journalist who covers your industry find this worth writing about?
Newsworthiness Score0 / 100
Answer all 7 questions to receive your full verdict and distribution recommendation.
⚾ The Ump Calls It: Fair Ball
Wire-Ready
Your announcement has what journalists look for: specificity, external impact, and market significance. This is a legitimate press release story. Wire distribution is appropriate — choose your service and circuit based on your target audience and geography.
Distribution Recommendation
Go to the wire. PR Newswire, Business Wire, or GlobeNewswire. A national circuit typically runs $700–$1,200. An industry-targeted circuit runs $400–$700. Pair wire distribution with direct outreach to 10–15 reporters who cover your space — wire gets you reach, direct pitching gets you relationships.
There's a real story here — but it's most relevant to your industry, not a general business audience. Broad wire distribution would be expensive and largely wasted. Your best return is targeted outreach to trade publications and industry reporters who already cover your space.
Distribution Recommendation
Skip the broad wire. Build a targeted media list of 10–20 journalists who cover your industry. Pitch them directly with a personalized note — that will outperform a generic wire blast every time. If you want wire reach, use a trade-specific circuit rather than national.
This is worth communicating — but it's not news that journalists will pursue on their own. The story matters to your existing audience more than to reporters or their readers. Share it through the channels you already own, where your audience already follows you.
Distribution Recommendation
Don't spend on wire distribution. Publish a blog post, share on LinkedIn, send to your email list, and post on your social channels. This is exactly what those channels are for — keeping your audience informed without burning distribution budget on a story that won't get pickup.
Cost: $0.
💡 Is there a bigger story here? Sometimes a low-scoring announcement is part of a larger narrative — a growth trend, a strategic shift, or a customer outcome — that IS newsworthy. If so, that's the story worth writing.
❌ The Ump Calls It: Strike Out
Not a Press Release
This is an internal announcement. It may be genuinely important to your team — but it doesn't meet the threshold for media interest, and distributing it as a press release risks damaging your credibility with journalists who receive it.
Distribution Recommendation
Do not distribute this as a press release. Share it internally — in a company meeting, a team email, or your intranet. If you feel strongly that there's a press angle buried in here, talk to a PR strategist before spending anything on distribution.
Cost of distributing a non-story: your credibility with every journalist on the list.
⚾ Not every announcement needs to be a press release. The companies that earn the most media coverage are selective about what they pitch — because journalists trust them. Protect that trust.
What Makes Something Newsworthy
The elements journalists actually look for.
Newsworthiness isn't a feeling — it's a set of criteria reporters apply, consciously or not, every time they decide whether to cover a story. The more of these your announcement has, the stronger its chances.
📊
Specificity
Numbers, names, and dates are what make a story real. Vague announcements get ignored. Specific ones get covered.
✓ "Raises $12M Series A led by Andreessen Horowitz"
✗ "Secures significant funding to support growth"
🌍
Impact
Who else is affected? The wider the impact beyond your own company, the more newsworthy the announcement.
✓ "Platform now serves 500 enterprise clients across 12 countries"
✗ "We hit an internal growth target we're proud of"
🥇
Novelty
Is this the first? The largest? The fastest? Firsts and records give journalists a clear, defensible reason to cover the story.
✓ "First platform to automate compliance workflows under four hours"
✗ "Another option now available in the market"
⚡
Timeliness
News tied to a current trend, an industry event, or a regulatory change is more likely to get covered than news that exists in a vacuum.
✓ Connecting a product launch to an emerging regulatory requirement
✗ Announcing something six months after it actually happened
🔄
Change
Journalism covers change. If your announcement signals that something is different now than it was before — in the market, in your category, in how buyers operate — that's a story.
✓ "Acquisition shifts competitive landscape in mid-market ERP"
✗ "We continue to do what we've always done, slightly better"
👤
Prominence
Named people and recognizable organizations add instant credibility. A hire, a customer win, or a partnership carries more weight when the other party is known.
✓ "Partners with Salesforce to integrate into CRM workflow"
✗ "Signs new partnership" (no names, no context)
Score Ranges
Distribution Tiers at a Glance
Score
The Ump's Call
Distribution
Estimated Cost
80–100
⚾ Fair Ball
Wire service — national or industry circuit
$400–$1,200+
55–79
📰 In Play
Targeted trade press outreach — skip the broad wire
$0 + your time
30–54
🚫 Foul Ball
Owned channels — blog, LinkedIn, email
$0
0–29
❌ Strike Out
Internal communication only
$0 — and protect your credibility
Know your story is newsworthy? Now write it right.
Pitch'd guides you through every section of a professional, AP Style-ready press release — headline, lead paragraph, executive quotes, boilerplate, and distribution. Built for earned media, not just announcements.
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