Digital PR glossary

Newsjacking

Newsjacking is the practice of adding a brand's own angle, data or expert comment to a news story while it is still breaking, so that journalists include the brand in their coverage. The term was popularised by David Meerman Scott's 2011 book Newsjacking, and it depends on speed more than any other PR tactic.

Reviewed by Gareth Hoyle, Managing Director
Last reviewed 31 October 2026

Where does the term come from?

David Meerman Scott's book Newsjacking: How to Inject Your Ideas into a Breaking News Story and Generate Tons of Media Coverage was published by Wiley in 2011. In 2017 Oxford Dictionaries shortlisted newsjacking for its Word of the Year, defining it as the practice of taking advantage of current events or news stories in such a way as to promote or advertise.

Why timing matters

The window is short. Once a story breaks, reporters look for context, reaction and figures to add to follow-up pieces. Once those pieces are written, the opportunity has gone.

Journalists' stated preferences reflect this. In Muck Rack's State of Journalism 2026, 78% of journalists said they want to receive pitches before noon and 69% said they prefer pitches under 200 words. A comment that arrives the next afternoon, or takes three paragraphs to reach its point, usually misses.

When newsjacking goes wrong

The test is whether the brand adds information the journalist needs. Newsjacking fails, and can damage a brand, when it does any of the following.

Uses a tragedy, disaster or crime to promote a product
Offers an opinion with no real expertise behind it
Arrives after the follow-up coverage has been written
Makes claims the spokesperson cannot back up with evidence

Example

When the Bank of England changes Bank Rate, a mortgage broker that sends a 150-word comment by mid-morning, showing what the change means in pounds per month on a typical £200,000 repayment mortgage, gives personal finance reporters a figure they can use in that day's coverage.