What is a beat?
A beat is the fixed subject area a journalist covers, such as tech, healthcare, retail, or a specific region. Journalists build sources and expertise within their beat and write almost all of their articles about it. Knowing a journalist's beat lets you pitch far more precisely.
Written by Timon Hendriks · Last updated on 12 July 2026
How it works in practice
Newsrooms divide the news into beats so each journalist can follow one territory in depth. One covers business, another education, another a specific city. Within that beat, journalists know the players, the running stories, and the open questions, and that is where they look for new material.
For PR, the beat is your main selection criterion. You find someone's beat by scanning their recent articles: what does this journalist write about week after week? Pitch only stories that fall inside that territory. A story outside someone's beat gets ignored almost every time, however good it is; it simply belongs to a colleague.
Example
A Cornwall seaweed farm wants attention for a partnership with local restaurants. The founder looks for journalists with food as their beat and finds one who regularly covers sustainable fishing and regional produce. This story fits her beat exactly, so she gets the first pitch. A week later the farm features in her column on local sourcing.
Common mistake
Selecting by outlet instead of by journalist. That a paper covers business does not mean every journalist there fits your story. Select on the person's beat, not the outlet's title.
Frequently asked questions
How do you find out a journalist's beat?
Scan their recent articles: the subject that keeps returning is the beat. Many journalists also state their beat in their bio on the outlet's site or on LinkedIn.
Can a journalist have more than one beat?
Yes, especially at smaller newsrooms and among freelancers: combinations like tech and startups or health and science are common. Look at the whole of someone's recent work before you pitch.