Earned media

The organization influences earned media but does not control it. A journalist decides whether a story runs and how it is framed, and a customer decides what to post. That is the source of its credibility. Because the organization does not own the result, it cannot guarantee it, and the framing may be unfavorable. Earned coverage is contrasted with owned media, which the organization publishes itself, and paid media, which it buys.

Common measures include the number of pieces of coverage, the outlets and their reach, the placement and prominence of the organization in each piece, whether key messages appear, the topics covered and the balance of coverage across competitors. Teams should be careful about impressions and reach figures, which are usually estimates based on an outlet's audience and not proof that anyone read the piece. A share-of-coverage view against peers is described under share of voice.

A hypothetical example: a nonprofit releases a study, and a national outlet writes about it, three regional papers republish the wire version, and a professional association shares it with members. The national piece is earned coverage that involved a reporter's judgment. The regional copies are syndicated. The association's post is a third-party mention. Each carries a different weight.

Earned coverage shapes public opinion, and it is also part of the record that other systems draw on. Search engines and AI assistants often rely on published news when they describe an organization. The link between press coverage and what AI assistants say is not automatic, and PeakMetrics measures the two separately. The AI Perceptions work looks at how much of the coverage appears in AI answers and which sources those answers cite.

An analyst reading a sample of coverage can note whether the organization is the subject or a passing mention, which messages appear, which spokespeople are quoted, and which competitors share the piece. These judgments do not scale to every mention, so teams sample and state the sample size. A report that says how many pieces were read and how they were coded is more reliable than a bare total.

Earned media is not free. It takes staff time, relationships and news value. It is also not always positive: unfavorable coverage is earned media too. And volume is not the goal. A single accurate feature in a relevant outlet can matter more than many passing mentions. Finally, earned media should not be conflated with syndicated copies, which repeat rather than add to coverage; see press release syndication.