63% of press releases sent via Medianet earned media pickup in 2026.

As a media contacts database and media intelligence provider, Medianet sits at the centre of press release distribution in Australia.

Between January and August 2026, we distributed 8,496 releases for our clients, and 63% of them earned at least one pickup from an earned media outlet (not syndicated). That means more than 5,300 releases were picked up by at least one earned media outlet.

Medianet press release performance: January to August 2026

Across the eight-month period, the average open rate was approximately 32%. But how do these numbers compare?

How do these results compare?

Before we get into it, let's define our metrics:

• Open rate is the average of the open rates recorded for each individual release.
• Pickup rate is the percentage of releases picked up by at least one earned media outlet. Earned media refers to coverage where a newsroom chose to publish the story. Syndicated copies are not included.

Pickup rate

There is no widely published benchmark for press release pickup rates, in Australia or internationally. However, research into how journalists work gives useful context.

Medianet's 2026 Australian Media Landscape Report, a survey of 803 journalists, found that 79% receive press releases directly from PR contacts and 76% receive them from distribution services. With releases arriving from multiple sources, journalists are selective about what they use. The same report found the most important factor in building trust with a PR source is evidence that they understand the journalist's interests, cited by 60% of respondents.

Internationally, Muck Rack's 2026 survey found 54% of journalists seldom or never respond to PR pitches.

In this context, a pickup rate of 61% to 66% each quarter indicates that most releases distributed through Medianet reached journalists who found them relevant enough to cover.

Open rate

Published open rate data for press releases is limited. Medianet's quarterly average, which covers all days, times, industries and release types, was between 32.3% and 32.6%.

One-to-one pitches sent to individual journalists generally record higher open rates than releases sent to a list. Propel, for example, reports that journalists opened 46% of the pitches they received.

What contributes to these results?

The accuracy and relevance of a media list is one of the main factors in whether a press release is opened and covered. The following features of Medianet's Contacts Database contributed to the results above.

1. 98 % accuracy, verified by regular audits

A media list is only useful if the details in it are correct. We at Medianet regularly audit the Contacts Database with spot checks of the four fields that determine whether a release reaches the right person: name, phone number, email address, and outlet. The latest spot check, conducted across the entire database, recorded 98% accuracy. 

Checking core fields like First name, surname, Twitter (X), mobile, and email means errors are caught and corrected before they affect a send. It is also why distribution through Medianet achieves a 98% delivery rate.

2. Keeping pace with journalist movement

Media contacts change frequently. Medianet estimates that around half of journalists change roles each year, whether moving between outlets, changing rounds or going freelance. Lists that are not regularly updated become less accurate over time, which can lead to bounced emails and releases reaching people who no longer cover the topic.

3. How the database is maintained

The Contacts Database is maintained by an in-house research team based in Sydney and Melbourne, which contacts journalists directly. The team is supported by AI technology that increases the volume of movements it can detect and audit.

• The database holds more than 36,000 media profiles across Australia and New Zealand
• Around 3,600 records are updated each month, using a combination of automation and human verification
• Updates are reflected daily in users' feeds and saved lists

4. Targeting by topic preference

Each profile includes more than contact details. Users can see the topics a journalist writes about, their recent articles, their pitching preferences and known pet peeves. This allows PR teams to build smaller lists of journalists who cover a specific topic, giving their story a higher chance of being picked up.

5. Smartlist

SmartList is an AI‑powered feature designed to simplify and improve how you target media. By scanning the content of your press release and identifying key topics, SmartList automatically generates a targeted list of the most relevant journalists from Medianet’s Contacts Database to help you reach the right people.

6. Editorial support

Medianet's editorial team helps clients understand what makes a press release newsworthy. This includes editorial sessions with our editor and the monthly Editor's Press Release of the Month, which highlights releases that stand out for their timing, audience appeal, media assets, and results.

7. The Press Release Bulletin

Releases distributed through Medianet are also available to journalists through the Medianet for Journalists portal. Every day, our editorial team sends the Press Release Bulletin, a free newsletter highlighting the most newsworthy releases of the day to journalists looking for stories. Selections are based on editorial merit, free of commercial influence. When a release is particularly relevant to their interests, our editor also shares it directly with journalists in his own network.

This gives journalists another way to find a release beyond their inbox.

The most important factor: news value

Your press release could be perfectly crafted and sent to exactly the right person, but the most important quality of a press release is still news value.

Medianet's 2025 Australian Media Landscape Report found that lack of news value is the top reason journalists reject a press release, cited by 36% of respondents. A further 27% reject releases because they are not relevant to their round.

Relevance also shapes trust. The 2026 report found that 60% of journalists say the most important factor in trusting a PR source is evidence that the source understands their interests. An accurate, detailed contacts database helps PR teams match newsworthy releases to the journalists most likely to find them relevant.

The idea that press releases are no longer worth sending is not backed up by the data. Medianet's 2026 Australian Media Landscape Report found that 86% of journalists use press releases as a primary story source, and 66% rate PR professionals as an important source of stories. Email remains the preferred channel, with 97% of journalists preferring to receive story ideas and pitches by email. As long as there is a story, the press release remains an effective way to earn media coverage.

Key benefits of Medianet's Contacts Database

For PR and communications teams, the database offers:

1. Accurate contacts: 98.3% accuracy across name, phone, email and outlet in the latest audit, with profiles checked and updated by a dedicated award-winning research team. 
2. Better targeting: topics of interest, article history and preferences support smaller, more relevant lists.
3. Demonstrated results: about 63% of releases sent in 2026 earned editorial coverage.
4. Time savings: less time spent finding replacement contacts or managing bounced emails.
5. Reporting: Medianet's Pickup Tracker shows which online outlets published a release, supporting reporting to clients and leadership.
6. Editorial support: guidance from Medianet's editorial team on what makes a release newsworthy, plus daily exposure through the Press Release Bulletin.
   

Other factors that improve pickup

Alongside list quality, journalist research points to a few practices that support coverage:

• Show you know the journalist's interests. Medianet's 2026 report found 60% of journalists say this is the most important factor in trusting a PR source.
• Limit AI-written content. 78% of journalists say AI-written pitches reduce their trust in PR, and 48% say they can "almost always" tell when a pitch was written by AI.
• Follow up once. Medianet's report found 60% of Australian journalists find one follow-up acceptable, while only 2% are comfortable with three or more. Muck Rack's 2026 survey found a similar pattern internationally, with 50% of reporters saying one follow-up is ideal.