The invisible newsroom: How PR professionals are doing all the heavy lifting of news

After more than a decade on both sides of the media ecosystem, from the newsroom at 'Times Of India' to leading media affairs in public relations -I’ve witnessed firsthand how dramatically the news industry has evolved. What was once a largely linear pipeline from newsroom to audience is now an intricate, multi-layered system where research, narrative-building, stakeholder alignment and audience understanding have become just as critical as reporting.

Journalism remains at the heart of public information, but the truth is this: Today’s news environment is increasingly co-created. They are shaped by insights, societal context, data, and purpose-driven narratives that often originate long before a journalist begins writing.

Over the last decade, newsrooms have been stretched thinner than ever. Journalists are now expected to juggle between reporting, writing, shooting, editing, tracking page views, analytics , social media posts- all while chasing constant deadlines. Meanwhile, the demand for meaningful, purpose-oriented stories has risen sharply. Readers want relevance, authenticity, and impact - not mere announcements or incremental updates.

This structural shift has fuelled the growth of the PR industry. The SPRINT 2024-25 survey by PRCAI shows India’s PR sector surpassed ₹2,500 crore in FY2023, growing almost three times faster than the global average. Post-COVID, hiring in PR has increased steadily, with agencies expanding capabilities across storytelling, strategy, crisis management, data analysis, and digital intelligence. Organisations no longer view PR as “support”- they see it as strategic leadership.

And the work powering this shift is far more exhaustive than most people realise. What the outside world sees as a simple pitch actually sits on top of layers of preparation: deep research into the journalist’s beat, audience needs, competitive landscape, FAQs, narrative opportunities, data points, trends, regulatory context, and reputation risks. The story is built.

Today, generative AI has further compressed newsroom bandwidth. With ChatGPT-style content, the media is facing an unintended outcome: everything sounds the same. This makes exclusivity, depth, and human intelligence more important than ever. Technology can accelerate production, but it cannot replace editorial judgment, purpose, or narrative strategy.

This is precisely where PR has become indispensable.

PR professionals are not merely pitching - they are identifying emerging patterns, contextualising complex sectors, constructing narratives backed by data, and ensuring that information is not just publishable but meaningful.

Whether it’s fintech reforms, sports-tech innovation, sustainability stories or social impact models, PR teams often act as the earliest sense-makers, turning fragmented insights into coherent narratives.

As Simon Sinek says, “People don’t buy what you do; they buy why you do it.” PR operates in this “why” - the zone where stories move from being content to becoming impactful.

Having navigated both worlds, I can say with certainty: PR today isn’t parallel to journalism; it is a structural extension of it.

And if there’s one thing my transition from newsroom to PR leadership has taught me, it’s this - journalists and PR professionals are co-authors of the modern information economy.

As for the humour - let’s just say this: Journalists will continue ignoring calls, PR will continue making them, and somewhere in the middle, the real story will find its way out.

It always has.

And now, more than ever, it must.

Saloni Singh, is media relations head, CommsCredible; former lifestyle editor, Times Of India.