A journalist opens your media-kit link on their phone between interviews. The folder asks them to request permission. When access finally arrives, the photograph is too small to publish and the founder’s biography still carries last year’s job title.
Before an interview is even arranged, there are three more things to chase.
These problems may seem minor from inside the business. Together, they make your story harder to cover. Under deadline, that can be enough for a journalist to move on.
Having a kit is only the starting point
Our earlier article on crafting a media kit covers what to include. The next question is whether someone outside your business can find, download and trust those materials without your help.
In Cision’s 2026 State of the Media findings, 66% of journalists surveyed globally said they relied on PR-provided content, including releases, pitches and media kits, for story ideas. These global findings provide useful context for how we support journalists in this region. www.cision.com
A useful kit reduces the work involved in checking facts, identifying a spokesperson and sourcing an image.
Make it easy to find
A journalist shouldn’t need an introduction to your team to find basic company information. Make your media kit accessible through a clearly labelled website link, including from your About Us page.
Too often, businesses expect that page to double as a media kit. But a brief brand story rarely gives a journalist enough to work with. Keep the introduction useful for customers, then link to current company facts, spokesperson biographies, downloadable images and a media contact.
Give it ten minutes
Ask someone outside your organisation to open the link on their phone and in a browser where they aren’t signed in.
Can they access the public materials without requesting permission? Can they find the company background, a short biography, a usable photograph and a media contact? Can they download individual files?
Watch where they hesitate. A folder structure that makes sense to your team may mean little to someone seeing it for the first time.
Check the words too. Can a journalist quickly understand what your business does, who it serves and where it operates? Promotional claims create another editing job.
Make every file useful
Open photographs at full size. A clear preview doesn’t guarantee the downloaded image is suitable for publication. Supply high-resolution files, with captions identifying the people, location and occasion, photographer credits and any usage conditions.
Use clear filenames. A person’s name followed by “portrait” is more useful than “IMG_4827”, especially after download.
Check biographies against current roles. Keep a short version available so a journalist doesn’t have to cut a two-page career history into three sentences.
Date company facts such as employee numbers, locations and customer figures. If a number needs explaining, include that context.
Make it work across the region
For Middle East media, include verified Arabic names and titles where relevant. Agree these internally so documents don’t carry different versions. Be precise about market coverage. Operating in the UAE, serving GCC customers and having offices throughout the region are different things.
Provide a working media contact, with an international dialling code and clear availability. Arrange cover when that person is away.
Keep confidential information, unapproved announcements and internal documents out of any public folder.
Give someone ownership
Assign one person to maintain the approved versions. Review the kit when a role, location or company fact changes, and before any major outreach. Remove superseded files from public access.
Your media kit is part of the experience of dealing with your business. An accessible, accurate kit shows that you understand what a journalist needs.
The best media kit saves someone (especially media) time.
