PR terms,
in plain English.

Backgrounder Boilerplate Byline Earned Media Embargo Exclusive Media Kit Media training News Hook Newswire Off the Record Pay-per-Placement Pitch PR Retainer Press Release Spokesperson Syndication Thought Leadership

Backgrounder

A backgrounder is a short document that gives a journalist the context behind your company: what you do, how you got here, and where the market sits around you. It is not a pitch and it does not ask for coverage. Reporters keep it on file, so a founder who sends a clear one before an interview usually gets fewer basic questions and more useful ones.

Boilerplate

The short "About us" paragraph at the end of a press release. Reporters copy facts from it, so keep it current: what the company does, for whom, and since when.

Byline

The name at the top of an article, saying who wrote it. A bylined piece is written by (or credited to) the founder. A feature about you carries a journalist's byline, which matters for O-1 and EB-1 petitions.

Earned Media

Coverage an editor chose to publish, rather than space a company bought. Readers trust it more than ads for that reason. Paid membership or "council" columns don't count.

Embargo

An agreement that a journalist won't publish news before a set date and time. Founders use it to give reporters time to prepare a funding or launch story. Always state the time zone.

Exclusive

News offered to one outlet before anyone else. You may get a bigger story in that publication, at the cost of reach elsewhere. Never promise the same exclusive twice.

Media Kit

Everything a journalist needs in one place: company facts, founder bios, headshots, logos and recent coverage. A complete kit saves days of back-and-forth.

Media training

Media training is practice for talking to reporters before you do it for real. A coach plays the journalist, asks the awkward questions, and helps you shape short, plain answers you can repeat without sounding scripted. Founders usually find it most useful for learning to stop talking once the point is made, and to steer back to the story when a question drifts.

News Hook

The timely event, broader trend, or data point that makes a company's story relevant to a journalist right now. Without a clear hook, an announcement often looks like self-serving marketing rather than a genuine news story. Founders create strong hooks by connecting their business milestones to cultural conversations, economic shifts, or new industry regulations.

Newswire

A paid commercial service that blasts company announcements out to search engines, digital aggregator sites, and newsroom terminals. While distributing an announcement on a wire provides an official public record and potential search visibility, it rarely results in independent reporting on its own. Founders should treat wire distribution as a formal corporate archive rather than a replacement for direct outreach to journalists.

Off the Record

An explicit agreement made before a conversation begins that the information shared cannot be published or attributed to the source. You cannot retroactively declare a statement off the record after speaking; both you and the reporter must agree to the condition in advance. Founders typically use this arrangement to provide reporters with necessary context or industry background without being quoted directly.

Pay-per-Placement

A PR model where you pay a fixed price for each published article, agreed upfront, instead of a monthly fee. At Edamame PR & Strategy, a placement that isn't delivered is refunded in full.

Pitch

A short email proposing a story to a journalist or editor. Good ones say in two or three sentences why their readers would care, and why you're the right person to tell it.

PR Retainer

A monthly fee paid to a PR agency for ongoing work, usually whatever the coverage turns out to be. It suits companies that need daily press handling, and costs a lot when what you want is a few strong articles.

Press Release

A company's official announcement, written in news format and sent to media and newswires. It puts facts on record quickly. It is not the same as a feature an editor decided to write.

Spokesperson

The spokesperson is the one person who speaks on the record for your company. For a young startup that is often the founder, though a head of product or a CFO can take the role when a story fits their area better. Pick the person before the first call comes in, and make sure everyone else on the team knows to send media requests to them.

Syndication

When an article published by one outlet is republished by others, often partner sites or regional editions. One placement can then appear in several places.

Thought Leadership

Being the person journalists, buyers and investors find when they look into a topic. It takes time: articles, quotes and clear opinions on one or two subjects, repeated over months.

Want the full picture? Read The Founder’s PR Guide →