8 PR people for every journalist.

Short answer: For every news analyst, reporter and journalist in the US, there are about 8.4 PR specialists and PR managers (395,300 against 47,100).^1,2,3 The government expects journalist jobs to shrink by 6% by 2035 while PR jobs grow, so the ratio would reach about 9.2 to 1. Every reporter is pitched by more people each year, and only relevant, well-sourced stories get through.

The count: 395,300 in PR, 47,100 in the newsroom

The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) counted 314,500 PR specialists and 80,800 public relations managers in 2025.^1,3 It counted 47,100 news analysts, reporters and journalists, in every kind of outlet: newspapers, TV, radio and online.²

That is 8.4 PR people for every journalist. Counting PR specialists only, it is 6.7 to 1. Neither number includes the founders, marketers and agency staff with other job titles who also pitch the press, so the number of people pitching each journalist is likely higher.

The gap keeps growing

BLS projects journalist jobs to fall 6% from 2025 to 2035, from 47,100 to 44,300.² Over the same years it expects PR specialist jobs to grow 2% (about 5,700 more) and public relations manager jobs to grow 6% (about 4,600 more).^1,3

If the projections hold, the US will have about 405,600 PR specialists and managers and 44,300 journalists in 2035: 9.2 to 1.

New people enter faster on the PR side too. BLS expects about 23,000 openings a year for PR specialists, against about 3,400 for journalists, all of them to replace people who leave.^1,2 That is about 6.8 new PR specialists for each new journalist.

Where journalists work now

Newspaper publishers still employ the largest share of journalists, 28%. Next come media streaming services, social networks and other online content providers (21%), TV stations (18%) and radio stations (4%). And 17% are self-employed.²

That last group matters for anyone pitching. Freelancers choose their own stories and then sell them to editors, so a pitch is only useful to them if it can become a story an editor will buy.

Pay: PR pays more than journalism

The median PR specialist earned $74,750 a year in May 2025, and the median public relations manager $146,910. The median news analyst, reporter or journalist earned $62,200. The median for all US jobs was $50,980.^1,2,3

What this means if you want press coverage

• Every reporter is outnumbered. A journalist's inbox fills up long before your email arrives. Surveys of journalists say the same: most get dozens of pitches a week and delete the ones that miss their beat (see what journalists want from pitches).
• Relevance beats volume. Sending more pitches to more reporters doesn't fix a story that doesn't fit them. One pitch to the right person, about something their readers care about, does more.
• Bring what reporters lack. With fewer journalists doing more work, real data, a clear expert and a ready answer to their questions save them time.
• Freelancers count. About one in six journalists is self-employed. A story that a freelancer can sell to an editor is a story worth pitching to them.

Questions

Sources

1. Occupational Outlook Handbook: Public Relations Specialists, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
2. Occupational Outlook Handbook: News Analysts, Reporters, and Journalists, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
3. Occupational Outlook Handbook: Public Relations and Fundraising Managers, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

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