The power of good stories can make or break a business… so much so that I wished a PR writer were writing the writing I’m doing. I’ll get into why in a bit.
Today, writers can create a free online profile across any platform and gain an audience. But the landscape of Filipino media is still traditional, in that what is defined as ‘newsworthy’ still stays the same. I’d argue that the only thing that’s changed is the playing field.
Whatever playing field we’re in, understanding what makes a story truly newsworthy is essential. Knowing how editors pick stories can be your secret advantage, especially in the local scene where coverage is vibrant, competitive, and, often, politically charged.
I believe that Filipino media doesn’t have to be too complicated to understand. If you want to leverage your brand or business with stories, here are a few simple things you need to know before pitching to a news outlet or making a few yourself.
1. Timeliness, Impact, and Consequence: Fresh and Urgent Stories That Affect Lives
Nothing gets attention faster than something that just happened.
Timeliness is the backbone of news value. “News, by definition, is new” (Daniel Lynch, Empathy First Media, 2025).
As of writing this article, ‘Sunshine’’s premiere just happened yesterday. If I brought it up a month from now, it wouldn’t be as fresh. But can it still count as newsworthy? Does everything that happened recently count as newsworthy?
News has to have impact and consequences, too. Who does this affect? What is this for?
Impact measures how far the consequences of the news reach; significance reflects that effect’s scope: will this potentially change laws? Is this viral for its own sake?
Stories that affect many people (or spark significant change) carry weight. ‘Sunshine’ became a newsworthy movie because it tackled reproductive health and women’s struggles. The movie was so impactful, the country’s top female politicians watched it and shared their own thoughts.
Leveraging Timeliness, Impact, and Consequence for Your Business:
- Research is your best friend. Define your audience demographic, and think of the stories that impact them.
- Survey your audience, and try to make some quantifiable data. (ex. Will the latest Matcha shortage be a possible release story, or can you make content that raises awareness?)
- A PR and Integrated Marketing Agency (IMC) can better help with this. They have a bit of an edge compared to an SEO ghostwriter like me because they have to research their client’s audience to carefully see that impact. That’s why I admit that they’re the better value for your business when it comes to newsworthy stories!
2. Proximity: Closer to Home, Closer to the Hearts
The closer a story is (geographically or socially) the more attention it gets. But news proximity doesn’t have to mean sticking to where you are. It can also mean highlighting another culture and celebrating its locals.
NGP-IMC has tackled hyperlocalization quite a lot, and for a good reason. Proximity and a narrow, specific scope drives connection. It also piques the interest of outsiders, too.
Leveraging Proximity, with Relevant Examples:
- Connect with the locals! If you’re a restaurant wanting to branch out to Boracay, reach out to Boracay-based locals. Maybe some Boracay-based influencers, too!
- Highlight voices from places that have been less amplified. Media also entails responsibility, as local news around culture also shapes perception. Here’s an article that amplifies voices from Davao, a city in Mindanao that isn’t always highlighted positively due to the current political climate (and wrongly so!)
3. Human Authenticity: Emotion That Resonates
Stories that evoke empathy, curiosity, or wonder will always resonate with any age, gender, region, etc.
Human interest drives people forward. Even with the smallest event, the emotional connection matters. Filipino media frequently amplifies narratives of ordinary heroes or survivors of tragedy because they move us–not just because they inform us.
This Filipino love for authenticity is unique, too. The more intimate and relatable, the better. That’s why stories of love (as well as break-ups) thrive wherever you go across the county.
Leveraging Authenticity, with Relevant Examples:
The best way to leverage authenticity is to, well, hone it.
Deinfluencing, or people influencing others to buy less, is an online trend and an example we can learn from. One of the reasons deinfluencing took off is because more and more people became tired of out-of-touch influencers. Including this writer.
4. Novelty: The Unexpected and Unusual
“Man bites dog” seems more news worthy than “dog bites man.” When it comes to news, novelty thrives on surprise, deviation, or unique, unexpected angles.
Leveraging Authenticity, with Relevant Examples:
- Nothing is 100% unique anymore. But as long as it’s the kind of novelty that sticks, go for it.
Rappler picked up on La Lola coming back this September because they were a novel business back in 2014. La Lola served big servings of long churros made with 100% olive oil and flour, and that was a hit.
So when they reopened, it was an easy pitch for Rappler. Now imagine this being your business.
- As much as possible, don’t sensationalize anything. If you really want to, consult with PR and IMC experts and strategize first.
Why Does News-worthiness Count?
Everything I laid out not only influences editorial decisions, they feed into how search engines interpret authority, relevance, and engagement. And the more relevant your business is online, the more established your business will likely be.
Stories that blend fresh angles with emotional resonance get featured more—and often become part of AI-generated summaries. As an example, NGP-IMC’s insights on the top influencers in Davao is the first article Google shows you when you type “Mindanao” influencers.
Since AI became part of the scene, more and more people rely on Google’s AI summaries, too.
Either way, imagine your business on the top of the online mountain, and imagine being the top search result beyond Google. Maybe Facebook. Instagram. Filipinos love social media. 
Wrapping It All Up: Why PR & IMC Matters
A newsworthy story in the Philippines is more than a collection of facts. It’s a timely, impactful, emotionally resonant narrative that speaks to locals, involves meaningful individuals or issues, and—above all—connects authentically. When designed with algorithms in mind, and elevated through strategic PR and IMC execution, such stories don’t just get published—they become part of the national conversation and beyond
A PR or Integrated Marketing Communications (IMC) agency like NGP-IMC has the expertise to navigate all of that. Why not try to partner with them and see?
Beyond the connections and the intense research, this well‑integrated agency ensures your message isn’t just seen—it’s perceived, trusted, and shared. That takes more than just writing skills.
Kriztin Cruz is a recruitment and digital marketing professional, freelance writer, hobbyist painter, and frustrated sociologist–with too many things to want and too little time to spare. She graduated with a Psychology degree in 2019 at De La Salle – College of Saint Benilde Antipolo. When she’s not drafting a corporate letter or working on anything digital marketing, you can find her doing the following, but not in this order: reading a good book, scavenging for a good book, sketching, painting, journaling, junk journaling, obsessing over an obscure Czechoslovakian surrealist film (or anything by Miyazaki or Del Toro), cooking, finding a cafe to relax in, and creating new things while a nice documentary plays in the background.