How to pitch news to the press. That was the topic of a panel on the final day of Tech/Jam week (July 24-28) in Richmond, Virginia. (Venue: the historic Main Street Station.) Moderated by local news anchor Juan Conde, the panel consisted of four practicing journalists. As the former editor of a trade journal, I like hearing from those in the trenches and thought the advice delivered on this panel was spot on. It included the following tips:

Get personal. “Remember when you’re pitching, you’re speaking to a person,” said Mallory Noe-Payne, a freelance radio reporter and producer.  For Peter Hamby, who joined SnapChat as Head of News in 2015 after a decade at CNN, the personal touch makes a difference. He said that as busy as they are, reporters appreciate friendly gestures, like an offer to “meet for coffee sometime.” Then once you have a relationship, “gentle reminders” become all the more effective.

Use a variety of approaches. Don’t rely on email or even LinkedIn. “Work around the system,” said Stephen Babcock, Market Editor at Technical.ly. He said journalists are obsessed with Twitter and Slack. Hamby agreed: “We hang out on Twitter all day long.”

Analyze the organization. Knowing reporters also means recognizing how they fit within a larger group. “Understand their beats,” said Babcock, who covers the tech scene in Baltimore and Washington. Each outlet also tilts towards its own preferred media style – audio, visual or written. Publication and news cycles matter, too, whether they are hourly, weekly, monthly or seasonal. Tech companies especially should keep the trade vs. consumer press distinction in mind. “Do not assume that we talk your language,” Hamby said.

Be credible. Sensitivity to “fake news” is high. “Don’t lie, your credibility is all you have,” said ABC 8News Anchor Conde. “One we’re burned, we’re singed, and I’m not coming back.” One way for tech companies to grow its credibility is to start local. “Just get clips, even if small publications,” said Babcock. “It shows that another journalist has checked you out.”

Offer something exclusive. This is tricky. On the one hand, there is the media’s appetite. “Reporters crave scoops,” said Hamby. And the inverse also holds: “No one wants to get scooped,” said Conde. Yet PR campaigns try to reach a wide audience. And companies may have battle scars: Some media promise to run a high-value piece and then kill it at the last moment in favor of something else. Ouch. How to create a sense of trust and urgency is the challenge.

Be brief. The panel was unanimous on this count. Hamby and Babcock both mentioned being busy or “time-starved.” A pitch needs to be “focused and concise,” said Conde. “Keep it brief,” said Noe-Payne. Freelance writer Joseph Genest said that if you’re pitching him, you should “take yourself out of the story” and “be concise.

Generate your own content. This hardly needs saying in today’s era of content marketing. But Conde was the only one who made the point. His example was WalletHub, a company that promotes personal finance tools. The company also publishes a slew of articles on the US economy that typically rank cities, states and regions. When one of these pieces mentions Richmond, Conde said his junior producers can’t resist the pitch, but he seemed to begrudge the company the free publicity they received as a result.

Use the right PR Firm. The panel had a range of views on agencies. “When I get a note from a PR firm, I discount it automatically,” said Noe-Payne, who had the strongest reaction. But for Genest, Hamby and Babcock, “it depends.” On what? They mentioned the relationship a reporter has with an agency, the knowledge and style of PR reps, and the goals of the company that engaged them.

To sum up, when you pitch: Respect journalists as persons, take several approaches and understand their role. Be trustworthy, brief, and offer exclusivity, if possible, or your own content. And seek professional PR help, but know that agency results may vary.