What Is Newsjacking? The Complete Guide
Newsjacking is the art of injecting your brand into a breaking news story to earn attention and media coverage. Learn the definition, the news cycle, and how to do it.
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Newsjacking is the practice of injecting your brand, product, or point of view into a breaking news story while that story is still trending. Instead of manufacturing attention from scratch, you add a timely, relevant angle to a story the world is already watching — and ride a wave of demand that already exists.
Who coined the term?
The modern concept was pioneered by marketing strategist David Meerman Scott in his 2011 book Newsjacking. The word entered the Oxford English Dictionary in 2017.
The newsjacking window
Every breaking story follows a bell curve: it breaks, journalists scramble for angles, coverage peaks, then interest fades. The newsjacking window is that narrow stretch on the upswing — after the story breaks but before it peaks — when reporters are hungry for fresh angles and audiences are most engaged. Speed is everything.
Why newsjacking works
- Borrowed attention. You tap demand that already exists rather than buying it.
- Earned media. A timely expert take can land you in a journalist's story.
- Cost efficiency. The most famous newsjacks cost almost nothing to produce.
- SEO and AI search. Fast, relevant content on a surging topic ranks in Google and gets cited by AI answer engines.
Put it on autopilot
The hardest part of newsjacking is speed. Trendedly monitors the news cycle, scores opportunities against your brand, and drafts on-brand content in minutes — so you can act while the story is still hot.