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A free guide by Mariah Brunner ↗ INSTAGRAM ↗ TIKTOK

Turn Claude Into
Your PR Assistant

A free set of PR skills that finds news you can comment on, writes your angle, finds the right reporters and roasts your pitch before you send it.

Getting quoted in a publication builds trust faster than another post. The fastest way in is newsjacking: adding your expert take to a story reporters are already writing about. Newsjack is a free, open-source set of 31 PR skills by Elvis Sun that turns your AI agent into a PR assistant.

See Newsjack on GitHub →

Before You Start
  1. Use Claude Code for the full version. Daily news monitoring needs an agent on your computer: Claude Code, Codex or OpenClaw. In regular Claude chat or Cowork it runs a limited version that can't schedule monitoring.
  2. It's free, with two optional paid add-ons. The skills are free (MIT license). Journalist emails come from Medialyst, the company that maintains Newsjack, with 100 free credits and paid after that. X trend monitoring needs a paid X API key. Without either, you still get news from RSS and a journalist list with names, not emails.
  3. It never sends anything for you. You review and send every pitch yourself.
Set It Up In 6 Steps

Step 1

Install it with one prompt

Open Claude Code and paste this. Claude installs Newsjack and walks you through setting up daily monitoring for your company.

Install Prompt
help me install https://newsjack.sh from the github repo and setup a daily newsjack monitoring for my company.

Prefer the terminal? Run curl -fsSL newsjack.sh | bash on Mac or Linux. That runs a script from the internet, so give install.sh a quick read first.

Step 2

Tell it who you are

Run: /pr-strategist

A PR strategist that works out your audience, your positioning and your news pegs before you pitch anyone. It's built to refuse mass blasts and vanity press, so it pushes you toward the right outlets, not just big ones.

Step 3

Teach it your voice

Run: /voice-extractor

Give it 5 to 20 things you've written, like posts, emails or articles. It saves a voice profile and uses it on every draft so pitches sound like you, not like AI.

Step 4

Watch the news for you

Run: /newsjack-monitor-setup then /newsjack-detector

Setup asks about your company, topics, competitors, proof points and news sources. Then the detector scans the last 24 hours of news on a schedule (7am and 2pm is the recommended setting) and flags stories you have a real reason to comment on.

Step 5

Get your angle and your reporters

Run: /angle-generator then /find-journalists

Angle Generator turns your news into 3 to 7 different story angles and won't invent facts. Find Journalists builds a list of reporters who actually cover it. Free mode gives names. Emails use Medialyst credits, and it asks before spending any.

Step 6

Get roasted before a reporter does

Run: /meanest-editor

It scores your pitch 1 to 10 against a 13-point checklist, names your top 3 mistakes and rewrites your opening line. Its own scale says most drafts land between 3 and 6. Bonus: /headline-generator writes your subject lines.

No Claude Code? Use This Prompt

Same idea in any chat AI. Paste in a fresh news story and your background, and get an honest standing check, 3 angles, a 120-word pitch, subject lines, a meanest-editor roast and a follow-up.

Newsjack Pitch Prompt
You are my PR assistant and a tough newsroom editor. Help me pitch a reporter about a fresh news story. THE NEWS STORY (paste the link, headline, date, and first few paragraphs): [PASTE STORY] ABOUT ME: - Name, role, company: [ ] - What I know that most people don't (expertise, years, results): [ ] - Proof I can share (numbers, customer results, data, a strong opinion): [ ] - Who I serve (my audience): [ ] - Outlets or kinds of reporters I want to reach: [ ] RULES: - Use only the facts I gave you. Do not make up numbers, quotes, or reporter names. If you need a fact I did not give, write [NEED: what you need]. - Plain words. Short sentences. No hype words like "thrilled," "game-changing," or "revolutionary." - If the story is more than 48 hours old, or I have no real reason to comment on it, say so plainly and stop. DO THIS IN ORDER: 1. STANDING CHECK. In 2 sentences: do I have a real reason to comment on this story? Answer strong, weak, or none, and explain why. 2. THREE ANGLES. Give 3 angles that are truly different from each other, not rewordings. Use one of each: - Contrarian: what most coverage is missing or getting wrong. - Proof: a number or result of mine that adds something new. - What it means: what this story changes for a specific group of people. For each angle, give a one-line hook, why it matters this week, which fact of mine backs it up, and the kind of reporter who covers it (beat and outlet type, no names). 3. THE PITCH. Choose the strongest angle and tell me why. Write a cold email of 120 words or fewer: - Line 1: name the news story. - Line 2: my take in one sentence. - Then: one specific proof point. - Then: what I can offer (a quote, data, or a 15-minute call today or tomorrow). - End with one simple question. No attachments, no "I hope this finds you well," and no backstory about my company. 4. SUBJECT LINES. Write 5 subject lines of 8 words or fewer. Each one names the story or my key number. 5. MEANEST EDITOR. Now play a veteran editor who deletes 9 out of 10 pitches. Score my pitch from 1 to 10 on: does the first line hook, is it actually new, is it specific, does it pass the "so what" test, does it tie to the news, is the ask clear, and does it avoid cliches. Then: - List the top 3 problems. - Quote each weak line and show the fix. - Rewrite the pitch, still 120 words or fewer. 6. FOLLOW-UP. Write one short follow-up (2 sentences) to send 3 to 5 days later if I hear nothing.
  1. Use it once. Paste the Newsjack Pitch Prompt into a new chat in Claude or ChatGPT, fill in the [brackets], and send. Start with a story from the last day or two.
  2. Keep it. In Claude, make a Project, click Set project instructions, paste it in and save. Every chat in that Project starts with it. In ChatGPT, do the same with a Project’s instructions.
Before You Hit Send

Reporters are drowning in pitches. In Cision’s 2025 State of the Media, 86% of journalists said they immediately reject pitches that don’t fit their beat or audience. In Muck Rack’s 2025 survey, 69% preferred pitches under 200 words. So:

  1. Check the beat. Read the reporter's last few articles. They should cover this exact topic.
  2. Lead with the news. Line one names the story. Line two is your take in one sentence.
  3. Bring proof. One real number, result or example their readers would care about.
  4. Keep it short. Under 200 words, aim for 120. Subject line under 8 words.
  5. Send it 1:1, before noon in their time zone, with one clear ask: a quote, data or a quick call.
  6. Follow up once. In Muck Rack's 2025 survey, half of journalists said one follow-up is ideal. Then let it go.