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Unless you’ve been living under a cabbage patch, you are probably pretty aware that lettuce (usually enjoying its role of the Conrad Fisher of summer lunch menus this time of year) is having a really terrible few months.

And, to be honest, I feel a little bad for lettuce. Yes, there’s a major food safety issue involving certain lettuce but it has somehow resulted in an entire country being afraid of all lettuce (and a bunch of other produce, too, becaue we just can’t have any joy) altogether.

It’s unfair, but it’s also understandable.

Lets be clear: Not all lettuce is implicated. Not all salads are dangerous. Not all vegetables have suddenly turned against us.

Plenty of lettuce is still just sitting there, trying to just continue being lettuce. And I love that lettuce, and appreciate that lettuce, who is totally just trying to live its leafy little business.

But while watching this whole sordid story unfold, it’s impossible not to note that this is exactly what always happens in PR. You know it’s true. You see it every news cycle. Whenever a major story starts dominating the news cycle, every single one of us is trying out how to pitch the story (or write the story!) to be a part of it.

Sometimes, it’s the way to go. But sometimes, nobody asked you or your lettuce to get involved.

This happens constantly with newsjacking. An airline has a major issue, and suddenly every travel-adjacent company wants to comment. Egg prices spike, and everyone who has ever encountered an egg develops an economic forecast. AI is in the news, and apparently every CEO in America has become an AI thought leader overnight.

And now there’s a lettuce story. The instinct makes sense:

People are talking about this. How do I get my client into the conversation?

But there’s a better question:

Does my client actually belong in this conversation?

There’s a difference between being near a story and being relevant to it. Your client might technically have some connection to what’s happening. You may be able to construct a perfectly logical chain explaining why you sent the pitch. But that doesn’t necessarily mean you’re adding anything useful.

Ask yourself:

Does my source have actual expertise here?

A food safety expert who can explain what’s happening? Absolutely.

A chef or restaurant that has made changes because customers are asking questions? Maybe!

A completely unrelated CEO with “three business lessons we can learn from the lettuce recall”?

Please put the ranch dressing down.

Then ask yourself:

Am I adding information, or merely adding my client?

This might be the most important distinction. A useful reactive pitch helps a journalist understand something they didn’t understand before. What actually happened? Who is affected? What are people misunderstanding? What should consumers know? What DON’T they need to worry about? Sometimes the most useful expert in a scary news cycle isn’t the person yelling:

EVERYONE PANIC!

It’s the person saying:

Actually, here’s why you don’t need to.

And especially when we’re talking about health or safety, please don’t make the panic worse just because panic makes a sexier subject line.

If a problem affects a specific product, producer or category, don’t turn that into:

IS YOUR SALAD TRYING TO KILL YOU?!?!

Accuracy is more important than your open rate.

Also (and I cannot believe this is professional advice I am giving today) you do not have to make your pitch about explosive diarrhea.

Because sometimes the best opportunity created by a news story isn’t actually inside the story.

It’s sitting right next to it.

If everyone is suddenly wary of lettuce, maybe I don’t need another pitch about lettuce. But you know what I might want?

A really great salad that doesn’t contain any lettuce.

Give me the gorgeous tomato and peach panzanella. Give me the Mediterranean couscous salad. Give me the summer orzo situation. Give me the brand that’s seeing increased interest in grain-based salad kits. Give me the chef who says summer salad season isn’t canceled and has five fantastic ideas that don’t involve a single leafy green.

Give me:

Is Pasta Salad About to Have Its Moment?

Because instead of desperately trying to shove your client into the existing conversation, you’ve asked a much more interesting question:

What new conversation did this conversation just create?

And I think that’s where really good reactive pitching lives.

This goes far beyond lettuce. Flights are being canceled? Maybe your hotel client doesn’t need to become an aviation expert. But perhaps there’s suddenly a timely story about drive-to vacations. Egg prices are soaring? Your bakery probably doesn’t need to issue an economic analysis. But if the chef has developed egg-free recipes because ingredient costs changed how they approach the menu?

A particular ingredient suddenly has a problem? Maybe your unrelated food brand doesn’t need to comment on the problem. But if you’ve got a genuinely compelling alternative that suddenly solves a problem people are thinking about?

That’s interesting.

There’s a huge difference between exploiting a news story and understanding how that news story has changed what people might want to know next.

Which brings me to what may be my new favorite rule of newsjacking:

Good newsjacking asks: “How can I get into this story?”

Great newsjacking asks: “What new story did this story just create?”

Journalists covering a story are probably already receiving dozens of versions of the obvious pitch. Another expert desperately waving from the sidelines yelling, MY CLIENT ALSO HAS THOUGHTS ABOUT LETTUCE!

So yes: Pay attention to the news. Find opportunities to insert genuine expertise when it’s useful. Help journalists understand nuanced stories. Correct misinformation. Offer context. But don’t mistake a trending topic for an open invitation. Sometimes your client is exactly the lettuce we need. Sometimes your client is perfectly good lettuce that simply belongs in a different salad.

And sometimes: The smartest thing you can do is forget the lettuce entirely and bring me the orzo.

That’s not ignoring the news cycle. That’s understanding what the news cycle just made interesting. And, as an added bonus, nobody has to put “explosive diarrhea” in the subject line.

You’re welcome.

Seriously, guys: Newsjacking never goes away; only the news being jacked changes. Every week there’s some enormous story, viral moment, celebrity mishap, weather event, economic development, food scare, travel disruption, or trend that suddenly inspires 900 pitches beginning with “In light of recent news…”

And the temptation is always the same: Everybody is talking about this, therefore I need to get my client into it.

The lettuce will eventually leave the headlines, but this remains true: Relevance isn’t finding a way to connect your client to what’s trending. It’s recognizing what the trend has made newly interesting.

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Upcoming travel: I’ll be in Dallas for a few days in October. If you want to try to meet up for a drink or coffee or have a client you are hoping I can check out (or general recommendations) - drop me a line! (Note: Thanks so much but where I’m staying is all set!) I’ll also BRIEFLY be in Fort Lauderdale in November (just for about 24 hours!), KYP when I know more!

Reminder: Job leads are freely shared as a service to this community, and there’ll NEVER be any charge. It’s here to help me help you, and I’ll keep it in as long as you need. Email me at alywalansky@gmail.com if there’s any job leads you wish me to include!

My fab friends at KLG PR are looking for a Senior Account Executive and a Account Manager who are truly passionate about PR and the world of spirits. View job details here and here and be sure to tell them you heard about the job lead in Aly Walansky’s newsletter!

Rachel Harrison Communications is looking for a few awesome PR/communications people who focus on bars, wine and spirits. If you know anyone (or if you are one) email RH@wearerhc.com. Agency experience required. Mostly director levels, supervisors, and SAE levels. Tell them Aly Walansky sent you!

Four Seasons is seeking a strategic brand and communications leader to oversee the PR and Marketing for Four Seasons Hotel London at Park Lane and Four Seasons Hotel Hampshire. If you are a dynamic talent in this field with experience driving meaningful results across paid, owned and earned media, follow the link here to find out more and apply for this incredible opportunity.

I still have some space available the remainder of 2026!

I would love to join your team on Zoom, a phone call, or in-person and conduct a team Q&A where I answer any of your questions about planning events, media dinners, mailers, trips, pitching, followups, etc — giving you a very necessary media perspective from someone who has been in the trenches for decades and is excited to help ease your own path. Email me at alywalansky@gmail.com if you are interested in chatting more and setting something up and we can discuss rates and details. We can switch it up in any way you or your team needs. While most of my calls do end up being virtual, I just did one where we did our session over a martini lunch! I’m available for whatever your team prefers. Lets chat.

Please follow me on the Yahoo Creators platform! I’m writing a wide range of lifestyles topics: check out my author profile to see some of my most recent pieces! (This is updated daily - usually multiple times daily - so you’ll want to keep checking it out for new content!) — and there’s lots of gift guides published there, too!

Also, can we please be friends? Be sure to follow me on Instagram while you’re at it!

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The Recipe for Press Media Directory is an essential and affordable database that targets the right magazine editors and freelance writers for pitching products and projects in food, fashion, interiors, travel, business and lifestyle. Created by former editor, Amy Flurry, the directory features emails, titles, active social media addresses, and a notes section with submission guidelines for each contact. This is why leading publicists, editors, and entrepreneurs across the country, including me, widely use and recommend it! Annual subscription price is just $195 and absolutely packed with value. Another perk of the subscription: you receive a Pitch Tip newsletter once a month highlighting the updates and newly added editors and serves as a reminder of the movement and shifts happening in the industry. This is PR gold for publicists!

I partnered with Pitchcraft to be able to share a special offer just for my readers: Use code ALY200: new users will get $200 off their first month of the monthly PR Membership or code ALY400: This one offers new users $400 off their first year of the annual PR Membership. This is a great network to join because it’s a community of both PR professionals and journalists working together to find better ways to work together and share opportunities, and you know how much I believe in all of that.

Exciting news from our friend Sarah Karger (who you’ve seen as the star expert panelist for several of our gift guide pitching workshops!) - she launched her new course, Affiliate Marketing & Performance-Based PR for Publicists - It’s built specifically to help PR pros and agencies add affiliate management as a core capability, something we all know is completely essential in today’s media landscape.

Have a client or service you think would be a fit for this section? Drop me a note at alywalansky@gmail.com anytime, I look forward to hearing from you!

Since people are often asking about the status of stories from a while ago, and I only share stories in this newsletter that were published or updated in the current week, I have created a list of my author pages at various publications to which I contribute. Bookmark it and make your life a bit easier.

Yahoo Creators: Check out my author profile (I have several new stories a day across the lifestyles umbrella, so that’s the best way to stay updated!)
Yahoo: These 23 summer essentials help me to keep cool and comfortable during seasonal heat waves
Yahoo: Headed to college this year? The 25 most crucial back-to-school dorm essentials
Southern Living: I Tried Trader Joe’s New $2 Seasoning—And Now I’m Putting It On Everything
Southern Living: 5 Store-Bought Salad Dressings Chefs Always Keep In Their Kitchens
Travel & Leisure: I’m a Frequent Business Traveler, and I Found 6 Comfy Airplane Outfits That Still Look Put Together—From $8
Apartment Therapy:The 18 Best Prime Day Travel Deals, Vetted by Pro Travelers (Starting at $8!)
Travel & Leisure: This Plane Seat Cushion Is My Secret to Arriving at Destinations Pain-free
Food Network: 25 Little Treats You Can Score for Free on Your Birthday
Travel & Leisure: I Travel for Work, and These Are the 5 Genius Hacks That Save Me From Luggage Messes and Spills—From $4
Travel & Leisure: I’ve Been Solo Traveling for 25 Years—12 Mistakes That Cause the Biggest Headaches, and How to Prevent Them
Forbes.com: 20 Great Variations On The Classic Martini
Southern Living: I Tried Trader Joe’s New Marinated Mozzarella Balls—Now I’m Using Them In Nearly Every Meal
Southern Living: I’m A Travel Writer, And This Cruise Hack Gets Me An Empty Pool, No Buffet Lines, And A Better Vacation
Southern Living: I’ve Tried Every Way To Bake A Potato—This 1 Wins Every Time
Travel & Leisure: Frequent Fliers Say This Genius Hack Makes It Feel Like They’ve Upgraded Their Seat—and It’s Only $35
Travel & Leisure: I’m a Frequent Solo Traveler, and This Genius Safety Device Gives Me Peace of Mind in Every Airbnb
Yahoo: The best cooling fans of 2026, tested and reviewed
Southern Living: I’m A Travel Writer, And My Friends And I Are Obsessed With This App For Tracking Each Other’s Flights
Travel & Leisure: I Fly Around the Country for Work, and This Roomy Tote Is My No. 1 Airport Essential for Looking Put Together.
Travel & Leisure: I’m a Solo Traveler of 25 Years, and These Are the 18 Products I Swear By for Personal Safety in 2026
Travel & Leisure: Traveling Alone Can Be Expensive—Here Are 15 Budget-friendly Hacks That Save Me Money
Southern Living: The One-Pan Cheesy Meal I Make Whenever I'm Too Tired To Cook

If you or your client are featured in any of these stories, I super appreciate any social media shares! Please remember to tag @alywalansky and the outlet.

Tuesday: How to be the right lettuce in a wrong lettuce world

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