_Part 7 of the For Immediate Release series. Originally written in 2011. Re-read in the AI Communications era._ Reporters are not your friends. They are professionals doing a job. Treating them as anything else gets brands and executives in trouble. Chapter 7 of _For Immediate Release_ is the chapter executives most often skip — and most need to read. It is about the structural relationship between a brand and the press. About what reporters owe sources, what sources owe reporters, and where the relationship ends. ## What the Chapter Says The chapter walks through specific operational warnings: - Never assume off-the-record protection unless it is explicitly negotiated up front - Beware of stolen or falsified documents — they create legal exposure on top of media exposure - Lock down access to sensitive information — most leaks come from inside - Use PR as a security system — pre-built relationships shorten crisis response time The chapter cites the Judith Miller case — the _New York Times_ reporter who spent 85 days in prison rather than reveal a source — and the Vanessa Leggett case to make the point: reporters take their professional codes seriously. They will protect their sources. They will also burn yours, depending on which side of the story serves their job. Brands that don’t understand this get hurt. The chapter also lays out the **Rules of Engagement** for working with reporters — pitch to the right person, pitch to the side (a sports reporter may take a tech story angled correctly), pitch to underlings (today’s junior reporter is tomorrow’s senior editor), and pitch during holidays and weekends when competitors are closed. ## What It Means in 2026 The principle holds in 2026 with one addition: AI engines are also professionals doing a job. They synthesize what the press, the public record, and the open web say about you. They are not your friends. They will not soft-pedal the negative coverage to be polite. Brands that manage the press well also manage the engines well — because the engines are reading the press. Brands that try to suppress, mislead, or game the press get caught faster by the engines than they ever got caught by the press alone. The chatbox is the most disciplined fact-checker the brand has ever faced. ## Continue Reading the Series [← Part 6: Getting Out in Front](https://ronntorossian.com/the-247-rolling-press-conference) · [Back to hub](https://ronntorossian.com/for-immediate-release-pr-book) · [Part 8: Life Happens →](https://ronntorossian.com/for-immediate-release-part-8-life-happens) **Buy the book:** [Amazon author page](https://www.amazon.com/stores/author/B005DOQIPO). ## Frequently Asked Questions **What does Chapter 7 teach about working with reporters?** Chapter 7 argues that reporters are professionals doing their job, not friends or partners. Brands should treat the press relationship structurally: respect the reporter's professional code, manage what information leaves the building, and use pre-built relationships as a crisis security system. The chapter also lays out the Rules of Engagement: pitch to the right person, pitch to the side, pitch to underlings, pitch during holidays. **How does this apply to AI engines?** AI engines synthesize the press coverage they read. Brands that manage their press footprint well get represented well in AI answers. Brands that try to game the press get caught by the engines — which read every contradictory source and merge them into an answer that exposes the brand to the buyer. --- **About the author:** Ronn Torossian is the founder and chairman of [5W AI Communications](https://www.5wpr.com), the AI Communications Firm. Publisher of [Everything-PR](https://everything-pr.com). Author of two best-selling editions of _For Immediate Release_.