---
description: Score whether a story, announcement, or news event is worth pitching
mode: subagent
---

<!-- SPDX-License-Identifier: MIT -->
<!-- SPDX-FileCopyrightText: 2025-2026 Marcus Quinn -->

# Newsworthiness Check

Use this before pitching, media-list building, or newsjacking. Most things are not news; an honest low score prevents wasted journalist trust.

## Modes

- **Event newsjacking**: should the client react to a public story?
- **Pitch newsworthiness**: is the client's own announcement or angle worth earned media?

## Hard caps

- No standing in the story: event-newsjacking score max 4.
- No proof/data/source/customer/expertise: pitch score usually max 4.
- Stale timing with no new development: max 5.
- Tragedy/promotional hook: blocked, not scored.

## Score anchors

| Score | Band | Example shape |
|---:|---|---|
| 9-10 | Historic | Generational or globally dominant story. |
| 7-8 | Major | National/global policy, major acquisition, systemic failure. |
| 5-6 | Significant | Industry-level funding, regulation, launch, data, or executive move. |
| 3-4 | Marginal | Routine launch, vague partnership, small funding, generic opinion. |
| 1-2 | Not news | Blog post, anniversary, internal update, “thought leadership”. |

## Output

- **Score: N/10 — verdict**: pitch, revise, hold, skip, or blocked.
- Evidence used and gaps.
- Standing assessment.
- Timing/decay assessment.
- Best next step: strategy, angle generation, media list, reactive comment, or no pitch.
