What is the press & media inquiry form template?
Media requests are always time-sensitive, and they often arrive missing the two things a press office needs most: the deadline and what the story is actually about. Chasing those details eats into the time you have to find the right spokesperson and prepare an answer.
This press and media inquiry form asks for the journalist's name, outlet, role and contact details, the type of media and whether they're freelancing, then what they need — an interview, a comment, a press kit, data, a product to review, event access or something else. Each choice opens the right follow-up questions. The last page captures the deadline, time zone, expected publication date and embargo preference.
Every inquiry is saved as a PDF in your FileIt vault, building a log of media requests you can look back on when reporting coverage or planning outreach.
- Best for
- Press offices, PR agencies, startups, charities and public bodies
- Filled in by
- Journalists, producers, podcasters and bloggers
- Time to complete
- About 4 minutes
- Includes
- Outlet details, a request-type checklist with follow-ups, story angle and questions, deadline and time zone, embargo question
Who uses a press & media inquiry form?
- The 'Press' page of a company or charity website
- A PR agency handling requests for several clients
- A university or hospital press office triaging requests to experts
- Handling review-copy and product requests from bloggers
- Managing press pass requests for a conference or festival
- A startup with no dedicated press team that still needs to respond quickly
Questions on this press & media inquiry form
28 questions over 3 pages · includes file upload, conditional questions, multiple pages, consent checkbox.
1 About you
- Your name*
- Publication or outlet*
- Role
- Email*
- Phone
- Type of media* Newspaper · Magazine · Online news · TV · Radio · Podcast · Newsletter / blog · Trade publication · Other
- Are you writing as a freelancer?
- Commissioned by asked only when it applies
- Link to recent work
2 Your request
- What do you need?* An interview · A comment or statement · Press kit / images · Data or facts · A product to review · Event or press pass · Something else
- Story topic or headline*
- What's the story about, and what's our part in it?*
- Specific questions
- Who would you like to speak to? asked only when it applies
- Interview format asked only when it applies Phone · Video call · In person · By email · Studio / broadcast
- Product you'd like to review asked only when it applies
- Where should we send it? asked only when it applies
- Event name and date asked only when it applies
- What else do you need?* asked only when it applies
3 Deadline & format
- Deadline*
- Deadline time
- Your time zone
- Expected publication or air date
- Are other companies or people being featured?
- Can you respect an embargo if we share information in advance?
- Brief or supporting material
- Best way to reach you* Email · Phone · Either
- Consent*
The press & media inquiry form, page by page
1 About you
The journalist gives their name, outlet, role, email and phone, the type of media, and whether they're freelancing — with who commissioned the piece if so — plus a link to recent work.
2 Your request
A checklist covers interviews, comments, press kits, data, products to review, event passes and anything else. They give the story topic, what the story is about and your part in it, and any specific questions. Interview requests ask who they'd like to speak to and the format; product requests ask which product and where to send it; event requests ask for the event name and date.
3 Deadline & format
The journalist sets a required deadline with time and time zone, and the expected publication or air date. They say whether others are being featured and whether they can respect an embargo, attach any brief, choose the best way to reach them and agree to their details being kept by the press office.
Make the template yours
- Add your press kit link to the cover text so journalists can help themselves
- Remove request types you never offer, such as product reviews
- Add a dropdown of spokespeople or topics your organisation comments on
- Send notifications to a shared press inbox as well as your own
- Set the confirmation message to say how quickly you normally respond
- Adjust the privacy statement to match your own data policy
Tips for a better press & media inquiry form
- Sort requests by deadline, not by arrival time
- Acknowledge every request quickly, even if the answer is that you can't help
- Ask for questions in advance so spokespeople can prepare
- Keep a note of which requests led to coverage — the log becomes useful for reporting
- Agree clearly what's on and off the record before an interview starts
Every response becomes a PDF in your vault
When a request comes in, FileIt saves it as a PDF, files it in your vault and notifies you immediately. The journalist can get a copy of their request for their own records.
The Responses table lets you see all open requests with their deadlines and export them to CSV — handy for monthly PR reports or for spotting which topics journalists ask about most.
- Start from this template. It opens in the FileIt Forms designer — change any question, add pages, set the rules for when questions appear.
- Share it. Turn on a public link, or send it to people by email, each with their own link. They don’t need a FileIt account.
- Get the answers as PDFs. Each response is saved as a PDF in the vault folder you choose, with uploaded files attached — and listed in a Responses table you can export to CSV.
Press & media inquiry form: frequently asked questions
Is this press inquiry form free?
Yes. It's included in FileIt's Forms app on every plan, including the free plan.
Do journalists need an account?
No. They open the public link, fill it in and submit.
Can they attach a brief?
Yes. The last page accepts up to three files, such as a brief or a list of questions.
Can I route requests to a shared inbox?
Yes. Add extra addresses in the form's notification settings so the whole press team is emailed when a request arrives.
What if they need several things at once?
They can tick several request types, and each one opens its own follow-up questions.
Where are requests stored?
Each request is saved as a PDF in your FileIt vault and listed in the Responses table.