Media Inquiry Triage

A journalist's email lands in the press inbox and the clock starts the moment it arrives - reporters work to deadlines, and a feature opportunity and a reputational landmine often look identical in the subject line. When inquiries are triaged by whoever happens to see them, two failures recur and both are costly: a same-day deadline gets answered tomorrow and the story runs without your side, or a sensitive question about finances, legal exposure, or an incident gets a quick off-the-cuff reply that should never have left the building. This assistant reads each incoming inquiry, sets its urgency against the reporter's stated deadline, rates how sensitive the topic is, identifies what the reporter is actually after and who should speak to it, and drafts a holding or substantive response - turning a noisy press inbox into a prioritized, routed worklist in minutes, while a comms lead confirms the routing and approves every word before anything goes back to a reporter.

Category: Marketing

How it works

1. A press officer or comms team member submits an incoming media inquiry - the reporter's message, their outlet, and any stated deadline - optionally with a short note on context (a campaign in flight, a known issue, a sensitive topic to watch for).
2. The assistant reads the inquiry against the deadline and the topic - is this a same-day request or a feature with runway, is it a routine product question or does it touch finances, legal exposure, personnel, or an active incident, and what is the reporter really asking for behind the framing?
3. It sets urgency, rates sensitivity, names the topic and the most appropriate spokesperson or owner, recommends a response posture (answer now / hold and confirm / decline or redirect), and drafts a reply matched to that posture - a fast acknowledgment for a deadline, a substantive answer for a routine question, a careful holding line for a sensitive one.
4. It hands the triaged inquiry and the draft to the comms lead to verify the routing, adjust the wording, and approve - nothing is sent to a reporter automatically, and a person owns every response before it leaves the team.

Key benefits

• Never miss a reporter's deadline - urgency is read against the stated deadline so a same-day request is flagged and drafted first instead of surfacing after the story has already run
• Stop the off-the-cuff reply to a sensitive question - inquiries touching finances, legal, personnel, or an active incident are rated high-risk and routed to hold-and-confirm before anyone responds
• Get every inquiry to the right person fast - the topic and the most appropriate spokesperson are named, so questions stop bouncing around the team while the clock runs
• Walk into each response with a draft, not a blank page - a posture-matched reply (acknowledge, answer, or hold) is ready for the comms lead to refine and approve

Use cases

• PR and communications teams triaging a shared press inbox and getting deadline-driven inquiries answered before the story closes
• Corporate comms and public affairs leads routing sensitive questions on finances, legal, or personnel to the right spokesperson with a careful holding line
• Founders and startup teams without a full press office deciding fast which inquiries to engage, hold, or decline
• Agency and in-house media relations managers keeping response posture and messaging consistent across a high volume of inbound press requests

Good to know

No external connection - the inquiries, deadlines, and context you paste stay in your workspace. The assistant reads each inquiry, sets urgency against the stated deadline, rates sensitivity, names the topic and a suggested spokesperson, recommends a response posture, and drafts a reply - but it works only from what you give it. It does not connect to your inbox, send anything to a reporter, or speak for your organization. The comms lead confirms the routing, adjusts the wording, and approves every response before it is sent, and this is triage and drafting support, not a substitute for media-relations judgment or a legal or executive sign-off on a sensitive statement.

Frequently asked questions

How does Media Inquiry Triage handle a reporter's deadline?

It reads the stated deadline from the inquiry you paste and flags same-day requests as urgent, so the comms lead sees and drafts a response for those first instead of them getting buried.

Does this assistant automatically send replies to journalists?

No, it never sends anything automatically. It drafts a reply matched to the urgency and sensitivity, but a comms lead must verify the routing, adjust the wording, and approve before any message goes to a reporter.

Can I customize the sensitivity ratings or spokesperson assignments?

Yes, you can adjust the criteria for what counts as high sensitivity (e.g., finances, legal, personnel) and specify which topics route to which spokespeople by editing the instructions in your Gaia workspace.

Which apps does this connect to?

It does not connect to any external apps or your email inbox. You paste the inquiry details directly into the assistant, and it works only from the information you provide.

Is it free to try?

Yes, you can test it in your Gaia workspace with a free trial. You paste a sample inquiry, and it will triage and draft a reply for you to review without any commitment.