Two in Three PR Newswire Releases Show No Phone Number
By the PR Gun Research desk. Updated November 1, 2026.
About two in three PR Newswire releases show no phone number. In PR Gun's database, only 31.3% of 82,398 PR Newswire press releases published January 5 to October 31, 2026 included a phone number in the published text, so 68.7% didn't. Across all 129,938 releases on twelve wires, 38.0% included one. Rates ranged from 16.4% on 24-7 Press Release to 68.8% on Newswire.com.
Why does a phone number matter in a press release?
Outside a deadline, email works fine. Inside one, it often doesn't. A reporter with an hour to file needs an answer now, and an email that sits unanswered is a no. A phone number that reaches a real person the same day is what turns a release into a quote.
So we looked at the phone number on its own. We counted a release as having one if its published text contained a 10-digit North American number or an international number written with a plus sign and country code.
How many press releases include a phone number?
Across all 129,938 releases in PR Gun's 2026 window, 38.0% included a phone number. 35.2% had a 10-digit North American number, 8.8% had a plus-sign international number and 8.3% had a toll-free number. Each wire's window in PR Gun's database differs, so each row carries its own dates.
| Wire | Releases | Window (2026) | Has phone | International (+) format | Toll-free | Phone, no email | Email, no phone |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PR Newswire | 82,398 | Jan 5 to Oct 31 | 31.3% | 5.7% | 7.9% | 29.1% | 1.8% |
| ACCESS Newswire | 11,396 | Jul 10 to Oct 31 | 53.1% | 9.4% | 11.9% | 5.4% | 46.3% |
| EIN Presswire | 6,798 | Feb 19 to Oct 31 | 62.2% | 57.4% | 4.3% | 25.2% | 14.8% |
| GlobeNewswire | 6,085 | May 7 to Oct 19 | 44.9% | 8.5% | 12.1% | 5.3% | 24.2% |
| PRWeb | 5,684 | Mar 31 to Oct 31 | 56.2% | 1.6% | 8.7% | 51.7% | 2.9% |
| 24-7 Press Release | 5,331 | Jan 1 to Oct 31 | 16.4% | 1.4% | 2.0% | 9.6% | 9.5% |
| Digital Journal | 3,364 | May 7 to Oct 31 | 57.3% | 8.6% | 11.1% | 13.6% | 32.0% |
| Newswire.com | 3,251 | May 7 to Oct 31 | 68.8% | 6.6% | 13.1% | 3.5% | 31.0% |
| Business Wire | 2,784 | Sep 24 to Oct 19 | 53.8% | 11.6% | 13.5% | 5.3% | 45.5% |
| PRLog | 2,275 | Sep 21 to Oct 31 | 22.9% | 7.3% | 2.5% | 9.9% | 15.4% |
| Send2Press | 479 | May 7 to Oct 30 | 50.9% | 3.1% | 4.4% | 4.2% | 12.1% |
- In PR Gun's database, 31.3% of 82,398 PR Newswire releases published January 5 to October 31, 2026 included a phone number.
- 68.8% of 3,251 Newswire.com releases published May 7 to October 31, 2026 included one, the highest rate of any wire.
- 16.4% of 5,331 24-7 Press Release releases did, the lowest.
- 57.4% of 6,798 EIN Presswire releases used the plus-sign international format, far more than any other wire.
The email and phone columns don't move together. On ACCESS Newswire, 46.3% of releases showed an email but no phone. On PRWeb it was the other way round, with 51.7% showing a phone but no visible email. Whatever drives one doesn't drive the other.
Where in the release does the phone number go?
Almost always at the end. Of the 49,314 releases with a phone number, the first number sat a median 94% of the way through the text, and 72.5% placed it in the last quarter. Only 8.3% put it in the first quarter.
| Wire | Releases with a phone | Median position (% through text) | In last quarter | In first quarter |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PR Newswire | 25,750 | 96 | 71.7% | 9.7% |
| ACCESS Newswire | 6,053 | 94 | 68.6% | 7.2% |
| EIN Presswire | 4,226 | 80 | 80.1% | 0.5% |
| PRWeb | 3,194 | 98 | 97.1% | 0.1% |
| GlobeNewswire | 2,732 | 74 | 49.0% | 20.3% |
| Newswire.com | 2,237 | 92 | 60.8% | 18.5% |
| Digital Journal | 1,927 | 88 | 67.8% | 3.9% |
| Business Wire | 1,499 | 98 | 74.8% | 5.9% |
| 24-7 Press Release | 874 | 95 | 85.7% | 1.5% |
| PRLog | 520 | 96 | 91.2% | 1.5% |
PRWeb puts it at the very end, with 97.1% of numbers in the last quarter. GlobeNewswire and Newswire.com are the exceptions. About one in five of their releases with a phone put it in the first quarter, which points to a contact block near the top.
The end is fine if a reporter scrolls there. But in a long release, especially one that ends with legal text, the number can sit below a page of disclaimers.
Does a "Media Contact" heading mean there's a phone number?
Not always. On PR Newswire, releases with a contact heading such as "Media Contact" were more than twice as likely to show a phone number. 51.5% did, against 23.7% without a heading. But that still means about half of headed contact blocks had no phone.
| Wire | Phone, with contact heading | Phone, no heading |
|---|---|---|
| PR Newswire | 51.5% | 23.7% |
| ACCESS Newswire | 52.7% | 53.6% |
| EIN Presswire | 67.6% | 61.6% |
| GlobeNewswire | 52.6% | 41.6% |
| PRWeb | 56.2% | 55.6% |
| 24-7 Press Release | 39.6% | 14.1% |
| Digital Journal | 59.6% | 54.9% |
| Newswire.com | 66.5% | 70.6% |
| Business Wire | 49.4% | 59.8% |
| PRLog | 39.2% | 17.2% |
| Send2Press | 70.9% | 47.0% |
On some wires the heading made little difference. On Business Wire, releases without a heading were more likely to show a phone (59.8% against 49.4%). We can't tell from the text why.
Which kinds of releases leave out the phone?
We sorted releases into types with headline keyword rules. Because PR Newswire is so large, we show the other wires on their own as well.
| Scope | Release type | Releases | Has phone | International (+) format |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| All wires | Other or unclassified | 98,496 | 36.9% | 10.0% |
| All wires | Product launch | 13,707 | 28.6% | 5.9% |
| All wires | Investor litigation notice | 5,764 | 88.9% | 0.1% |
| All wires | Partnership | 5,085 | 30.0% | 5.8% |
| All wires | Executive appointment | 3,578 | 34.9% | 5.3% |
| All wires | Acquisition or merger | 2,207 | 37.7% | 7.1% |
| All wires | Funding round | 1,101 | 26.7% | 4.6% |
| Excluding PR Newswire | Other or unclassified | 37,422 | 49.6% | 15.5% |
| Excluding PR Newswire | Product launch | 5,030 | 37.4% | 10.0% |
| Excluding PR Newswire | Partnership | 1,638 | 44.5% | 10.6% |
| Excluding PR Newswire | Investor litigation notice | 1,385 | 96.0% | 0.4% |
| Excluding PR Newswire | Executive appointment | 1,072 | 53.5% | 8.2% |
| Excluding PR Newswire | Acquisition or merger | 697 | 54.2% | 9.0% |
| Excluding PR Newswire | Funding round | 296 | 42.6% | 7.1% |
Investor litigation notices nearly always have one. Outside PR Newswire, 96.0% of 1,385 notices showed a phone number, because law firms want the call. Business news trails far behind. Across all wires, funding rounds had the lowest rate, with 26.7% of 1,101, and product launches were close, with 28.6% of 13,707. Outside PR Newswire, product launches were lowest at 37.4% of 5,030, and funding rounds came in at 42.6% of 296.
That gap is worth noting. A law firm's notice is built to make the phone ring. A startup's funding release, which a reporter may want to confirm fast, usually isn't.
What changed since the earlier study?
The first version of this page used an earlier sample of 134,126 releases studied May 7 to August 15, 2026, with services reported by letter. It found phone numbers in 34.6% to 73.9% of releases depending on the service. The largest service had the lowest rate, at 34.6%. The page text said about two in three of its releases had no phone number, but the headline said one in three, which had the share backwards.
The 2026 rerun confirms the corrected reading. On PR Newswire, the largest wire, 31.3% of 82,398 releases had a phone number and 68.7% didn't. The range across wires is now 16.4% to 68.8%. The rerun names eleven wires, while the earlier page reported six services by letter, so the two ranges aren't directly comparable.
What does a working contact block look like?
Most weak contact blocks fail in one of three ways. The first is anonymous, a department name and a shared inbox with nobody named. The second lists only the PR agency, which works if the agency can speak for the company and fails if it just relays questions. The third is stale, naming someone who has left. Nothing bounces, so nobody notices.
- Give a direct number, not a switchboard. A cell or direct line that someone answers in the days after release.
- Name the person and their role, and tell them they're on call.
- Add a backup for when the first person can't pick up.
- Use the plus-sign format if reporters outside your country might call.
- Put it in the body text, near the top if your release is long.
By sender, a startup should list the founder's number, since that's who reporters want. A small business can list the owner. An agency should list someone who can answer, not just pass messages. A public company should list both a media line and an investor relations line.
Related studies cover release length, what each wire carries and press release statistics 2026. Contact rates by type are in the funding, product launch, partnership, acquisition and executive appointment studies.
Frequently asked questions
- Should a press release include a phone number?
- Yes. Reporters on deadline often call rather than email. In PR Gun's 2026 data only 38.0% of 129,938 releases included a phone number, so adding one helps you stand out.
- How many PR Newswire releases include a phone number?
- In PR Gun's database, 31.3% of 82,398 PR Newswire releases published January 5 to October 31, 2026 showed a phone number in the text. About two in three didn't.
- Where should the phone number go in a press release?
- In the media contact block, either under the headline or at the end. In PR Gun's 2026 data, 72.5% of releases with a phone put it in the last quarter of the text. In a long release, the top is safer.
- Should I use a toll-free number?
- A direct line is better. A reporter wants a person, not a menu. In PR Gun's data 8.3% of releases used a toll-free number.
- How do I write an international phone number in a press release?
- Use the plus sign and country code, such as +44 for the UK. In PR Gun's 2026 data, 8.8% of releases used that format, including 57.4% of EIN Presswire releases.
How we researched this
- Source is PR Gun's database of published press releases, queried read-only on November 1, 2026.
- Window is releases with a publish date of January 1 to October 31, 2026. We kept one copy per wire and headline and required at least 50 words of body text, which left 129,938 releases. Each wire's window is shown in the table. A window runs from the wire's first to last release date, and coverage inside it isn't continuous for every wire. Wire tables show wires with at least 300 releases, so PR.com (93 releases) counts in the totals but has no row.
- Phone means a 10-digit North American pattern or a plus-sign international pattern in the release text. Toll-free means an 800, 888, 877, 866, 855, 844 or 833 number. Position is where the first number starts, as a share of the text length.
- Contact heading means phrases like "Media Contact", "Press Inquiries" or "Investor Relations".
- Release types come from headline keyword rules applied in priority order.
- The earlier figures come from a separate sample of 134,126 releases studied May 7 to August 15, 2026.
- PR Gun sells press release distribution and competes with the services on this page.
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