Here’s Our 2025 Gift Guide for Journalists and Bloggers
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It’s that time of year again. For our 2025 gift guide for journalists, bloggers and any other writers in your life, we’ve broken it down by category. Whether you want to give them something practical to help with their work, something to help them escape the stress of the job or just something fun, we’ve got an idea for you.
🖊️ The Essentials
Some gifts are always on gift guides, and for good reason. They’re practical, will get used and journalists just need them.
Consider these ideas:
- Yes, laptops are important, but notebooks (Moleskin is a classic option) and pens continue to be trusted and valued tools for journalists.
- Voice recorders are critical for capturing every word of an interview, press conference, etc. Here are some of the best voice recorders of 2025 to help narrow down the myriad options.
- Style rules are regularly changing, as is evident in our quarterly recaps. To help ensure the writer in your life is always following the rules, consider gifting them an online subscription to the AP Stylebook or giving them the latest print edition if they prefer flipping through the physical pages.
- A great messenger bag or backpack can be perfect for carrying all of the above.
All of these would also make great additions to a gift basket if that’s the route you’re taking.
📚 Related Reading
Writers are big readers. This year, consider getting the writer in your life a book about journalism, whether fiction or nonfiction.
Here are just a few options:
- Fiction:
- Jack McEvoy Series by Michael Connelly
- “As the Wicked Watch: The First Jordan Manning Novel” by Tamron Hall
- “The Huntress: A Novel” by Kate Quinn
- “The Shipping News” by Annie Proulx
- “The Imperfectionists” by Tom Rachman
- “Basket Case” by Carl Hiaasen
- “John Henry Days” by Colson Whitehead
- Nonfiction:
- “She Said” by Jodi Kantor and Megan Twohey
- “The View from Somewhere” by Lewis Raven Wallace
- “Catch and Kill” by Ronan Farrow
- “The Freaks Came Out to Write: The Definitive History of the Village Voice, the Radical Paper That Changed American Culture” by Tricia Romano
- “The Elements of Journalism” by Bill Kovach and Tom Rosenstiel
- “Bad City: Peril and Power in the City of Angels” by Paul Pringle
- “We Are Bellingcat: An Intelligence Agency for the People” by Eliot Higgins
… and don’t forget a book light and a bookmark!
😌 A Sense of Calm
Journalists are stressed. After a year filled with layoffs, press freedom challenges, figuring out AI in the newsroom and more, why not give the writer in your life a gift that helps ease some of that tension?
Options like a spa day or a subscription to an app like Calm could be much appreciated. Other ideas include:
- A neck massager to ease the tension of hours spent over a laptop.
- A newspaper-scented candle, perhaps to light while they enjoy one of the books from above.
- A set of markers and a cozy coloring book to enjoy during some screen-free, do-not-disturb time.
- A new puzzle and puzzle board to keep pieces organized and make for easy storage.
🥳 Something Fun
Sometimes, a fun gift that brings a smile to the receiver’s face is all that’s needed. Here are some options:
- A typewriter pen/pencil holder for their desk.
- For the trivia buffs, The Book of Unusual Knowledge can build up their bank of random facts. Dive into topics like radio soap operas, strange sporting events, presidential pets and more.
- A LEGO set for building a typewriter and flowers to brighten up their workspace (the keys even move!).
- A fidget pen that utilizes magnets to allow the user to reorganize it into a variety of shapes, including animals, robots, a bike and more.
- A vintage-inspired newspaper vase, complete with a crossword puzzle and classified section.
- A collection of 100 puzzles from the New York Times to solve in style, even when on the go.
💛 Your Support
Showing your support for their work can be one of the most meaningful gifts to a journalist or blogger.
Consider these gift ideas:
- Subscribe to their outlet, newsletter, etc.
- Make a donation to local news outlets.
- Give them a membership to a professional organization like IRE, NICAR or SPJ.
What are you getting for the writer in your life this year? We’d love to hear your ideas in the comments! Happy gifting!
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Rocky Parker is the Manager of Audience and Journalist Engagement at Cision PR Newswire. She's been with the company since 2010 and has worked with journalists and bloggers as well as PR and comms professionals. Outside of work, she can be found trying a new recipe, binging a new show, or cuddling with her pitbull, Hudson.
