We Earn Media

We chat with Alan Henry, editor of the Smarter Living section of The New York Times (but soon-to-be Service Editor at Wired), about how to build collaborative relationships with journalists. As Alan simply puts it, "The New York Times doesn’t exist to be PR for a company." So, if you're going to try to pitch your story and/or client to Alan or his colleagues, how do you convince them to care enough to do so?

Along with this answering this question, we discuss the art of following up, how to be persistent (without being creepy!), and other tactful strategies that will help your pitch stand out in Alan's and other journalist's inboxes. 

Oh, and here's the article we chat about :)

Show notes here

In this episode, we chat with Josh Constine, Editor at Large at TechCrunch. We first discuss why he decided to write about a pitch that was sent to him by a startup called Slightly Robot detailing the Immutouch wristband. Slightly Robot originally designed the wearable to help people with trichotillomania, a disorder that compels people to pull out their hair. But with Coronavirus cases increasing in the US, they redesigned their wearable so that it buzzes when you touch your face. You can read the article here: Immutouch wristband buzzes to stop you touching your face

In less than thirty minutes, Josh breaks down exactly what he wants to see in a pitch and we promise you’re going to want to take notes while listening to this episode.

Show notes here

In this episode, we chat with Noah Manskar, a business reporter for New York Post. To kick-off the conversation, we asked Noah to share a story with us that originated from a pitch sent by an earned media professional. The story he shares is a heartwarming human-interest piece that he wrote while he was reporting for Patch NYC: NYC Dad Gives Daughter New Life with Liver Donation.

It was pitched to him by Mahlori Isaacs, a Senior Media Relations Associate at New York Presbytarian Hospital and is a perfect example of how a PR pro can build a collaborative and productive working relationship with a journalist.

In the episode, Noah also discusses his current role as a business reporter at NY Post and the types of stories he is covering on a day-to-day basis.

The most valuable takeaway, however, is Noah’s reminder for both PR folks and journalists to have empathy for each other. In a media environment where quantity is really important and journalists are being asked to do a lot on a daily basis, patience goes a long way. Remember, you’re working with a human being and you’re both under pressure.

Show notes here 

No matter how long you’ve been pitching media, the same questions run through every earned media professional’s mind...Who should I pitch this story to? What makes a pitch compelling enough to stand out from the clutter? How do we build relationships with journalists without feeling creepy?

The answers to these questions aren’t so simple. PR is a craft, and we all have our own personal approach to it. Not to mention, each media professional you’ll encounter has their own unique preferences. This is at the heart of why we started this podcast.

We’re Britt and Jackie, two PR professionals who’ve known each other for a while. We’re each other’s sounding board for when we have these questions. At times, we also go to the journalists and reporters themselves. So, we thought it’d be fun to share these conversations with you.

We’ve interviewed media professionals from various industries and outlets to gain a deeper understanding of the nuances that make up the relationships we build with the media. We created this podcast to serve as a resource for other earned media professionals hoping to hone in on their craft and be better collaborators.