Coffee With A Journalist

In this week's episode, we have the pleasure of sitting down with Anna Hrushka, a senior reporter from Banking Dive. Anna's expertise lies in covering the banking and fintech sector, and she played a vital role in launching the Banking Dive vertical. During our conversation, Anna shares her interests in bank and fintech partnerships, her knack for finding second-day stories that deepen major news topics, and her approach to building relationships with sources through introductory calls or even in-person meetings.  

In today's episode, we have a special guest joining us, Sarah Whitten from CNBC. Sarah is an entertainment reporter based in Los Angeles. She has been covering the industry for nearly a decade.  During the episode, Sarah shares her tips for effective pitching, including the importance of building relationships with sources and crafting attention-grabbing headlines. She also reveals the types of stories she focuses on, from Hollywood news to box office trends, and expresses her interest in expanding her coverage to include more extensive coverage of the music industry. Sarah also gives us an inside scoop on the value of exclusives and embargoes and how they impact her work. Additionally, she discusses her preferred method of communication, her appreciation for background sources, and the challenges of managing a packed inbox.

Moises Mendez II from TIME magazine is our guest this week on Coffee with a Journalist. Moises is a culture reporter who covers a wide range of topics, from the Internet and movies to music, TV, books, and podcasts. In this episode, Moises shares his insights into his preferences for exclusive pitches about creators. He also gives valuable advice on how to prolong a professional relationship with him. Plus, we dive into Moises' passion for music coverage, his favorite interview experiences, and the importance of finding a mutually beneficial arrangement in the world of journalism.

In this week's episode, Colleen DeBaise, the executive editor of The Story Exchange shares her insights on the world of journalism, providing valuable tips and advice for anyone looking to pitch their stories to media outlets. Colleen DeBaise talks about her process of skimming pitches, the importance of subject lines, and her preference for building relationships with PR professionals in person.

In today's episode, we have the pleasure of sitting down with Christopher Zara, a senior editor at Fast Company and the mastermind behind the news desk. Christopher recently released a memoir titled "Uneducated," which delves into the value of higher education and challenges the stigma of not having a degree. During our conversation, Christopher opens up about his personal journey and shares why he believes it's important to be easily accessible to sources in the fast-paced world of journalism. He also provides valuable insights into what he looks for in a pitch and how to effectively pitch the news desk at Fast Company. With a busy week in the newsroom, Christopher shares the exciting stories he's working on and reveals the challenges of saying no to pitches, even when they are exceptional.

In today's episode, Aarthi Swaminathan, the housing reporter at MarketWatch, brings her expertise on real estate and travel to the table. During the episode, Aarthi shares insights about her work, including the types of pitches she's interested in receiving. She discusses the significance of exclusives and embargoes, as well as the importance of data in her reporting. Aarthi also reveals her preferences for communication and provides some invaluable tips for successfully pitching to her.

Sarah Burke, the editor-in-chief of Them, a platform for LGBTQ+ people from Condé Nast is our guest this week on Coffee with a Journalist. Sarah discusses the target audience and focus of stories for Them readers, as well as who to pitch from the publication, specifically the section editors. She shares valuable tips on how to craft compelling subject lines to catch her and her team's attention. Sarah emphasizes the importance of subject lines in determining whether the sender is familiar with the site and its coverage. Sarah also prefers in-person interviews and bullet points for easier digestion. 

On this episode of Coffee with a Journalist, we sit down with Rebecca Ruiz, a senior reporter at Mashable, to discuss her coverage of mental health, digital culture, and technology. Rebecca shares her insights on effective subject lines for PR professionals and highlights the keywords and strategies that grab her attention. She also reveals her interests in exploring how people's well-being and mental health unfold in the context of digital culture. We delve into Rebecca's past articles, where she has covered topics such as coping with suicidal feelings during the long COVID period, managing negative emotions online, and the use of Ketamine for treating depression on TikTok. Rebecca also explains how she keeps track of sources and ideas, highlighting the significance of managing digital clutter and email inboxes for her own mental health.

On this episode of Coffee with a Journalist, Alexa Mikhail, a health and wellness reporter for Fortune's Well team, joins us. Alexa discusses her role at Fortune Well, sharing that she joined the team about a year ago as a health and wellness reporter. Her main focus is on mental health and workplace wellness, but she also covers topics unrelated to business. She also shares insights on the latest article from Fortune, the Fortune 50 Best Places to Live for Families, which highlights the significance of supportive communities. The episode also dives into Alexa's preferences when it comes to pitches and sources. She values introductions and looks for exclusive or embargoed content.

On this Coffee with a Journalist episode, Kevin Dugan from New York Magazine is the featured guest. Kevin has over a decade of experience covering the finance industry and has established a solid list of sources and contacts. During the episode, he talks about exclusives he would consider covering, including people with power and money in finance, economics, and crypto. Kevin Dugan also shares his lack of interest in crypto but has an interest in meeting with academics and government figures. 

Sara Spruch-Feiner, a senior reporter for Glossy and the force behind their Pop vertical, is the guest on this week's episode of Coffee with a Journalist. Sara talks about her reporting style, the importance of specificity in pitches, and why she prioritizes her four-story-a-week workload over coffee dates with publicists. She emphasizes the value of authenticity in pitches and advises against pitching stories that have already been covered. Sara also delves into the intersection of business, fashion, and beauty, and what sets Pop apart from traditional reporting in those areas. Tune in to learn more about pitching to Glossy and how to catch Sara's attention.

On this episode of Coffee with a Journalist, host Beck Bamberger speaks with Rose Minutaglio, senior editor at ELLE magazine. Rose shares her perspective on how to format pitches, including the reasons why she automatically deletes them. The discussion also delves into Rose's column, Clothes of Our Lives, which explores how fashion can be used as a tool for communication. With an average of about 200 emails a day, Rose recommends keeping emails short and offers tips on how to catch her attention. If you're a freelancer, Rose has some great advice for you too.

On this episode of Coffee with a Journalist, host Beck Bamberger speaks with HuffPost wellness reporter Jillian Wilson. They discuss the ins and outs of service journalism, covering topics like wellness, beauty, and food. Jillian shares her approach to finding sources and filtering through email pitches and talks about the importance of using embargoes or exclusives only for big news and building relationships with PR professionals. Additionally, they delve into creative subject line ideas and how to format them like headlines to attract readers.

Today on the podcast we’re talking with Jill Duffy, a columnist and deputy managing editor at PCMag. She’s been contributing to PCMag since 2011 and currently writes about work life, productivity, and software with an emphasis on apps for productivity and collaboration. During the episode, Jill talks about PCMag’s approach to vetting and reviewing products, her low-touch recommendation for building and sustaining a working relationship, why everyone should have a business mentor, and more.

On the podcast today we’re joined by Kate Irwin. She is a gaming lead reporter for Decrypt where she writes about the latest news and features in technology and big tech, cryptocurrency news, entertainment, and culture. Kate also creates video content for the Decrypt website and social media pages. During the episode, Kate talks about Decrypt’s audience and how the team likes to break down stories, the story she looks for behind videogames and their makers, the reason why full transparency is important to her and her readers, and lots more.

Our guest today on Coffee with a Journalist is Emily Rella. Emily is a senior news writer at Entrepreneur, writing about feature stories, business, tech, and lifestyle. During the episode, Emily shares two examples of pitches that captured her attention, the most effective ways to build and foster a working relationship, how to position exclusives and embargoes, and more.

Today’s guest on the podcast is Brooke Masters. She is a US Financial Editor and an Associate Editor at the Financial Times where she leads a team of reporters covering financial services. During the episode, Brooke talks about how coverage is broken down across teams at FT, how sources should be pitched effectively, when is the best time to pitch her, and more.

Our guest today on “Coffee with a Journalist” is Phoebe Bain, a senior reporter at Ad Age. Phoebe covers influencer marketing and DTC brands. She joined Ad Age from Morning Brew where she helped found the Marketing Brew vertical. During the episode, Phoebe talks about familiarizing herself with her new-ish role at Ad Age, crafty subject lines that caught her attention, meeting up in person with sources, and more.

Today on the podcast we’re joined by Samantha Maldonado. She is a senior reporter for climate change at THE CITY, a nonprofit, nonpartisan, digital news platform dedicated to hard-hitting reporting that serves the people of New York. During the episode, Samantha shares an inside look at THE CITY and what they focus on as a publication, why embargoes can be helpful for reporting stories quicker, a few tips on what exactly to include or exclude in pitches, and more.

Our guest today on the podcast is Kathryn Lundstrom. She is the sustainability editor at Adweek where she covers marketing and advertising news through a climate lens. During the episode, Kathryn talks about the types of people and companies she’s looking to speak with, why pitches that use plain language are best, where you should actually be sending guest articles, and more.