Coffee With A Journalist

This week on the podcast we sit down with Riddhi Kanetkar, a junior startups and VC reporter at Insider. She's interested in covering emerging sectors such as health tech, with a focus on women's health and mental health, as well as underrepresented founders and VCs in tech, company culture, labor rights, and the gig economy. During the episode, Riddhi talks about writing behind the paywall, turnaround time for funding pieces vs features, her thoughts on in-person meetups, and more.

Our guest this week on Coffee with a Journalist is Russell Contreras. Russell is the senior race and justice reporter at Axios where he covers the policies and agencies at the heart of the administration of justice and how it impacts people of color. During the episode, Russell talks about practicing brevity in pitches, how and what to pitch when it comes to embargoes and exclusives, why you shouldn’t pitch him local news, and more.  

Today on the podcast we’re joined by Matt Safford, managing editor at Tom’s Hardware. Matt started building PCs in the 90s and was a fan of technology from an early age. That love turned evolved into a journalism career writing for publications including Popular Science, PCMag, and Digital Trends. During the episode, Matt discusses his unique approach when it comes to product reviews, how to format pitches for his writing style, why he’s skeptical of exclusives, and more.

Our guest this week on the podcast is Lucia Moses, a senior correspondent at Insider. Lucia writes and reports on media for the publication and held a previous role as deputy editor overseeing media and advertising coverage. During the episode, Lucia talks about the difference in stories that are behind the paywall vs in front of it, why she enjoys covering well-known brands, her openness to feedback on stories, and more.

This week on the Coffee with a Journalist podcast we spoke with Ray Wong, deputy editor of reviews & guides at Inverse. Ray covers consumer technology including product reviews and investigating AI technology, with the aim to uncover the larger story. During the episode, Ray talks about exclusives he writes related to products and people, why he prefers to work with sources he already knows, how you can model your pitch off an existing article he’s written, and more.

Our featured guest this week on the Coffee with a Journalist podcast is Zoë Weiner. Zoë is the senior beauty editor at Well+Good where she guides coverage of skin care, hair care, cosmetics, and the beauty industry at large. She’s also the host of Zoë Tries It All, a YouTube series by Well+Good. During the episode, Zoë shares she receives between 500-600 emails per day, what kinds of companies and pitches she’s most interested in right now, her upcoming stories launching for summer, and more.  

This week on the Coffee with a Journalist podcast we sat down with Kate Davis, Fast Co. deputy editor and the host of The Way We Work podcast. During the episode, Kate talks about what it’s like juggling multiple roles, her preferences for how to format subject lines, what you shouldn’t be mentioning in pitches, and more.

Today on the podcast we had a chance to speak with Jay Peters, a news writer at The Verge. Jay covers breaking news in consumer technology, video games, entertainment, streaming, and more. He also writes about virtual worlds, the technologies that power them, and the companies trying to make the metaverse happen. During the episode, Jay talks about the most useful pitches for him personally, lead time for embargoes, his thoughts on the future of the metaverse, and lots more.

Our guest this week on the podcast is Teddy Amenabar, a reporter on the Well+Being team at The Washington Post. Teddy covers internet trends spanning a wide range of subject matter from health, to climate and technology. During the episode, Teddy shares more about the Well+Being team and their coverage, why he doesn’t put much focus on pitch subject lines, his unique perspective on exclusive stories, and lots more.

This week on the Coffee with a Journalist podcast we’re joined by Miriam Cross, a technology reporter at American Banker. Miriam covers banking technology and fintech specifically writing about the customer experience. During the episode, Miriam talks about a pitch she still thinks about from over a year ago, an example of an exclusive pitch, why her email inbox is the best place to reach her, and lots more.

Our guest this week on Coffee with a Journalist is Megan Farokhmanesh, a senior writer at Wired. As a senior writer, Megan covers video games and the industry that makes them.  During the episode, Megan talks about why she has so many sticky notes on her desk, the ways you should and shouldn’t format subject lines, her preference for lead time on stories, and much more.

Today on Coffee with a Journalist we’re joined by Yahoo! Finance senior tech reporter, Allie Garfinkle. Allie covers public tech companies within the e-commerce and social media space, as well as the gig economy and labor-focused stories.  During the episode, Allie talks about her two main areas of coverage at Yahoo! Finance, dissects real subject lines straight from her inbox, shares her preferences for being pitched exclusives, and more.

Our guest this week on Coffee with a Journalist is Jessica Bursztynsky. Jessica is a staff writer for Fast Company covering the gig economy and consumer internet companies. During the episode, Jessica talks about connecting with the right sources, why subject lines are important to her, why she prefers phone calls before agreeing to embargoes, and more.

On the podcast this week, we’re joined by Barron’s associated editor of technology, Eric Savitz. Eric specifically covers technology, investing and Silicon Valley. During the episode, Eric talks about the importance of simplicity and straightforwardness in pitches, how he’s building relationships and connecting with sources, the many other things he’s working on at Barron’s, and more.

On today’s episode, we’re joined by Zach Wichter. Zach is a consumer travel reporter at USA Today covering travel, primarily writing about and focusing on airlines and aviation. During the episode, Zach talks about his process for responding to pitches, the best way to approach him with embargoes, how he’s built close relationships with sources, and more.

Our guest this week on Coffee with a Journalist is Kimeko McCoy. Kimeko is a senior marketing reporter for Digiday who covers media buying and ad spending along with marketing strategy. She also covers the DE&I and the future of workspaces from an agency perspective. During the episode, Kimeko talks about the importance of an email follow-up, the "in and out mentality" when it comes to cold sources, her pitching pet peeves, and more.

This week on Coffee with a Journalist we’re joined by Hannah Murphy. Hannah is a tech reporter at Financial Times who covers social media companies including Facebook, Twitter, and TikTok. She also helps cover crypto and digital assets, as well as emerging themes, such as the 'metaverse'. During the episode, Hannah talks about what it’s like covering crypto & social media companies, how she finds useful emails within her inbox, her preferred amount of time for an embargo, and more.

Our guest today on Coffee with a Journalist is Bailey Schulz. Bailey is a consumer news and money reporter for USA Today. She covers stories about travel, tech, and money specifically for consumers. During the episode, Bailey sheds light on the importance of keywords in pitches, why embargoes result in better quality stories, the right amount of time one should wait before sending her a follow-up, and more.

This week on Coffee with a Journalist we’re talking to Erica Sloan. Erica is the lifestyle editor for Well+Good. She writes and edits articles about sleep, sex, astrology, travel, careers, financial wellness, and other elements of daily life that intersect with one’s well-being. During the episode, Erica provides her top 3 recommendations for the perfect pitch, why funny subject lines don’t grab her attention, her thoughts on embargoes & pitch lead time, and more.

Today on the podcast we’re joined by Emma Kershaw. Emma is a contributor to PEOPLE Magazine along with being a contributor at Cosmopolitan, Apartment Therapy, BuzzFeed, and other publications. During the episode, Emma starts by talking about what it’s like to pitch articles as a contributor, weeding through trend pitches in her inbox, why it’s important to share all the details about new products before they launch, and more.