Welcome to “What to Expect,” a weekly TL;DR analysis/prediction of the tech and business media landscape in the age of coronavirus and Covid-19. Based on journalist interviews and backchannel discussions, we’ll share our best advice on story shaping and pitching strategies. “What to Expect” will appear each Monday.
Writes PR pro Alex: “Hanging out with reporters is my favorite part of the week and, having done it for a while, I’ve noticed some personality types that seem to recur. Here’s a pair of some of the most colorful media personalities I’ve encountered, and tips for getting on their good side.”
We asked Tier 1 and B2B journalists, “What role should PR be playing at this time?” Here’s what they had to say. Their answers were given Mar. 22 and 23.
We asked Tier 1 and B2B journalists, “How do you see Covid-19 changing business, technology and society in the long run?” Here’s what they had to say. Their answers were given Mar. 22 and 23.
We asked Tier 1 and B2B journalists, “How important is non-Covid news and analysis right now?” Here’s what they had to say. Their answers were given Mar. 22 and 23.
Here’s a 43-minute video teleconference with Matthew Lynley, data storytelling expert and a former editor with Business Insider, TechCrunch, VentureBeat and the WSJ. We discuss infographics, surveys, scrollytelling and much more. A full wrap-up on the conversation is coming soon.
What kinds of stories actually get green-lighted in a crisis? There is so much team reporting, rolling digests and other compendia. We dug into Tier 1 and B2B IT titles this week and spotted four formulas that seem to work pretty well so far — even for lesser known tech vendors. What story types are you seeing?
Here’s a 16-minute video interview with Silicon Angle reporter Paul Gillin, who descrbes the tenor of PR pitches he’s been getting, and what he thinks are achievable goals for PR as the coronovirus crisis worsens. We’ll be publishing a full article, comprising all his insights, later today.
Global business may never be the same once we exit the coronavirus crisis, says ZDNet global EIC Larry Dignan. In a video posted on TechRepublic and in an exclusive SWMS video interview, Larry says that companies may come to realize they’re spending money they never really needed to spend — on things like…
Strangely enough, amid all the innovation that surrounds us, few reporters patrol the emerging technologies beat. How can that be? After researching this long-in-coming SWMS deep-dive, we came to realize that “emerging technologies” is one of those boil-the-ocean beats that just cannot be covered in the literal sense of that word — nor should anyone try.
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FRIDGE NOTES
Registration is now open for the ‘Bloomberg Tech’ F2F event, being held Jun. 4-5 in San Francisco. With the current early-bird discount, a ticket runs $1,500. There is no better way to build relationships with Bloomberg’s notoriously elusive tech reporters.
Well, for now it’s Jim Jordan… but such news illustrates the kind of world we seem to be headed for. Adweek has the details, subscription required.
No “predictions” post will appear on this site. That said, quite a number of subscribers have asked for a Zoom/MS Teams presentation on what 2025 will bring. A conversation is precisely the right tool for the job. After the election — and with AI transforming publishing and life — “2025” is best discussed among peers, not predicted. So if you’d like to have a confidential group exchange on what stands to unfold, and why, and how comms pros can come out on top in spite of it all, drop a line and we shall schedule something.
According to Adweek, Omnicom CEO John Wren and IPG CEO Philippe Krakowsky were in merger talks for eleven and a half months before the transaction was announced this week. Amazing that it didn’t leak.
Should PR pros stop visiting X, with all its lies and hate? It’s only going to get worse. Or are tidbits from targets too important to walk away from? Click here to watch tech edit vet David Strom and I disagree (at high speed) about this, as one compelling visual after another pops up on your screen. In 2025, SWMS will officially launch “SWMS Sound Thinking,” designed to be “argumentative insight in six minutes or less.” Each segment will explore a timely and controversial topic of interest to tech comms pros. This prototype runs 5:25. Hope you enjoy it — feedback vital and welcome! –Sam
New EIC Jamie Heller has asked her reporters to start going on camera — for the BI TikTok channel — to explain the big, deep-divey story they just published. Other publications do this — especially archival Fortune. BI is now on that too. Game on.
