So the CMO believes in stretch goals and wants you to land a cover story. You know the odds and not the path. Thanks to Fast Company technology editor Harry McCracken, we at least can illuminate the path to this one, published in FC last fall. Read and learn.
The following is an excerpt from a Slack conversation held between Fast Company technology editor Harry McCracken and deputy editor David Lidsky in June 2018 as the pair were deciding whether to publish the Steph Curry/Palm cover story, and if so, how and when. Published with permission.
Fast Company editors voted to unionize last week. So did the New Yorker’s. Should PR care? Not directly. Unionization does affect the editorial environment in which you pitch. Over time, if the economics of publishing don’t improve, the best journalists may well seek to work where editors are “protected.”
Where are all the company profiles? They abounded when the IPO window was wide open. Not anymore. Back when he wrote for Forbes, Dan Lyons told us that PR people always wanted him to write “book reports” — here’s who we are, and we’ve done this and that. That sounds like a company profile, doesn’t it?
You send us lots of rejected contributed content, asking what went wrong. Sometimes we can spot a path forward, but it’s heartbreaking to hear that “the client wants it written this way” or “this has already been approved.” That’s why this week we studied nine sets of contributed content guidelines from top edit targets and packaged what we think is their most valuable advice.
“My client wants a profile in the business press.”
How many times have you heard that one?
YOUR ACCOUNT
FRIDGE NOTES
A thousand words about The Messenger, a well-funded news startup that had a few challenges out of the gate? Read for yourself (password probably required) with an eye toward whether the NYT’s audience is being served.
Mia Sato at The Verge has the story. Hollywood writers aren’t the only writers with livelihoods at stake.
SWMS turns 25 today — only because our subscribers made it possible. Thank you for all the support over all the years.
David Carr has the story on the Similarweb blog.
In descending order: who’s still left at ZDNet and TechRepublic; cheat sheets on SF-based tech reporters and AI in retail; Esther Ajao Q&A; cheat sheets on DEI, AI newsletters, accessibility and podcasts for retail investors; Larry Dignan joins Constellation Research; Robin Wauters podcast; cheat sheet on room videoconferencing systems.
If you’re interested in a truly global picture of how tech is transforming business and society, explore Rest of World, a fascinating newsletter franchise.
The new section, DR Global, will focus on the Middle East and Africa, where build-outs are now off the chart.
The 11-year-old newsletter can’t find a buyer, so 22 more employees are shown the door, says Insider.
Aisha Majid, from the terrific newsletter PressGazette, has all the data.
