Welcome to Coffee with a Journalist! This week, we sit down with freelance science and technology journalist Andrada Fiscutean. Based in Bucharest, Romania, Andrada writes for publications like Ars Technica, Vice Motherboard, ZDNet, Nature, and CSO Online, focusing on cybersecurity and the history of technology. She shares her unique perspective on covering stories that most staff writers wouldn't consider and the benefits of being based in a lower-cost country.  She also opens up about her experiences as a Night Science Journalism Fellow at MIT and reveals her preferences when it comes to receiving pitches from publicists. Join us as we dive into the intriguing science and technology journalism world with Andrada Fiscutean.  

Welcome to another episode of Coffee with a Journalist! In this episode, we have the pleasure of hosting Annalee Armstrong, the senior editor of Fierce Biotech. Fierce Biotech is a renowned trade publication that covers the latest news in the biotech industry, from drug development to cutting-edge scientific discoveries. Annalee shares insights on the hectic world of journalism, including the challenges of managing a flooded inbox, the importance of building relationships with publicists, and the value of circling back with sources. Join us as we dive into the fascinating world of biotech reporting with Annalee Armstrong.

In this episode, Alexis Morrillo, lifestyle editor at Bustle, gives us insight into the unique approach Bustle takes in covering trending stories. As a platform aimed at the Gen Z/Millennial audience, Bustle delves into the niche corners of the Internet, from viral TikTok trends to seasonal moments and gift guides. Alexis shares how Bustle's editorial team thrives on chaotic pitches and taps into the questions people are asking in their group chats and even what their parents are curious about. She emphasizes the importance of unpacking the why behind trends and digging deep into the corners of the web. Alexis also sheds light on her inbox management strategies, including her responsiveness and the use of subject lines to filter pitches. Stay tuned to learn more about what it's like to be an editor at Bustle and how they stay ahead of the curve in covering the latest Internet obsessions.

In this episode, our host Beck Bamberger sit down with Steffi Cao, a staff writer for Forbes, who specializes in covering the creator economy and internet culture. Steffi shares her insights on the creator economy beat, what catches her attention in pitches, and why she rarely writes about PR agency pitches. She also discusses the breadth of the creator economy, from Twitch streamers to hologram gamers, and the fascinating stories that emerge from this evolving industry. Join us as we sip on matcha and delve into the world of online influencers and the ventures they embark on.

In this episode, our host Beck Bamberger interviews senior reporter Deanna Cuadra from Employee Benefit News. Deanna shares insights about her background in film and how it influences her reporting. She also discusses the importance of including relevant sources in pitches, offers tips on how to catch her attention in the subject line, and more!

In this episode, host Beck Bamberger sits down with the fabulous Dani Kwateng, executive editor of Teen Vogue. Dani gives us a behind-the-scenes look at the evolution of Teen Vogue over the past two decades and shares her insights on how writers can successfully pitch concepts and ideas to her as an editor. She also discusses the importance of exclusives and how they can be funneled to other esteemed publications. Oh, and did we mention that Danie delves into her time spent during New York Fashion Week? Dani discusses her experiences with this exciting event and how she balances it all.

In today's episode, we have the pleasure of speaking with Bree Fowler, the senior writer of cybersecurity and digital privacy from CNET. Bree shares her insights on building relationships through face-to-face meetings and the importance of establishing a connection with PR professionals. She also gives us a glimpse into her inbox, revealing how she manages the influx of pitches and the art of organizing her emails.

On this episode of Coffee with a Journalist, we sit down with Catherine Perloff, a reporter from Adweek. She gives us insight into her coverage of ad tech, social media platforms, and their influence on the marketing community. Catherine discusses the nuances of exclusives, how to approach her with trend stories she hasn't covered yet, the value of regular source conversations, and more.

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.

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.

Our guest this week on Coffee with a Journalist is Collette Reitz. Collette is a news editor at Elite Daily where she's in charge of assigning and editing trending news coverage of all things food, viral, tech, social media, and travel. She also oversees Elite Daily's "Life Behind The Likes" and "Chef's Kiss" monthly content series. During the episode, Collette shares her thoughts on pitches labeled as ‘exclusive’, why it’s important to include dates in your subject lines, her thoughts on brand recognition vs quality products, and more.