Tales From the Beat: Recent Episodes
Ed Garsten
I've led a dual life--as a journalist and PR guy: CNN, Associated Press, Detroit News, Forbes.com on the news side and all the different names of Chrysler and Franco PR on the PR side. Even in my semi-retirement I'm playing on both sides of the scrimmage line. In this podcast I'll talk about some of the best and worst pitches I receive, why they work or why they don't, best ways for PR people to make reporters happy and land coverage and from the journalist side, how best to work with PR people to make sure you're getting what you need to create great stories.
She's a super story teller, running her own agency in Chicago. Robyn Malone is CEO and Chief Partner Officer at RJ Communications. She's the mind behind the successful "You Don't Know Jack About MS" with Jack Osborne. Host Ed Garsten and Malone discuss her unique take on developing stories, working with reporters, using story telling skills to develop pitches that earn coverage and more.
Julian Bond is a true social media/marketing superstar, having run campaigns for giant companies like Little Caesars Pizza and General RV Centers. Host Ed Garsten and Julian talk about campaigns he ran that made impact, especially one for Little Caesars related to the NCAA Men's basketball tournament, the latest tools and working together to help Chrysler boost its social media presence. A lively conversation with a very smart and savvy online marketer.
September means auto trade showtime in Detroit with the Automotive News World Congress, Management Briefing Seminars and MOVE America. It's a time of insanity for both reporters and PR people but also an opportunity for a goldmine of stories and coverage. Host Ed Garsten runs down the shows--everything from signing up for credentials, wondering where to park, landing coverage for PR people, managing the volume of material for reporters and waxing nostalgic about a big yellow tent, wrinkled backdrop and fruit smoothies from the past.
Our guest in this episode is veteran kickass communicator, sometimes singer, all-around media master, Sam Locricchio, director account services, Near Perfect Media. We discuss the Coldplay kiss-cam mess, the Gwyneth Paltrow video response, how the automotive media has handled the electric vehicle story and if the automakers blew it, and what pisses off Sam about reporters. A lively 30 minute conversation.
Host Ed Garsten retired from full time work in 2016 but has been working as a freelance senior contributor to Forbes.com for 7 years. He discusses why he loves being a journalist, meeting such celebrities as the actor who played the evil Prof. Harris on Lost in Space, Pete Rose, Mel Blanc, the voice behind your favorite Looney Tunes characters, composer Aaron Copeland, suicide Dr. Jack Kevorkian and others...all contributing to why he just can't quit the profession.
Host Ed Garsten discusses how both reporters and PR people can use gathering "string" to create complete, compelling stories and story pitches.
Longtime PR pro and agency owner Don F. McLean discusses his new book on how to succeed on Linkedin with Tales From the Beat host Ed Garsten. The book is titled, ""The In Crowd for LinkedIn Mastery: Powering Your Path to Professional Success & Thought Leadership Through a PR Mindset."
In this episode, host Ed Garsten speaks with longtime auto biz pro Randall McAdory about the hot topics in the industry right now and his provocative, insightful TaaSMaster Newsletter. Ed and Randall worked together at the former DaimlerChrysler in the early 2000's.
Elliot Katz makes a return trip to the podcast to discuss his latest venture, the first collaborative AI platform mixus.ai and it's colleague-in-the-loop AI agent creation tool that incorporates humans into the process to ensure accuracy.
Quotes are like gold. You have to handle them as the valuable thing they are. But what happens when a PR person asks you to change a quote? Or an editor changes a quote and makes it wrong? All quotable subjects host Ed Garsten tackles in this episode.
To honor this week's national elections in Canada, host Ed Garsten recalls an almost disastrous episode while covering the 1997 elections in the Great White North for CNN, thanks to a snarky CBC staffer.
Joel Feder has been an automotive journalist for almost two decades, across all media, especially online at websites that include TheCarConnection, MotorAuthority and GreenCarReports. When those three well-respected sites were suddenly shut down recently, Feder found himself searching for a new opportunity. We discuss what happened, what the public loses when experienced beat writers lose their jobs, the general state of automotive journalism and how the tariff story is being reported.
The import tariff story is sucking up more than all the air in the room..it's monopolizing all the time of reporters and PR people. This episode recounts how the story totally upended one automotive intelligence company's well laid-out plan, how that effected this reporter and how some PR people handled the story brilliantly.
In this episode of Tales From the Beat, host Ed Garsten interviews VerticalScope editorial director Greg Migliore, who oversees several automotive websites including The Truth About Cars, Autoguide and Motorcycle.com. The lively discussion takes on tariffs, dealing with auto industry PR people, GM's dive back into racing and more.
In episode 110 of Tales From the Beat, host Ed Garsten speaks with PR pro Brian Kramer about his new online newsletter aggregating commentaries on hot PR issues. It's called This Week in PR Takes, or TWiPRT. https://thisweekinprtakes.beehiiv.com
What happened when I decided to take February off as a "sabbatical" from writing for Forbes and not responding to story pitches? It ain't pretty. Here's what happened.
Dan Roth is a journalist, PR pro, and host of the Hooniverse podcast. He fits the profile perfectly, working on both sides of the news and PR scrimmage line. We have a spirited conversation about how he's used all three to succeed at each, the culture shock of going from a newsroom to corporate PR, the viability of auto shows as a PR tool, messaging EVs and more.
Link to Hooniverse podcast:https://www.hooniverse.com/podcasts/
In this episode of Tales From the Beat host Ed Garsten speaks with automotive journalist Craig Cole, the editor of Topspeed.com and co-founder of YouTube channel Auto Esoterica. The discussion goes everywhere from auto shows, to automotive PR, to classic cars to EVs and more.
There was a time some automakers spent millions on shows at auto shows to reveal a new car or truck. Those days are gone as budgets and technology take precedence. But in this episode I look at some of the history of those shows and consider whether or not they were really worth it in the end.
Link to video I reference: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2IGPPDu5x6A&t=968s
Happy New Year! As 2025 hits, I look back and ahead at stories, dealing with PR people, "empathetic" management, EV fanboys and girls, along with some resolutions. See if they match your experiences in '24 and promises for '25.
As surely as Christmas poinsettias and Hanukah menorahs, the season of C-E-S has set it and reporters are under attack...from stressed out PR people under pressure to land coverage of their clients at the big tech show in Vegas. But my sore knees are dug in, and I've got Duran Duran to help me out against those flaks who are hungry like the wolf for coverage.
Never trust info from artificial intelligence searches as 100% accurate. What if you could bring actual intelligence, from real humans into the mix. That's what new platform mixus.ai is doing. In this episode Ed Garsten speaks with mixus.ai co-founder Elliot Katz to explain the concept and how you can use it.
For our 100th episode, our guest is manager of the best auto company media website, Courtney Protz-Sanders, who has built the Stellantis website into a reporter's best friend over the course of four ownerships and 21 years. We discuss what makes a superior media website, what reporters expect of them, and what's next. Courtney also run the Paws for Life Animal Rescue and is on the Board of the Michigan Pet Alliance. We discuss how those organizations help save pets' lives and make them better. Paws for Life: https://www.pawsforliferescue.orgMichigan Pet Alliance: https://www.MichiganPet.org
A PR person took the "concept" of embargo to a strange, new dimension and it still has me reeling from that trip to a hitherto unknown zone.
My guest this week is a formidable two-way vet. He's Eric Mayne. For many years one of the foremost automotive journalists and until his recent retirement, a powerhouse member of the Fiat Chrysler/Stellantis communications team. He's also an old, wonderful friend.
Ex-Michigan Governor and current Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm set the tone, kicking off a day at something called Reuters Automotive USA. She said the government's not "effin' around" and neither are we about an industry event that's unlike any other--and that's good.
Can you imagine an entire convention center filled with the stuff of batteries? Big talk about lithium and all the other stuff that goes in them and tons of other subjects and technologies related to those containers that energize electric vehicles and more. I spent a whole day at just such a place in downtown Detroit at a phenomenon called, appropriately enough, The Battery Show.
Back in the Detroit 'burbs for the COVESA all-members meeting from Sweden, Remotive Labs's marketing director Carin Lagerstedt took time out from her busy schedule to sit down with me to discuss figuring out the myriad issues in creating dependable, high-functioning automotive software, and then we pivot to what's been driving her crazy about journalists--especially when it comes to headlines.
Infinite automotive media events, two Roger Maris home runs and a search for an undetermined number of photos and videos. It's a combination reporter's nightmare and early life flashback.
For our 90th episode, something a little different. Now that the Brit group Oasis is reuniting, I've completely replaced the lyrics of four of their most famous songs to tell the plight of the reporter. Look at it as fun..and definitely don't look back at it in anger.
In this video episode you'll have to excuse me while I'm vacuuming my office. But it's the perfect metaphor for all the crappy story pitches I receive that seem to be living in a vacuum with little to no relevance to anything. Some examples and some ideas.
She's worked both sides of the scrimmage line in news and PR and since 2020, has run her own PR agency. She's Katie Merx, Founder of Merx Communications. We have a great conversation about jumping over from news to PR, the state of the industry, how well the electric vehicle story is being told, and yeah, a few laughs.
Our first video episode takes a short cruise down the Huron River in southeastern Michigan where I compare dealing with different types of PR agencies with navigating a waterway.
Every picture tells a story except when it doesn't. How PR people are making me, um, shutter, by sending photos without finishing the process.
A conversation with Yaron Saghiv, chief marketing officer at tech company UVeye which developed drive-through vehicle inspection stations that can detect myriad of imperfections in vehicles in seconds. We discuss the company and how Saghiv has won massive coverage.
Our first video episode takes a short cruise down the Huron River in southeastern Michigan where I compare dealing with different types of PR agencies with navigating a waterway.
Remember when Cool Hand Luke got the crap beat out of him for a "failure to communicate?" PR people are getting beat up by clients who don't understand the difference between certain types of communication and it's time they started hitting back. Some examples and advice I give from my experience as both a reporter and PR guy.
What happens when a company exec attempts to do the same work as skilled PR people all because they're having a business marital spat? I was recently caught in that sort of comms custody battle. It's not exactly Kramer vs. Kramer but it ain't fun when reporters are the kids in the middle.
Reporters and PR people can't avoid having to say "no" to story pitches, interview requests, etc. but we waste so much time saying "no" because those two little letters can come across as kinda brutal. In this episode I talk about ways to say "no." Some are kind, some blunt and you should hear what ChatGPT came up with.
Wonder why your story pitch goes unanswered or rejected? No better guy to ask then ultimate PR pro Mike DeVilling, president and CEO of Westshore Public Relations.
Oh joy! It's earnings season and that's when PR people and their companies are playing a game of hidden figures in their news releases, especially when the news is bad. This week's episode looks at that, and why that's a losing game. There's also a mention, for some reason, of disc golf.
Story pitching can be a duel between PR person and reporter. A new study from marketing firm PROPEL sheds light on how often reporters open pitches, when they open them, when they respond and what makes a good story pitch.
From communications exec at General Motors to a VP at logistic technology company Geotab, Rob Minton has an expansive career that's taken him from PR to sales and a unique view of news and corporate communications.
Two-parter this week. Finding a local tie-in to a big story is smart, but I found a headline making a valiant attempt that missed the mark. I discuss that and one legendary headline screwup due to one little editing mistake. Second part looks at Gannett's idiotic decision to drop the AP. I worked for both.
What happens when the slightest detail of an embargo bites you in the ass? You feel like one. My true story of what happened this week when I missed one, teeny, weeny, detail that woke up some west coasters three hours early.
It's our 75th episode! Time to take stock of why journalism matters and profiles of three of the many incredible people I've interviewed who make it impossible to quit. It's more than FOMO...it's FOMA...fear of missing amazing.
He's the master of automotive PR, master of his own PR agency and master and creator of the innovative House of Journalists. He's Scott Fosgard. Among auto writers he's no less than a legend because his expertise at pitching, staging events and understanding just what reporters need is legendary. He's also an old friend. We have a fun conversation about it all.
With a little help from Selena Gomez, this week's episode looks at how too much reliance on artificial intelligence can both screw up your writing and piss off people you interview.
Mark Schirmer is an auto writer's best friend. As Director, Corporate Communications for the far-flung auto enterprise that operates such well known brands as Kelley Blue Book, Mannheim and Autotrader, Mark makes sure reporters have all the data, analysis and insight they need to add substance to their stories. But as you'll hear, Mark, and the Cox team go way beyond just pitching experts. They basically own the space. We discuss the Cox concepts plus Mark recaps this year's just completed National Automobile Dealers Association Conference and how the media is playing what's really going on with EVs.
Uh, oh. CNN killed another morning show. I feel their pain. I actually produced CNN's morning show "Daybreak" in its much earlier days and now share the madness, and some secrets, of trying to put together a morning show people actually want to wake up to. After some reflection, and a reminder from my Daybreak director, I decided to add a lot more detail to the original podcast.
Two automakers announced two very different strategies for hybrid vehicles this week...one on offense, the other on defense. As a journalist caught in the middle, it made for a fascinating look at two companies trying to figure out the best road to the same destination.
What do confusion, Kylie Jenner's pink hair and EVs have in common? All key elements in a ball of confusion.
Where do reporters get all those stats and research on the auto industry for their stories? One of the best sources is Kevin Roberts, Director of Industry Insights and Analytics at auto research and sales site, CarGurus.com. Kevin chats with me about how he frames his research so reporters can understand it and report it clearly and accurately, how often reporters don't get it right, what trends he's looking at and what he wishes reporters would do better.
It's time again for the annual tech trade show extravaganza, the CES Show. What's that mean for reporters? It means attempting to stay above water under the deluge of PR pitches to cover reveals, unveilings, news conferences or begging to just give an exec the ego trip of an in-person interview. Some real life tales of trying not to drown in PR tsunami that develops every year in the CES pool.
One automaker said it's sitting out this year's Chicago Auto Show and may skip others. Other companies are abandoning auto shows to save money and move to other modes of introducing new vehicles. This week's episode looks at the auto show's incredible shrinking act, new roles and how I had a hand in the whole thing almost two decades ago.
Some highlights from the first 64 episodes, September 2022-December 2023. Includes clips from interviews with Paul Oakley at Tiny Mighty Communications, Susan Donahue and Megan Kathman at Skyya PR, Natalie Bartels at VSC, Noreen Pratscher at Pratscher Communications, Brent Snavley at Franco PR, Dale Jewett at Stellantis, Elliot Katz at Phantom Auto and Craig Daitch at Telemetry. Also, The Shawn Fain Talking Blues.
Reporters are stuck writing them. PR people are stuck pitching them. The dreaded year-ender. This week's episode looks at everything from how early pitches are being sent to subjects not worth reflecting upon to year-aheads and how to maybe make everything sensible, plus a really bad attempt at a parody of a famous New Year's Eve song.
This week's episode is a lively conversation with Paul Oakley, founder and CEO of Nashville-based PR and marketing agency, Tiny Mighty Communications. We talk about how the "scary" prospect of starting a new business, how he won me over enough to get me to write what, at face value was an esoteric technical story but turned out great, plus we dive into what pisses him off around reporters and how he and the agency are using AI. Lots of stuff in about 31 minutes. It's damned Mighty!
When the coldest isn't, a building never was, a horse shuts down a shoot and a tornado victim's values are, well, surprising. All subjects of stuff that's actually happened to me while covering everything from natural disasters to at least one story that really didn't exist. Yup..just some stories about stories on this week's Tales From the Beat.
Noreen Pratscher's done it all in corporate communications as a top level manager at companies like GM, Serta Simmons, TrueCar, JELD-WEN and Siemens Healthcare. Now she's taking the plunge starting her own consultancy. We talk about that, how the relationship between PR and journalists has changed over the years and how successful the auto industry has been at effectively promoting electric vehicles...and more.
You can contact Noreen at her new consultancy at pratschercommunications@gmail.com
Wanna make an editor or reporter's eyes cloud over? Pitch a story about some company using the "cloud." Doesn't have to be that way, though.
It's finally over. The auto strikes. But UAW president Shawn Fain emerged as both a transformative leader and a folk hero by winning major pay raises and other benefits for his members. It led to a song. If you get through the intro for a couple of minutes, you can hear it.
Bill Koenig and I have run into each other over the decades as competitors and friends on the auto beat and now we're working together as contributors at Forbes.com. We're just coming off some crazy auto contract talks, and strikes so Bill and I had plenty to talk about looking back at covering negotiations and United Autoworkers Union presidents of the past including the current one, Shawn Fain, who broke all the rules to win historic contracts for his members.
The president of the United Autoworkers union is brash, threatening, loud and direct. Shawn Fain is trying to bargain a new contract for his members. But six weeks into what he calls a "stand up" strike, taking down plants without notice, there's no deal yet. Is he overplaying his hand, digging in for the best new contract after GM, Ford and Stellantis have raised their offers, or is Fain just vain, staying in it to stay in the public eye?
From plastics to beauty innovations to inane questions about whether or not to meet for an interview, my email box filled with PR pitches way outside the heart of the plate. This week's Tales From Beat runs 'em down.
I worked with Carin Lagerstedt on a story about company based in Sweden..but that was over Zoom. Wonder of wonders she popped over the ocean to attend a trade conference here in the Detroit area so I finally got to meet her in person...and get her behind the mic to talk about her career, working with reporters in Europe and North America, her best strategies for landing stories and something about that reporter in "The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo."
Being on vacation this week didn't mean I didn't have to do some investigative reporting. It involved a death, a stink and a scoop. It's all in this week's episode of Tales From the Beat.
I'm covering the strike by the UAW against GM, Ford and Stellantis as a semi-retired freelancer. Most of the time I don't actually go anywhere, but the other day I couldn't take it any longer, so I put on pants and hit the picket line. Reminded me of good times as a CNN correspondent back in 1998 covering the 54 day walkout against GM. Teaser...it involved the Spice Girls.
Two automotive shows happening at the same time 30 miles apart. One, once a magnet for thousands of journalists from around the world, now reduced to a regional carnival, the other, a trade show growing so fast it's outgrown its venue and smart enough to move to a later date to avoid the obvious conflict for auto reporters faced with trying to cover both. My first-hand thoughts in this Tale of Two Shows.
Remember how Ross yelled at Rachel and Chandler to "Pivot!" to get his stupid couch up the stairs? Well, in the news and PR rackets sometimes you've got to pivot to get it all done, especially when you're thrown a lot of things at once. This week's episode is all about pivots past and present, and why they can make your head spin...and that's the fun of it.
It's our 50th episode of Tales From the Beat. In honor, or in spite, of that milestone, and with apologies to Paul Simon, I offer 50 Ways to Reach a Writer.
A frontal flak attack, combined with colliding stories and a Ukrainian frock for Beyonce. Sound like a normal week? Hell, no!
The contract talks between the UAW and Detroit 3 automakers are down to their last few weeks and the new union president is talking tough. Over the past three decades as a reporter and PR guy I've had contact with several past UAW presidents. All different. My recollections, including covering the day one of them died.
You get an invite to an event figuring the organizers want you to cover it. You RSVP you're in. But then you're out. Huh? This week's true story about the story I was uninvited to cover.
It doesn't take a MENSA membership to be smart enough to understand the meaning of someone's vacation out of office email response. Except, based on the actions of a couple of PR people during my recent vacation, maybe it does!
When you're pursuing your news or PR career do you jibe or tack? In this week's Tales From the Beat I talk about how those sailing terms apply to the way you attack things--Do you go where the wind blows, or take a more measured approach?
General Motors has decided to be very transparent during contract negotiations with the UAW by going online. But when I worked at Chrysler back in 2007, we already adopted this tactic to great effect. Yes, transparency is best to get your message out, clearly. Link to PR Week story on the Chrysler website: https://www.prweek.com/article/1255559/chryslers-social-media-site-helps-drive-comms-wake-strike
What do PR people call you in story pitch emails? It's not always what you expect..or appreciate. The name game's been part of my life since my life began. Huh? It's all in this week's episode of Tales From the Beat.
Is the PR person pitching you an exclusive or an advance? They're not the same, but sadly, too many purveyors of PR seem to be a little confused, so in this episode of Tales From the Beat, I call on a little help from the voices of Schoolhouse Rock and the artificially intelligent wonders of ChatGPT to help me parse it all out.
Miss pithy, creative writing with fun wordplay? You know what to blame...its initials are SEO. In this episode I take SEO to task and abuse its use the way it deserves to be abused. Have some fun with me and get in your licks.
Went to an automotive trade show last week, but not before being gang-tackled via email story pitches. Then I faced an added challenge. What happened, how I overcame it and some creative advice for both reporters and PR people for both pitching and covering such events--all with a little help from Smokey Robinson and the Miracles
I was the first "Supervising Producer" at CNN Center when it opened in 1987. Now it's closing and CNN's Atlanta operations are moving back uptown about two miles to the site of its origins across from Georgia Tech. In this episode I offer some recollections and even secrets about CNN Center.
It takes a little Beatles, New Girl and the late Gilbert Gottfried to help tell this one. It's all about pitches for stories that all have the same premise: "what they're doin." It's hardly ever a real story, but there's hope for PR people stuck with pitching these non-stories in this week's episode of Tales From the Beat.
Why are PR people pitching me interviews over hot drinks or hot meals when interrogation during ingestion is just a hot mess. Here's the proof of the uneaten pudding and cold coffee.
For Carole King it was too late for a crappy ex-lover. For reporters, it's too late PR people who fill our inboxes with stale pitches or just too late, baby to matter. I run down my detestable tardies and offer some tips.
Not exactly the Jets vs the Sharks but I'm ready to rumble with PR types who decide to gang up on my inbox pitching the same story. It's happened before, it happened just this week and it was time to put on my best Riff and rough it up a little.
Hiiiii...are you busyyyyyyy???? Sound like an underwater guy who's also a sponge, and like a sponge, sucks up everything it touches, including your time? Sometimes PR people are SpongeBobs when suck up a reporter's time by starting their story pitches like SpongeBob using what I call the "SpongeBob Salutation."
The PR people keep offering me "exclusives" but Webster must have changed its meaning because judging by the pitches I'm receiving hacks among flaks seem to think "exclusive" means "everybody." Maybe because both words start with "e?" Who knows. I spend a little over 7 minutes regaling you with three actual cases. I bet if journalists check their emails, they'll find out I'm not the only one receiving these. Crap, there's goes another "exclusive." Enjoy.
What happens when a hacking, disgusting cough sabatoges a story? The true Tale of just such a situation and how the results are nothing to sneeze at.
They missed the boat. Weren't even on the dock. Now they're whining and saying to the effect, "jeez!" when you tell the PR people their pitches are ill-timed or simply too late. Got lots of them lately. I tell the Tales and offer some advice on how to avoid missing coverage opportunities.
What do you do when you receive a story pitch that's way off target or not even remotely related to your beat? Have some fun. As my old CNN boss used to say when he wanted us to use video that didn't exactly fit the story..."Back Into It!"
Lively conversation with Natalie Bartels, Senior Account Manager at San Francisco-based PR agency VSC about her shop's unique, literally, no-bullshit culture, how it translates that culture into success, creating strong relationships with reporters and what drives her crazy about reporters and how she and the agency deal with it.
A guy on Linkedin bitches when freelancers who are both reporters and PR people represent themselves as such, alleging you can't be both? I make the case through my personal history and experience as one of those people the boy's head is firmly in a dark, moist place.
In this week's episode of Tales From the Beat I take a look at the deep guano Fox News is in for making editorial decisions based on ratings, even if the information is false. It's a crisis, alright, as the network faces a mega defamation trial. How to deal with a PR crisis and a personal anecdote of why I actually quit a news job because the publication put $$ over truth.
In this week's episode of Tales From the Beat I tell a story of what I did when an executive I was interviewing for CNN sounded like his responses were conjured by ChatbotGPT instead of a human being. Why? Bad media training. I'll talk all about when media training goes wrong and how to avoid turning trainees into chatbots.
What do Bob Dylan, Stephen Bishop and the Broadway show Rent have to do with story pitches longer than the Iliad? It's all here in this week's tight episode of Tales From the Beat.
Two parter this week: Just in time for the opening of MLB spring training, a perfect pitch from a west coast PR agency, and a personal recollection of the time I got to spend some up close time with former President Jimmy Carter and First Lady Rosalynn as a CNN correspondent. A day I'll never forget as the former President's days are coming to an end.
Craig Daitch has always been a wildly creative PR pro and marketer having once created a release for GM consisting of only emojis. His latest creation is the barrier-busting virtual agency called Telemetry that's getting amazing results by breaking all barriers. We discuss all during this 28 minute episode of Tales From the Beat.
It's all about balloons and ballooning this week. The ballooning size of a story pitch to almost Iliad lengths and a crazy recollection from deep in my professional past as a young radio DJ about a contest involving dozens of balloons and a phantom grand prize.
Must be time for Sherman to set the way back machine. At least that's what the lack of timlieness of pitches I've received makes it seem. Months old vehicles, weeks old studies, interviews with no news peg. Gotta be fresh..not cold pizza.
There's no joy in being laid off. I know. It happened to me. It may not seem so right away, but a layoff can become a stroke of luck if you use the one thing you already have. In this episode of Tales From the Beat I reveal all through my own personal experiences and coming out on top after losing the only job I ever wanted
What's it all a-bot? They can sound stiff, unwieldy, inhuman even. Yes, they're those canned executive quotes PR pros are stuck writing to be included in news releases. They don't have to sounds like words intoned by robots. Some examples of bad ones, good ones, advice to write better ones and I even have a quote a real person gave me that made a bad canned quote look good.
After years as a top automotive journalist, several years ago Dale Jewett made the jump over to PR joining the then, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles digital communications team. Now the company is called Stellantis and Dale handles technology and propulsion communications. He's seen things from both sides of the scrimmage line and we have a lively discussion about his perspectives and how the hell he got from Iowa to the Motor City.
What was once known as the Consumer Electronics Show has grown far beyond a showcase for cool gadgets into C-E-S, a sprawling, giant exhibition that now includes the automotive and marine industries triggering a PR death match for coverage. Indeed, I'm not even attending this year's show but it doesn't mean I haven't been the target of an intense bombardment from my hard-working friends on the PR side. In this week's edition of Tales From the Beat, I tell some real war stories from my remote fox hole.
From Jennifer Aniston's eggs to what soda makes you fizz to the biggest spike for an unlikely fast food item, I got dozens of story pitches in 2022...that had nothing at all to do with what I cover, which is autos and mobility. In this year-end edition of Tales From the Beat I have some fun, and vitriol, over some of the best/worst pitches of the year.
An enlightening and entertaining interview with Susan Donahue and Megan Kathman of Skyya Communications. Susan is a co-founder and managing partner and Megan is an account director with whom I've worked on many stories over the years. Over the course of 31 minutes or so we talk about Skyya's unique approach to training, quality control and forging productive relationships with reporters, how the media landscape has changed over the years and how Skyya has dealt with it and why Megan and I first "met" on social media rather than the usual email or phone call. Oh yeah..surprising discussion about cold calls. I also ask Susan and Megan what we reporters do that ticks them off.
The "geniuses" at CNN killed the last live programming at sister network HLN, which began life in 1982 as CNN2, then CNN Headline News then HLN. I was one of the original producers that launched CNN2, which started as a fantastic fast-paced news service. I spend some time talking about how I got connected with the network, some experiences, how the thing devolved, the current news climate and what's like to be laid off...and survive quite well.
In this episode I speak with two stars from leading Detroit PR agency, Franco PR--Integrated Communications Supervisor Rachel Burnard and Integrated Communications Director Dan Horn. They are not only dynamic, creative PR pros but also host Franco's wonderful bi-weekly podcast, "Frankly," where I also appear. In this "Tales From the Beat" Rachel, Dan and I talk about the dyanmics between reporters and PR people, what works, what doesn't.
In this week's Tales From the Beat episode I speak with the very unique Elliot Katz. He's the co-founder and chief business officer at Silicon Valley startup Phantom Auto. Elliot definitely marches to his own beat when it comes to dealing with the media in promoting a company that created a technology making it possible to operate warehouse equipment from thousands of miles away, opening the door to rewarding careers to those who are disabled, can't, or prefer not to relocate or just looking for a good job. We discuss Elliot's career path, his company, and, most appropriately, his very singular approach to interacting with reporters with a keen emphasis on accuracy. He's a high-energy guy and always fascinating to speak with.
No better guy with whom to compare notes about our experiences as both journalists and PR guys than Brent Snavely. I admired his auto reporting the the Detroit Free Press for many years and now pleased to be able to work with him in my capacity as integrated media consultant at Franco PR in Detroit where Brent is VP of Media Relations. I hope you enjoy our conversation!
Mon dieu! It seems like every story pitched to me lately has some sort of embargo. Sometimes it makes sense. Many times it doesn't. Often the embargo is offered way too late in the game because the PR person, or their client, operated at the pace of escargot. In this week's episode I'll talk about some pitches for embargoed stories I've recently received. At least one time, I was the snail.
From creepy to crappy to brilliant, I get 'em all--subject lines for emailed story pitches from PR people. My recent haul runs the gamut so in this week's episode of Tales From the Beat I share some with you and talk about why they either hit the mark, were just off target or were totally useless. One even found a way to use the term "catfish" and it was definitely not about dating or angling. Enjoy!
You're a PR person with a mission to get coverage, any coverage for a demanding client. You got a reporter to do a story once on that client, now you keep coming back, gnawing on that scribe like a dog on a bone over and over again, even if the story doesn't amount to a hill of kibble. In this episode of Tales From the Beat, I give a first hand account of just such a situation and some pointers on how to avoid getting bit.
Love a good memory? A little nostalgia? I do too...except when it comes to story pitches...then I get a bad case of "nostalgia neuralgia". In this week's episode I'll tell you about some recent attempts to snooker me into buying "news" stories that are more like "golden oldies," and offer some advice to my PR friends how to avoid pitching stories that belong in Mr. Peabody's Way Back Machine.
Do you bubble or float? Some PR people are talking nonsense using words like those in order to get reporters to respond to pitches. In this week's edition, I talk about this ridiculous "alternative" language many PR people have adopted and suggest a better way to give a reporter a little poke when following-up.
Since The Art of the Spiel was first posted, there's been an update. The original episode dealt with a fairly tactless approach by a PR person to get my attention to a story. A few days after the episode was posted I decided to finally reply to her. The way she responded led to a "teachable moment". It's here in this updated episode.
In this week's episode I'll tell you about a pitch I recently received that mark with an obnoxious email subject line followed by an equally inappropriate accusation—not the way to win a reporter's attention, and more important, agreeing to do the proposed story. Oh, I had a little fun composing a reply. In the spirit of the podcast's premise of looking at situations on both sides of the scrimmage line I offer some thoughts to both reporters and PR people on, let's say, more thoughtful and professional ways to communicate with each other.
If your a journalist or PR pro and would like to come on the podcast to discuss situations or issues you've come across and how you handled them, just drop me a note at garsteneditorial@edlines.co
What do Princesses Kate, Meghan and condoms all have in common? They represent the subjects of misguided pitches reporters receive all the time--at least the ones that ended up in my inbox. In this episode I'll tell the story from both sides, as a reporter and PR guy and offer some easy advice on avoiding this time wasting and non-productive practice. Oh, I'll also reveal what I learned about the disgusting things Kate ingests to maintain her "glow" and what dietary habits she shares with Meghan. That alone, makes this episode a royal triumph!
It's been about three years since there was an actual auto show in Detroit. It used to be a one of the biggest and most influential in the world with dozens of new product introductions, elaborate and very expensive displays, attracting thousands of journalists from all over the globe. But times have changed. Many automakers have decided to skip not just the Detroit show but others, the multi-story displays are gone and taking the place on the show floor are suppliers and even a few companies that build machines that leave the Earth. The show has also moved from January to September, burst out of the confines of Huntington Place, formerly Cobo Center out onto the streets of Detroit.
In this episode I'll look at those changes and challenges both as a reporter for Forbes.com and PR pro.
Welcome to Tales From the Beat where I related real life personal case studies from both sides of the scrimmage line as a reporter and PR pro. This is our first episode. I give you a brief intro to who I am and what the podcast is all about then launch right into a situation I ran into recently, showing up to a story at the right time and right location, only it seemed to be quite a surprise to the folks at the location. I'll get into the bizarre first moments and how the day turned out.