Journalist Round Table

(Panel: Cara McDonald, Jonathan Wiesel, Benjamin Sadavoy, Roger Lohr and Holly Johnson, facilitator.)

The talk started off with one important point – Journalists want their lives to be made easy!

Cara McDonald

Cara then went over her top tips to pitching a regional magazine. She’s the editor of 5280 Magazine – http://www.5280.com/

1. Make it timely – Magazines need a minimum lead time of 12 weeks
2. Make it personal – Find the direct appropriate contact at the magazine and drop a brief, personal email introduction. No generic email blasts!
3. Keep it Focused- Be specific and show exactly what the story is for the magazine you want to reach
4. Be prepared- Have a general media, an about us web page and a beautiful and functioning website. Ideally have an area for media to find out details on your operation quickly and easily
5. Speaking of Photography – Have a variety of high resolution photos for the publication
6. Be receptive – Have a clear contact in your organization who handles media and focuses on maintaining those relationships.
7. Be Proactive – Reach out, pitch and suggest stories. Don’t wait for publications to find you.
8. Know your audience – Read the magazine you’re pitching, learn what departments your ideas fit into.

Benjamin Savadoy

Benjamin from Ski Trax magazine http://skitrax.com/index.php?module=Section&action=view&section_id=9

Use the KISS principle – Keep it Simple Stupid

It’s the job of a journalist to look for stories, they like the help you give them when you send them a great idea. Start building a media list today and keep it segmented. A local tourism board is a great way to start making contacts. Lastly, have thick skin. You wont always be successful.

Roger Lohr from xcskiresorts.com wants cross country areas to start pushing the recreation and travel related side to their business, not just high end racing. Pitch him a story about why he should visit you.

Jonathan Weisel of Nordic Group International echoed the above mentioned points and really encouraged areas to actively pursue a PR plan. It worked for him at Royal Gorge.