Episode #4: Casey Bond, HuffPost
“Whenever you call in an expert it’s because they are supposed to be providing something to you that you can’t figure out yourself or find easily.”
- Casey Bond
We sat down with Casey Bond, money reporter for the Life section at HuffPost, to talk about the time she uncovered a fake financial expert, and then another. While it’s unfortunate that she can’t stay away from these PR fraudsters, her experience opens up the conversation for pitching best practices, ethics and more. We’ve crafted 2 main rules from this episode.
Rule 1: Be a real human being and make sure whoever you’re offering up for an interview is real too.
But keep in mind, who you are framing as an expert and what they are saying matters a lot. As Casey puts it, “Whenever you call in an expert it’s because they are supposed to be providing something to you that you can’t figure out yourself or find easily.”
Which brings us to rule 2: Never send a summarized answer from an article you Googled when crafting a commentary to a journalist.
Listen to learn about Casey’s journalistic standards, including but not limited to: the best way to respond to a HARO, what makes a data piece newsworthy, and how PR’s may ethically build rapport with a journalist without ever meeting in-person.
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Timestamps
:33 -- Casey begins an overview of her journalist career to date, starting with her role at Student Loan Hero, where she worked alongside Jackie.
3:58 -- Casey attempts to answer the question, “Who IS Patricia Russell?” by diving into an investigative piece she wrote for HuffPost, which stemmed from a HARO response by this mysterious individual (spoiler: she doesn’t know who Patricia Russell is to this day).
8:00 -- Casey goes into detail about what she looks for in a source, including credentials, searchability of a person online, and even (gasp!) the willingness to hop on the phone.
10:58 -- Britt asks Casey if she still uses HARO after the incident with Patricia Russell. Casey goes into detail about the usefulness of HARO for finding new experts, and why it’s always a journalist’s job to ultimately vet the sources. She mentions the use of a plagiarism checker for every HARO response she considers using-- genius (spoiler: Patricia isn’t the first fraudster she’s uncovered!).
14:40 -- Unfortunately, fraudulent experts still approach Casey. Jackie references a follow-up story from Casey, “Phony Financial Experts Keep Popping Up All Over The Internet. Here's How To Spot Them.” The best part? Patricia Russell rats the “fakesperts” out to Casey in this article.
20:01-- Jackie asks what websites who don’t have in-house experts can do to work with Casey on a media relations-level, using data studies as an example. Good news-- Casey does use data, and explains her standards for featuring a study.
25:51 -- Britt asks Casey what best practices are for crafting a subject line. Casey talks about receiving 100’s of pitches a day, and that the subject line does matter. Do not be vague. Put a hook in the subject line. Casey goes into what she needs in the body of a pitch email.
27:57 -- Britt asks Casey what other tools/social media outlets are useful for finding sources aside from HARO. Casey goes into detail about Reddit (& her hate for MLM’s!), Twitter, and LinkedIn.
31:00 -- Jackie asks about Casey’s email habits. Casey explains whether or not timing is important and how many follow-ups are appropriate.
35:37 -- Britt asks how Casey feels about phone calls. Casey goes into how text communication between her and a publicist while scheduling an in-person interview was helpful for her. Let it be known, that this service may only be reserved for Bobby Berk, his publicist, and Jackie Lambert. ;)
37:20 -- Jackie asks Casey what percentage of Casey’s story ideas actually come from PR pitches. She goes into the content strategy behind the Life section of HuffPost, and why a simple story idea may not be enough for a pitch.
39:41 -- Britt brings up clients who want coverage on a guide published on their website and talks about the difficult conversation around why it isn’t “PR-able.” Britt asks for constructive advice around guides, and if she’s been pitched guides in the past. The good news is Casey does link to 3rd-party websites when appropriate and explains when/why.
43:40 -- Jackie asks how Casey defines a good working relationship with a PR person. Casey gives a shout out to industry expert, Leslie Tayne Esq. and her marketing director Lea DeRosa, of the Tayne Law group for their exceptional work.
48:00 -- Britt asks Casey how she feels about people emailing her personal email account, Twitter, and LinkedIn. For Casey, it varies depending on which outlet she’s being pitched for. Jackie admits to emailing a journalist’s personal email before (including Casey’s!)
49:50 -- We have a side conversation around each of our inbox habits. Good news, Casey never blocks any PR people.
52:22 -- Britt what other ways PR’s may build relationships outside of the inbox. Casey prefers to keep relationship building online but appreciates a friendly check-in from time to time.
Connect with Casey
Connect with Jackie & Britt
podcast@weearnmedia.com
