Episode #59: Pivot Your Story Angle with Cloey Callahan
“I have a handful of PR people who I know I can turn to. They know that if they email me, they’re definitely going to get an email back. If there’s some sort of relationship that’s been built […] I want to work harder to make their lives easier.”
-Cloey Callahan, on building rapport with publicists
In today’s episode, we analyze a story that experienced a complete pivot from the original pitch and follow-up. Get a glimpse into how this happened, and why having that rapport built already led to an active brainstorming and changing of the story altogether— talk about PR-journalist collaboration heaven! From it, walk away encouraged to do the same, should your original story idea need a fresh angle for that journalist to say yes to you.
In this episode, you'll learn to leverage authenticity and flexibility in all aspects of your outreach…
Communicating with a journalist
Preparing your expert for an interview
Crafting stories that dive deeper than the basics
Our guest is:
Cloey Callahan is a reporter for Digiday Media's newest vertical, WorkLife, where she covers all things future of work, including but not limited to tech, spaces, culture, d/e/i, talent and leadership. Before WorkLife, she spent three years covering local news in New York's Hudson Valley, where she was born and raised and still resides today.
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Show Notes:
:00– Jackie introduces our guest.
2:06– Cloey talks about an article she wrote that stemmed from a PR pitch.
3:34– Cloey goes on to explain the original PR pitch, and how the story changed.
6:29– Britt asks to clarify who the sources were within the piece and if they all came from the same publicist.
8:00– Britt asks if the publicist sat in during the interview.
9:15– Jackie asks if knowing the publicist’s name influenced Cloey to open and respond to the pitch.
10:40– Britt asks if she has a lot of strong relationships with publicists.
13:00– Jackie asks what Cloey looks for in a publicist she’d like to build rapport with.
15:32– Britt mentions that sometimes publicists have anxiety about not having the right expert, and that might prevent them from getting coverage with them in the future.
16:52– Britt asks if Cloey has organization methods for sources.
18:46– Britt asks Cloey if she prefers one topic or a few topics listed in an intro expert pitch.
20:43– Britt asks if brainstorming with a publicist happens via email or phone.
21:28– Britt asks how Cloey conducts her interviews.
21:50– Britt asks Cloey if she sends interview questions in advance.
23:39– Jackie asks Cloey what sources and stories she’d like to see more in her inbox.
28:13– Cloey mentions an interview she conducted, where the interviewee had a connection with Cloey’s hometown, and how important it was to make that kind of connection.
29:56- Shoutout time! Cloey gives a shoutout to Katy Goldstein, Shara Seigel (Mission North), and Sara Zick (Moxie).
Things we talked about…
Connect With Cloey Callahan
Connect with Jackie & Britt
