Episode #50: Dial In Your Story Assets with Dr. Carolyn Fortuna
“If someone sends me a chart, that’s great. But if they can tell me what it means, it makes my life easy. Then, I don’t have to struggle with knowing if I interpreted the data correctly.”
-Dr. Carolyn Fortuna, on the importance of good commentary
Whether you have charts or commentary to complement the story you're pitching, our guest today has insights on how to bring your story asset game to the next level. We start with a data report with embeddable charts that Britt pitched our guest. These charts are what caught their eye and incentivized them to write the story. (Go Britt, for a successful pitch!) A special note regarding this episode: we recorded this during Hurricane Ian (10/28/2022) in Florida, where both Jackie and our guest reside. So, keep in mind there are some minor technical difficulties. We persisted, Jackie and our guest survived the storm, and we were able to wrap up at a later date. Nonetheless, please enjoy this episode. :)
In this episode, you’ll learn…
What specifications are required for charts, visuals, and commentary
Why well-cited sources and clear methodologies are so important
How a niche publication files story ideas for future use
Our guest is:
Dr. Carolyn Fortuna, a digital media literacy scholar, climate change activist, and college professor. They write for the online environmental site, CleanTechnica, where they have written and published over 1,000 articles.
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Show Notes:
:00– Britt introduces our guest, and explains why Jackie and Dr. Carolyn are “stormtroopers.”
1:35– Britt gives a background of Carolyn’s data-based story and invites them to explain why the charts stuck out.
5:15— Britt asks if Carolyn looks at methodology.
6:50– Britt asks Carolyn to expound upon survey methodology.
8:40– Britt noticed that Carolyn used the embeddable codes and asks Carolyn if static images are still valuable. Carolyn gives image specifications.
11:03– Britt asks Carolyn if they are familiar with Infogram.
12:13– Britt asks Carolyn what they are looking for in a story pitch.
14:00– Britt asks Carolyn how many pitches they receive in a day.
16:30– Britt asks Carolyn if they open every pitch (spoiler: yes).
18:10– Britt explains the minor technical difficulty.
19:02– Britt asks Carolyn to explain the story idea spreadsheet.
22:47– Britt mentions that the Google Scholar comment was something they hadn’t come across yet. Jackie agrees.
23:50– Britt asks Carolyn how they organize commentary.
25:00– Jackie mentions that publicists often overlook the exclusivity of commentaries. Carolyn agrees and goes into further detail.
26:37– Britt asks Carolyn about the emails they receive, and Carolyn goes into greater detail about why most emails fall short. They go into detail about the importance of being both timely and thematic.
29:00– Jackie mentions how the word “specificity” applies. Carolyn agrees and goes into greater detail, which leads to an explanation of live interviews vs. email interviews.
31:00– Jackie asks Carolyn if they ever run into plagiarism.
32:25– Britt asks Carolyn how they feel about follow-ups.
34:08– Britt asks Carolyn to give a shoutout. Carolyn gives a shoutout to Diana Rissetto with Thatcher+Co.
37:15- Jackie mentions the importance of maintaining a good attitude despite rejection from a journalist.
Connect with Dr. Carolyn Fortuna
Connect with Jackie & Britt
