Episode #69: Pitch a Timely AI Story with Ian Krietzberg (The Street)
“Timeliness, getting right to the point, having a good story, knowing when your client can help me and knowing that my end goal here is not to advertise your company, but to tell a good story… If you can help me do that, then we're going to have a good working relationship.
-Ian Krietzberg, on building rapport with publicists
In this episode, we analyze a real pitch sent under embargo by the CTO of a tech company to a tech reporter at a leading business publication. We’ll learn how and why this pitch worked, and gain some takeaways of how you too might secure a dream, spotlight coverage like this for your own client or employer.
In this episode, you'll learn all about pitching a reporter for The Street…
Why timing is everything with pitching stories
How a tech reporter views and utilizes embargos
Why efficiency and responsiveness is crucial to securing coverage
Our guest:
Ian is a tech reporter for TheStreet. He reports on the tech industry -- with a focus on artificial intelligence -- covering AI companies, safety, regulation and ethics extensively. As an offshoot of his tech coverage, Ian additionally covers Elon Musk and his many companies, namely Tesla and SpaceX, as well as the companies under the "Magnificent 7" umbrella. He is endlessly fascinated by the ongoing conversation around, and many implications of, artificial intelligence. Ian has previously written for CNBC, Patch.com, The Young Folks and Screenrant, among others.
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Summary:
In this conversation, Britt Klontz and Jaclyn Lambert interview Ian Kreitzberg, a tech reporter for The Street, about his experience with receiving and responding to PR pitches. They discuss the importance of timing and relevance in pitches, the use of embargoes and exclusives, and the value of follow-ups. Ian emphasizes the need for a good story and the importance of building relationships with PR professionals. Overall, the conversation provides insights into the pitching process from a journalist's perspective.
Show Notes:
00:00— Introduction
00:35— Background of Ian Kreitzberg
03:01— Pitching the Story
05:06— Subject Line and Attention to Detail
06:05— Timing and Relevance
09:09— Embargoes and Exclusives
14:28— Inbox Management and Timing
17:16— Follow-ups and Scheduling
21:10— Phone Calls and Video Interviews
25:40— Building Relationships with PR
34:17— Shoutouts (Ian gives a shoutout to publicist, Courtney Collier, of the Zeno Group).
The Pitch
Hi Ian - Hope you’re doing well!
I’m reaching out because I noticed you’ve been covering the intersection of AI and art and thought you might be interested in what we’ve just built and are about to announce publicly for the first time ever.
For some context, we’re a VC funded team cofounded by a Thiel Fellow and senior Silicon Valley engineers that’s raised over $3 million to better help artists make a living from their art.
As part of that mission, we’ve built a tool that allows artists to better protect their art from AI training than has ever been possible before.
TechCrunch and several other major outlets have already agreed to our embargo; we’d love to include you as well and let you cover the story as soon as it breaks on January 23rd! If you’d like more information and to test drive the product under embargo I’d be delighted to share more!
All the best,
Flor
CTO of Art .AI
Connect with Ian Krietzberg
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