Susannah Snider is a managing editor for the money section of U.S. News.
Alex Sherman is a Media Reporter at CNBC.
In this episode, Alex takes us deep into his inbox to show a behind-the-scenes look at his pitch process,
sharing what works and what doesn't when PR professionals reach out to him.
Follow Alex on LinkedIn and X/Twitter.
Don't forget to check out The CNBC Sport newsletter with Alex Sherman and his new podcast, which will be released this month!
Click below to listen to the full conversation and read below for highlights from the interview:
[0:05:35] AS: Yeah. I feel like I'm bombarded by pitches. Almost all of them I'm ignoring. Most of
them irrelevant to what I'm covering. So, if there's something in the lead of the pitch or the
subject line that happens to be something that I'm thinking about or covering or something that
I'm always thinking about, then I'll read the pitch and it may or may not be something I'm
interested in. But most of the pitches are not all that relevant. They seem to be half hazardly
cherry picked from previous reporting I've done.
[0:06:10] BB: Wait. What do you mean cherry – how do you mean?
[0:06:12] AS: Yeah. One of my pet peeves with pitches is when comms people will say they'll
do their pitch and then they'll say like, the fact, this was – I'm going to read you something,
because it was in one of the recent examples I got as something that bothered me, okay, but I'm
going to pull it up right now. Let's see here. Okay.
[0:06:33] BB: Thank you for dishing it, by the way, Alex. This is what we like on the show. Go
ahead.
[0:06:37] AS: The pitch was about AI technology and how – so it was, it says, here's the
beginning. “Hi, Alex. We're past the midway mark of 2024 and the media landscape.” Okay, I
cover media, fine, is right for disruption, but which trends will drive activity across the sector
throughout the rest of the year? Then it goes into trends and they're all more or less about AI,
data integration, privacy, VR advertising opportunities. AI enhanced creativity and efficiency.
I don't really cover any of that stuff. However, five months ago, I did write a couple of stories,
because I went to Davos with CNBC about AI. So, if you were very lazy about trying to figure out
what I covered, you may assume that I do cover AI, because I have written about it, but that
doesn't mean that I care about it on a day-to-day basis. We have a whole team at CNBC that
covers tech and AI. I'm just not part of it. Anyways, after all of this, there's a sentence here,
which is, “Alex, given your previous coverage with a link to my own story of media predictions.”
[0:07:42] BB: In case you forgot.
[0:07:43] AS: Right. “Given your previous coverage of media predictions.” Link to my story. “I'd
be more than happy to connect you with blah, blah, blah, blah on the emerging trends.” A couple
of things there, which is, right, one, you don't need a link to my own story. I'm aware of what I
cover and what I don't.
[0:07:59] BB: I remember.
[0:08:00] AS: Two, I don't cover media predictions. That doesn't even make sense. Nobody
covers media predictions. Once a year, I write a story, every year where I talk to a bunch of
media executives.
[0:08:14] BB: Once a year.
[0:08:14] AS: Anonymously. Then I aggregate 10 or 12 or 15 of their predictions for the previous
year, but this is once a year, I do it at the same time, every year at the end of the year. Not only
does it not make sense, but it's something I'm doing once a year. Also, it doesn't relate to what
anything you just said. Like the predictions thing I did doesn't have anything to do with this
random person in my mind.
I've never met this person. I don't know what they do to talk about these fairly random trends in
my mind. It's not random of this person, because it's what they do on a day-to-day basis, but to
me it is. There's nothing about that pitch that is good in my mind.
[0:09:07] AS: I got it this past week, which was – the name of the company, A Digital Wealth
Management Platform is closely following the NFL's decision to allow private equity to invest in
the teams. Head of private investments, a woman's name is available to discuss the topic. She
can share insights on the decision. Its implications for investors and any ripple effects if it may
have on college sports. End of pitch. What was that, two, sentences? Here's the thing, which is
that I happened to be working on a story about NFL team evaluations that is going to go along
with this big launch of the CNBC sport vertical. I was literally writing the portion of that story
about how private equity may affect the evaluations.
[0:09:50] BB: I mean, that's just great.
[0:09:53] AS: I get this pitch and I'm thinking to myself, as I'm writing it. You know, I need a
voice for this. I need an expert here.
[0:09:59] BB: Ta-da. That's just wonderful, serendipitous timing, like that's amazing. Yeah.
[0:10:04] AS: Wonderful, serendipitous timing. But that's almost always how these pitches
work. It's almost – it doesn't necessarily happen the moment, like that one, but for me, it usually
is a situation of I'm writing a story, I realize I need a voice, let me check my inbox to see if I've
gotten any recent pitches about this specific topic. So, that's the order of operations of how the
pitches work for me. It is very rare that you are going to pitch me a story flat out. I'm going to be
like, “Oh, that's a good story.”
The order of operations here is I've come up with the story or my editors and I've come up with
the story. I've already chosen that. Then I need someone who is an expert in this particular area
and how am I going to find this expert? Well, that's where the pitch is coming. It's either
somebody I know or it's somebody like in this one, this is a really niche thing. Private equity
investment in NFL teams, like that isn't someone that I run with in circles all the time. It is perfect
for a pitch. It's someone like, “Well, who is an expert on this?” So, that's where email pitches
can really help.
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[0:13:28] BB: Are there relationships you wish to build with publicists ever in person or
otherwise? Yeah. Tell us.
[0:13:36] AS: Yes. Certainly, if you're the corporate comms person at a major company that I'm
covering like I always want to know that person, because they are the gatekeeper to me in order
to make introductions to other people that work at that company. But I have relationships with
plenty of external comms people that represent interesting people who can help me. They
obviously, all of them have a portfolio of different clients. Some of them will be of interest to me
and otherwise won't, but it's very helpful to know those people, because not only can they help
me set up the introductions to certain people, but also, they can act as a proxy for that person if
I can't get on the phone with them.
I can always try their comms person and either they can get that person on the phone for me or
they can perhaps get information directly from that person if that person tied up. Then I use that
person as a backdoor chain hole into getting direct information. I absolutely want to have
relationships with communications people. I do have relationships with many communications
people. That's really helpful. It's helpful for me to know who their clients are so that I know who
to go to. It's also helpful, because we're now establishing a relationship where they have a very
firm sense of what I am interested in and what I cover and to go back to your earlier question
about CNBC, like what am I interested in?
It's the highest profile themes and figures in the world of media entertainment and sports. We
are not a trade publication. The stuff we do doesn't tend to be all that niche. It's big companies,
big figures and the biggest story is that those people are thinking about and working in. Those
are the people who I'm talking to and interviewing on a day-to-day basis. That is the world that I
run in and live in.
[0:15:24] BB: Got it. Okay. Note to everybody. No AI pitches. I'm sure. No. No. We don't need
that.
[0:15:30] AS: You don't need that. Not for me.
[0:15:31] BB: Yeah. You're touching on it a little bit more, but I want to further go into this on
sources. Yes, PR people, you could be helpful if you're touching these realms and such the
biggest of the biggest and that's where you play. But are ever like is there a rolodex of the
sources you want to hear? So, for example, people say, yes, if you have a PhD in molecular
biology from Cambridge, yeah that's who I need to talk to, because I'm writing science for time,
whatever. Do you have like a source book that you're looking to fill?
[0:15:57] AS: Not really. It's more ad hoc than that.
[0:16:00] BB: Got it. Okay.
[0:16:02] AS: It's very much a case-by-case basis. I think if I were a more organized person that
may be beneficial to me, but I'm not. So, it's very much like one story to the next for me. Then
I'm figuring out like who I need to talk to real time every time. I'm doing it. I'm figuring it out.
Then I'm on to the next thing.
[0:16:23] BB: Damn. Speaking of then, the day in the life of, are you reading pitches
constantly? Are you reading your inbox constantly or how does this function for you?
[0:16:33] AS: Yeah. I'm vaguely aware of the pitches. I'm definitely not reading them like, well.
That's why in the example I gave you from your colleague, it was like two sentences, like great,
good. I'm not going to read a pitch that's like forever long.
[0:16:49] BB: Well, you did have some samples in there too. They were like paragraphs,
paragraphs.
[0:16:54] AS: Yes. I was just sort of like my eyes plays over at that point. It is all – I will say, like
a lot of comms people take a strategy where they throw something at the top, that personal to
me to get my –
[0:17:07] BB: How are you doing, Alex? I hope your dog is good or whatever. Yeah.
[0:17:10] AS: Yeah. A lot of it is like, I’ve heard public about being in San Francisco 49ers fans.
So, like I get that a lot, sort of like, go niners thing or whatever. That's nice. I get that does catch
my attention. I'll probably read at least read on to the next paragraph at that point, but I still may
not read like paragraph nine at that point, if it's not something that I'm interested in. But look,
again, by and large, while I am aware of these things, because they are coming from my inbox
and I need to like be sifting through my inbox for important stuff and not important stuff. I do see
them. I'm not really reading them unless I'm focused on doing a story where I need it, because
again, this goes back to the order of operations thing. I'm not getting story ideas from pitches by
and large. I already have the story idea.
[0:18:018] BB: Let's go Alex, if we can to our rapid-fire session and let me know your
answers here. Are you ready?
[0:18:24] AS: I'm ready.
[0:18:25] BB: Video or phone interview?
[0:18:27] AS: You kind of hit me with a hard one in a rapid fire. Okay. If this is a person that I
would like to have a long-term relationship with, then video. If it's a person where it's like, I'm on
deadline. I need to sign I'm working on a story. So, like again, your colleagues pitching me,
phone. I don't need video. Phone or even email for that matter, like yeah, I think that's what I did
with this one. I don't even remember if I spoke to your colleague on the phone. I just said, “Yes,
this is good. When – meet the person on the phone, I need to turn this around quickly. Yeah, a
long-term relationship video. Short-term story, deadline, whatever phone or email.
[0:19:03] BB: Oh, God. I just did the very millennial thing. Did you see that? By the way, okay, I
did this. This is like, you know phone where it’s like –
[0:19:09] AS: Yes, right. I do it too.
[0:19:12] BB: Yeah. Oh, God. Okay. I just caught myself on that. Okay. Bullet points or
paragraphs in a pitch? Unless it's two sentences, maybe.
[0:19:19] AS: Correct. Right. So, bullet points or short paragraphs. I would say either one of
those is fine.
[0:19:23] BB: Short paragraphs. That answers our next thing. Short or long pitches? Short as
we've covered. How about images attached or a Dropbox zip file? I don't see that's really
relevant for you, but you tell us.
[0:19:33] AS: Yeah. I can't imagine that that would be relevant. No, I would say in generally that
doesn't make much sense. Yeah.
[0:19:39] BB: You don’t need those things. Okay. What about an email or a DM to somewhere,
X or Instagram or anywhere else you can LinkedIn, whatever? Do you ever want that or is it all
inbox?
[0:19:49] AS: If it's just a generic pitch, then I would rather be in my inbox. I actually find it a
little irritating if it's like DM this, it’s sort of like, this is too intimate for this. The DM to me is like I
get something urgent. I need to get in contact with you now, otherwise I'd rather stay in the
inbox, because then it's just too many different forms of – I had to check my LinkedIn, my Twitter
DM, like –
[0:20:14] BB: It’s too much, too much.
[0:20:15] AS: Yup.
[0:20:15] BB: By the way, we had someone on here. I'm not going to reveal who is a freelancer.
She is like five inboxes, because she writes about – and I'm like, no.
[0:20:23] AS: Yeah. don’t do that. You can't do that.
[0:20:26] BB: Okay. One follow-up or multiple?
[0:20:28] AS: Oh, great question.
[0:20:30] BB: Especially, because it disappears every 90 days. Go ahead. Yeah.
[0:20:33] AS: One follow-up. A hard one follow-up.
[0:20:36] BB: One and done.
[0:20:37] AS: Multiple follow-ups is another pet peeve of mine. That was one that you genuinely
know, like if I have gotten back to you twice, why do you think I would get back to you a third
time? This is another thing which I know different reporters do, like please do not take my
ignoring your pitch personally. Any of you, like that are listening to this, it is not personal. It just
means that I'm not interested in that topic at this time, but I can't respond to all of you telling you
that, because it would take my whole day. So, right. I will find you if I need something. Yeah, one
follow-up is more than enough.
[0:21:12] BB: Noted. Any press release or media kit? Is that ever relevant?
[0:21:16] AS: Oh, well, I mean, a press release is often relevant depending on the story, for
sure, but usually that's a thing that we would have already had a back-and-forth personal email
about where I would say like, “Hey, is there a release with this?” That usually doesn't come
unless it's obvious that I would need a press release. They're often embargoed for persons.
________
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Susannah Snider is a managing editor for the money section of U.S. News.
Alan Neuhauser is a Climate Deals Reporter at Axios Pro.
Katie Atkinson is the Exclusive Digital Director of the West Coast for Billboard.
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