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Jabari Young, senior writer and editor at Forbes, specializing in the editorial lead of ForbesBLK.
In this episode, Jabari discusses his transition from sports journalism to broader news coverage, the importance of relationship-building, and the dynamic world of ForbesBLK.
Follow Jabari on LinkedIn and Instagram.
Click below to listen to the full conversation and read below for highlights from the interview:
Jabari and Phone Calls?
[0:07:47] BB: Yes. Now, you earlier said, I'll open that pitch immediately and you're going for it.
What makes that pitch stand out to you, the immediacy of the open versus, sounds like they just
trickle along in your inbox, never to be seen again?
[0:08:01] JY: Well, listen. Here's what you have to remember, the brand that you work for. Just
because it's exclusive, it doesn't mean it's a Forbes exclusive. It might be a Forbes contributor
exclusive and contributors are freelancers that are outside of our news organization. I really
don't have too much to do with that side. But I think, if you make it a Forbes exclusive, that's
when it catches my attention.
What makes that pitch stand out to you, the immediacy of the open versus, sounds like they just
trickle along in your inbox, never to be seen again?
[0:08:01] JY: Well, listen. Here's what you have to remember, the brand that you work for. Just
because it's exclusive, it doesn't mean it's a Forbes exclusive. It might be a Forbes contributor
exclusive and contributors are freelancers that are outside of our news organization. I really
don't have too much to do with that side. But I think, if you make it a Forbes exclusive, that's
when it catches my attention.
Now, what is a Forbes exclusive? "Hey, Pharrell Williams is going
to be in town, and he's going to be here. We want to have you here, and we think we can line
him up for a couple 30 minutes, because Jabari, we know you like to do the on-site." That's my
type of email. Now, you want to get me – I'm not even going to reply. I'm going to call you,
because I appreciate the art of the phone call.
[0:08:43] BB: I love the phone call.
[0:08:44] JY: Absolutely. Especially if you have your number there, and introduce – and most
people that you find are, "Oh my God. I can't believe you called me." It's like –
[0:08:51] BB: I know, I know.
[0:08:52] JY: That's what the phones are for. The phones are to call.
[0:08:55] BB: To actually call, actually if a reporter calls you. But seriously, you have your
cellphone number in the bottom.
[0:08:59] JY: I feel like a call is more intimate. It's letting you know that, "Hey, I'm really serious.
I'm not just going to get lost in the emails. Let's find a way we can make this work, I see that
he's going to be in town, so I want to really align these things. Because when Forbes rolls out
the r ed carpet, they roll out the red carpet. You're talking production staff, you're talking clean
cameras, you're talking quality journalism.
[0:09:21] BB: Oh, that's a big deal you're showing up.
[0:09:21] JY: And so, you want to make sure – oh, absolutely. You got to make sure that it all
aligns.
[0:09:25] BB: Oh, so you want the call from you. A publicist day is made when it's like, "Oh my
God, they want to do the feature, they want to do the segment. Oh my gosh."
[0:09:33] JY: Yes. Yes. I mean, and it all rolls out. I mean, you're talking, "Hey. Now, I got to run
this up to the magazine side, because it can turn into a magazine daily cover, or it can turn into
a hardcover, or the magazine may want it. If the magazine wants it, now, I got to hold off on
putting it out there on social media because it's a whole different editorial process. So, that's the
beauty of Forbes. There's so many different layers that we can offer of journalism, of quality
journalism. It's just a matter of what fits, but it all starts with, again, that initial pitch.
If that initial pitch, if you're talking my language from an exclusivity standpoint, from a standpoint
of where, "Hey, it may not be a celebrity, but this person matches the forest pillars, he, or she's
wealthy." That individual's impactful, they just raised a hundred million dollars or two, they're
sitting on a hundred-million-dollar company. It's those type of pitches that you want to see, and I
feel like you can always make it work where is a win-win.
to be in town, and he's going to be here. We want to have you here, and we think we can line
him up for a couple 30 minutes, because Jabari, we know you like to do the on-site." That's my
type of email. Now, you want to get me – I'm not even going to reply. I'm going to call you,
because I appreciate the art of the phone call.
[0:08:43] BB: I love the phone call.
[0:08:44] JY: Absolutely. Especially if you have your number there, and introduce – and most
people that you find are, "Oh my God. I can't believe you called me." It's like –
[0:08:51] BB: I know, I know.
[0:08:52] JY: That's what the phones are for. The phones are to call.
[0:08:55] BB: To actually call, actually if a reporter calls you. But seriously, you have your
cellphone number in the bottom.
[0:08:59] JY: I feel like a call is more intimate. It's letting you know that, "Hey, I'm really serious.
I'm not just going to get lost in the emails. Let's find a way we can make this work, I see that
he's going to be in town, so I want to really align these things. Because when Forbes rolls out
the r ed carpet, they roll out the red carpet. You're talking production staff, you're talking clean
cameras, you're talking quality journalism.
[0:09:21] BB: Oh, that's a big deal you're showing up.
[0:09:21] JY: And so, you want to make sure – oh, absolutely. You got to make sure that it all
aligns.
[0:09:25] BB: Oh, so you want the call from you. A publicist day is made when it's like, "Oh my
God, they want to do the feature, they want to do the segment. Oh my gosh."
[0:09:33] JY: Yes. Yes. I mean, and it all rolls out. I mean, you're talking, "Hey. Now, I got to run
this up to the magazine side, because it can turn into a magazine daily cover, or it can turn into
a hardcover, or the magazine may want it. If the magazine wants it, now, I got to hold off on
putting it out there on social media because it's a whole different editorial process. So, that's the
beauty of Forbes. There's so many different layers that we can offer of journalism, of quality
journalism. It's just a matter of what fits, but it all starts with, again, that initial pitch.
If that initial pitch, if you're talking my language from an exclusivity standpoint, from a standpoint
of where, "Hey, it may not be a celebrity, but this person matches the forest pillars, he, or she's
wealthy." That individual's impactful, they just raised a hundred million dollars or two, they're
sitting on a hundred-million-dollar company. It's those type of pitches that you want to see, and I
feel like you can always make it work where is a win-win.
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Pitches On The Weekend?
[0:10:53] BB: Oh, this is so good. Okay. For the inbox though, let's get back to that. Do you just
let it ride? Do you have 67,000 unread emails or do you have a filing system? What are we
doing?
[0:11:05] JY: Yes. So, when they come in – I mean, listen, I'm always glancing at it. Even when
you're on vacation, you just can't help but to not peak, right? You can't turn it off. You just can't
turn it off.
[0:11:12] BB: I know. No, you can't. It's so awful. Maybe in 50 years too, we'll be like, "Oh my
God, remember we had emails? The death of our brain cells."
[0:11:19] JY: I'm telling you, it's a curse, it's our curse. But so, you know, I'm always glancing at
it. The ones that come in on the weekends are the ones that are most interesting because I too
send emails on a weekend.
[0:11:31] BB: Wait.
[0:11:32] JY: Oh, yes. I do it.
[0:11:34] BB: You want a pitch on a weekend?
[0:11:35] JY: If it's a good one, yes. Because, I mean, the weekend things are slow, I might get
7,000 messages from people that are just working the money through Friday. You know, one of
the best pitches that I always ask entrepreneurs about is, "Hey, what got you to get that investor
or that celebrity investor to say yes?" And one of the best pitches was this guy who pitched Mark
Cuban at 10pm at night. The opening line was, "Hey, I'm just going to take my shot. You might
be up." And it just so happens that Mark Cuban was up, and he found it like – he's reading at 10
o'clock at night, and it's like, you caught his attention. You know what I mean?
[0:12:07] BB: Yes, and he is famous for responding –
© 2024 Coffee With A Journalist 7
CWAJ 243 Transcript
[0:12:09] JY: Answering emails, yes. Absolutely.
[0:12:10] BB: – emails, yes.
[0:12:11] JY: Absolutely.
[0:12:11] BB: He says this very openly and so forth. Wow.
[0:12:13] JY: So, if I see a good one on a weekend, on a Saturday morning or Sunday, because
Beck, I'm up very early. So, if I see one that comes in, you're going to capture my attention, and
I'm going to dive into it. Because I never like to leave people unread or unresponsive. I try to get
back to as many people as possible. It's not possible all the time, but I try.
[0:12:29] BB: Yes, that's what I was going to say. But if you're one of those, God bless you.
[0:12:32] JY: I mean, when you see something that comes in during the weekends I'm a sucker
for that. And again, you got to make sure that makes sense, you have to make sure that you
know the brand, you got to know who you're pitching. I'm not a contributor, I'm a staff writer.
Rapid Fire Pitching Preferences
[00:18:01] BB: There's maybe a mayor who needed to hear about that, but that's a whole other story about. Okay. Anyway, we digress. That was great. Understanding Damari on relationship building and so forth. I have a little rapid fire question session here, so why don't we go into that here and we can wrap it up. Video or phone interview. Sounds like phone.
[00:18:24] JY: Well, video interview. Because if I'm doing a video interview, I need to see your body language. I need to see your eyes. So video interview. But if it's just, hey, catching up. Phone works good.
[00:18:24] JY: Well, video interview. Because if I'm doing a video interview, I need to see your body language. I need to see your eyes. So video interview. But if it's just, hey, catching up. Phone works good.
[00:18:35] BB: Bullet points or paragraphs in a pitch?
[00:18:39] JY: Paragraphs. You know, I want to. I want to see that you know what your pitch is. I want to see that you know your target. I want to know that you. You're really trying to sell me something. And by giving me all the information, if you put bullets, then I'm, you're. You're allowing me to leave it up to my own imagination.
Because bullets are like one or two sentences, one or two phrases, and I don't know what the hell you talk about. Now I'm getting caught up in emails, exchanges. Right? Lay it all out. Tell me why this person is important. Tell me why the pitch is important and you know and go from there. Now I'm different. You gotta. You gotta know.
[00:19:06] BB: I was gonna say you. You are over here on the spectrum. Of what I've heard on here so far and many times. Okay, so then the next question is like short or long pitches? But it sounds like you like a long pitch because you want to.
[00:19:19] JY: It depends. It could be a paragraph, but it could be one or two. And then you lay it out with a couple of bullet points at the end. But you're allowing me to understand it at the end, at the beginning, right? Yes, but, you know, I think if you use. It's a mixture, right? You gotta know when enough is enough. And that's up to the person who's making the pitch. And I feel like in this era of Gen AI, of all these great programs, you can make the proper pitch and concise it if you have to, or say, hey, you know what? This needs to go long because it's that important.
[00:19:50] BB: Exactly. And that's why we have one pitch. Because it's the art of pitching, which is an art. Apple pitches are an art. So navigating that and finding the best journalists is a whole thing. Okay. Images attached. Or a Dropbox zip file.
[00:20:04] JY: Images attached. You know, we're getting into this technology stuff now where Forbes are sending, they have like 7,000 cybersecurity links that we gotta go through all the time. And they're always telling you, don't click the link, don't click the. So I don't click. I usually don't click the link.
[00:20:21] BB: Okay, okay, good. Good to know that is. Actually, we haven't talked about that recently so much on here, and I want to do that more, which is just from a cyber security perspective. Yeah, don't have the links. Don't have the link. Yeah. Okay. Email or a DM to Instagram or Twitter or X whatever.
[00:20:40] JY: Email, always email me. Instagram and Instagram. Is Twitter still a thing?
[00:20:47] BB: A little X? I mean, who's on there? I don't know.
[00:20:49] JY: But yeah, I mean, you know, I feel like social media is a little bit more personal, but. However, I do understand it that if you collect a certain amount of. We're in a new age and these is a new generation of even marketers and, and of pr, you know, officials. And so this is what they know. And so I keep that in mind and I just politely ask, hey, appreciate you reaching out. Do you mind sending it to my email? I don't get offended, though. I know some people who get very offended because that's the way that you found me. So I'm not.
I appreciate it. But now we got to go back and we got a professional Because I need. I need documents in case I need to go back to something. So social media, you can unsend things and send things, and so you don't know. So I. I don't have a problem with the dm, but I prefer email.
[00:21:35] BB: Okay. Direct or creative subject lines?
[00:21:43] JY: Direct. Let me be the creative one.
[00:21:45] BB: Yeah.
[00:21:46] JY: It's my job to create. Be direct and let me create off of. Because what I'm creating is I'm creating storytelling around. That's why you're contacting me. Right. So let me create. If you're already creating it, then why the hell do you need me? Okay, so be direct. Who you got? What are they? What's the money? What's the figures? What's the business?
[00:22:04] BB: Yes.
[00:22:05] JY: And let me create the storytelling around.
[00:22:08] BB: What about press releases versus the media kit? Or none of the above?
[00:22:14] JY: Say that again.
[00:18:39] JY: Paragraphs. You know, I want to. I want to see that you know what your pitch is. I want to see that you know your target. I want to know that you. You're really trying to sell me something. And by giving me all the information, if you put bullets, then I'm, you're. You're allowing me to leave it up to my own imagination.
Because bullets are like one or two sentences, one or two phrases, and I don't know what the hell you talk about. Now I'm getting caught up in emails, exchanges. Right? Lay it all out. Tell me why this person is important. Tell me why the pitch is important and you know and go from there. Now I'm different. You gotta. You gotta know.
[00:19:06] BB: I was gonna say you. You are over here on the spectrum. Of what I've heard on here so far and many times. Okay, so then the next question is like short or long pitches? But it sounds like you like a long pitch because you want to.
[00:19:19] JY: It depends. It could be a paragraph, but it could be one or two. And then you lay it out with a couple of bullet points at the end. But you're allowing me to understand it at the end, at the beginning, right? Yes, but, you know, I think if you use. It's a mixture, right? You gotta know when enough is enough. And that's up to the person who's making the pitch. And I feel like in this era of Gen AI, of all these great programs, you can make the proper pitch and concise it if you have to, or say, hey, you know what? This needs to go long because it's that important.
[00:19:50] BB: Exactly. And that's why we have one pitch. Because it's the art of pitching, which is an art. Apple pitches are an art. So navigating that and finding the best journalists is a whole thing. Okay. Images attached. Or a Dropbox zip file.
[00:20:04] JY: Images attached. You know, we're getting into this technology stuff now where Forbes are sending, they have like 7,000 cybersecurity links that we gotta go through all the time. And they're always telling you, don't click the link, don't click the. So I don't click. I usually don't click the link.
[00:20:21] BB: Okay, okay, good. Good to know that is. Actually, we haven't talked about that recently so much on here, and I want to do that more, which is just from a cyber security perspective. Yeah, don't have the links. Don't have the link. Yeah. Okay. Email or a DM to Instagram or Twitter or X whatever.
[00:20:40] JY: Email, always email me. Instagram and Instagram. Is Twitter still a thing?
[00:20:47] BB: A little X? I mean, who's on there? I don't know.
[00:20:49] JY: But yeah, I mean, you know, I feel like social media is a little bit more personal, but. However, I do understand it that if you collect a certain amount of. We're in a new age and these is a new generation of even marketers and, and of pr, you know, officials. And so this is what they know. And so I keep that in mind and I just politely ask, hey, appreciate you reaching out. Do you mind sending it to my email? I don't get offended, though. I know some people who get very offended because that's the way that you found me. So I'm not.
I appreciate it. But now we got to go back and we got a professional Because I need. I need documents in case I need to go back to something. So social media, you can unsend things and send things, and so you don't know. So I. I don't have a problem with the dm, but I prefer email.
[00:21:35] BB: Okay. Direct or creative subject lines?
[00:21:43] JY: Direct. Let me be the creative one.
[00:21:45] BB: Yeah.
[00:21:46] JY: It's my job to create. Be direct and let me create off of. Because what I'm creating is I'm creating storytelling around. That's why you're contacting me. Right. So let me create. If you're already creating it, then why the hell do you need me? Okay, so be direct. Who you got? What are they? What's the money? What's the figures? What's the business?
[00:22:04] BB: Yes.
[00:22:05] JY: And let me create the storytelling around.
[00:22:08] BB: What about press releases versus the media kit? Or none of the above?
[00:22:14] JY: Say that again.
[00:22:15] BB: A press release or a media kit or none of the above. Yeah. Yeah.
[00:22:20] JY: At that point, I believe it's up to the person who's making a pitch to decide what's more effective. If the press release has more detail and. And I can take what I need out of that and send me the press release. If you feel like, you know what Jabrari likes to explore, I'm gonna send our media kit so he can look at the things that we all have. And. And let me do that. I do do that from time to time, if those things are sent over, because it's within those things, sometimes you find your story, and so, you know, it's up to the person who's sending a pitch to decide.
[00:22:53] BB: I love the array. You have a wide spectrum, Jabari, which I think is so unique for pitching, because most people are like this on this question list. So I like this. Okay.
[00:23:03] JY: It can't be like that, though, because you're at that point, you're stifling your creativity. And I think as storytellers, as journalists, this again, where our job is to create this, especially at Forbes, is to create this very great storyteller celebrating success or celebrating some unique business idea. Here's a person you need to know that's doing some phenomenal things in business, like Floren Weaver, who owns Uncle Nearest, and here's how she built this, you know, whiskey empire. Right. It's our job to be creative and tell that story. And so if you're blocking off different ways to do it, or you're blocking off, as Quincy Jones would say, the muses.
[00:23:36] BB: Yes.
[00:23:37] JY: You're doing yourself a disservice, and you're doing the Public a disservice because our job is to report to the American publicist dream here.
[00:23:46] BB: Publicist dream. I love it. Okay, we're almost done with this. We talked about. Oh, you read pitches all the time. That's the next question. Anytime you're reading pitches on vacation, you're doing all the time to Brian. What time do you get?
[00:23:57] JY: I highlight them on vacation. If I see something that's direct that I know is it has a Forbes angle to it, I'll scan it right fast. Then I'll flag it as red. And I go into a folder when I'm. When I have some downtime, maybe on a Saturday morning, like at 7am When I'm up and the house is quiet and everything, then at that point I'll go to that folder to say, okay, let me see the ones that I saw was interesting and do the proper job of scanning it and then, you know, and then replying to that individual or whether or not it aligns to how I see the storytelling is. And if it doesn't, then, you know, I look forward to the next pitch.
[00:22:20] JY: At that point, I believe it's up to the person who's making a pitch to decide what's more effective. If the press release has more detail and. And I can take what I need out of that and send me the press release. If you feel like, you know what Jabrari likes to explore, I'm gonna send our media kit so he can look at the things that we all have. And. And let me do that. I do do that from time to time, if those things are sent over, because it's within those things, sometimes you find your story, and so, you know, it's up to the person who's sending a pitch to decide.
[00:22:53] BB: I love the array. You have a wide spectrum, Jabari, which I think is so unique for pitching, because most people are like this on this question list. So I like this. Okay.
[00:23:03] JY: It can't be like that, though, because you're at that point, you're stifling your creativity. And I think as storytellers, as journalists, this again, where our job is to create this, especially at Forbes, is to create this very great storyteller celebrating success or celebrating some unique business idea. Here's a person you need to know that's doing some phenomenal things in business, like Floren Weaver, who owns Uncle Nearest, and here's how she built this, you know, whiskey empire. Right. It's our job to be creative and tell that story. And so if you're blocking off different ways to do it, or you're blocking off, as Quincy Jones would say, the muses.
[00:23:36] BB: Yes.
[00:23:37] JY: You're doing yourself a disservice, and you're doing the Public a disservice because our job is to report to the American publicist dream here.
[00:23:46] BB: Publicist dream. I love it. Okay, we're almost done with this. We talked about. Oh, you read pitches all the time. That's the next question. Anytime you're reading pitches on vacation, you're doing all the time to Brian. What time do you get?
[00:23:57] JY: I highlight them on vacation. If I see something that's direct that I know is it has a Forbes angle to it, I'll scan it right fast. Then I'll flag it as red. And I go into a folder when I'm. When I have some downtime, maybe on a Saturday morning, like at 7am When I'm up and the house is quiet and everything, then at that point I'll go to that folder to say, okay, let me see the ones that I saw was interesting and do the proper job of scanning it and then, you know, and then replying to that individual or whether or not it aligns to how I see the storytelling is. And if it doesn't, then, you know, I look forward to the next pitch.
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