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Monica Sager is a Reporter at Newsweek.
In this episode, Monica talks about her experiences covering major political events, the do's and don'ts of pitching stories, and the evolving landscape of AI and tech reporting.
Follow Monica on her socials below:
Twitter: Monica Sager
Linkedin: Monica Sager - Reporter - Newsweek | LinkedIn
Author Page: Monica Sager
Click below to listen to the full conversation and read below for highlights from the interview:
Monica on What Types of News She Covers and What Makes an 'Interesting' Story
[00:03:14] BB: What a time. Wow. Okay. In brief, yes, Newsweek covers every dang thing. I
forget the date, but it's been around forever, forever, ever, ever, so big national huge outlet. Tell
us a little bit more about what you're now covering because, yes, you kind of sprinkled and gone
all over the place. How would you define what you're looking for now? Especially since we'r
recording this in December 2024, if you have any insight into your 2025 coverage areas, that
would be great.
[00:03:41] MS: I know that at least through the inauguration, a lot of our focus is on politics,
probably will be as well afterwards. If this comes out after, still give me all those politics pitches.
Before I focused on the election, I was covering a lot of AI, so I know that's one of our interests.
I did a lot with open AI and ChatGPT and all that, but also just how it's affecting small
businesses.
[00:04:06] BB: Could you clarify that a little bit, too, wherein like, “What we work with is tech
and those outlets.”? These are maybe not the open AIs, but they're like baby companies coming
up. They’re venture-backed and such. Is that of interest as well?
[00:04:18] MS: Yes, absolutely. Because AI is a new technology that no one really knows how it
works.
[00:04:24] BB: No one knows. Everyone's figuring it out. Everyone's figuring it out. It's all go
Oh, gosh. Okay, Monica. Yes.
[00:04:31] MS: Yes. But even beyond that, I'm interested in other stories. Whatever you want to
be told, I have to always pitch it to my editor. But if it's an interesting story and it's breaking
news, we are almost always going to go for it.
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Monica's Thoughts Subject Lines and Embargoes
[00:06:05] BB: Okay. Are you by means a inbox-zero person?
[00:06:10] MS: No. I always – I mean, say six months or so, I try to do a, “Oh, I can delete all
these emails.” But it really builds up in between the times.
[00:06:20] BB: Yes. So you just – are you a let-it-ride person then?
[00:06:23] MS: I'll delete them. But if I read it, I normally forget to delete it, so then it just stays
there.
[00:06:29] BB: Then it's just there. Then it's just there. Then you said, for the ones that intrigue
you, the ones that you're like, "Oh, hmm,” what's catching your eye for like, “This is one I have
to open because this is where the subject line becomes the total slay.”?
[00:06:41] MS: A lot of the ones that say embargo always interest me because that must mean
that it's going to be something big coming up soon that we can even prepare for, rather than it
just being, “Oh, it has to be done now.” We’ll obviously always acknowledge the embargo and
respect that, but it also gives us a chance to go forward and dive deeper into it with them or do
additional interviews. With that, we also get the ones that say like the interviews with CEO or
like interview opportunity. I think those ones are also always catching my eye.
Rapid Fire Pitching Preferences
[00:17:11] BB: Yes. No. Okay. Monica, I have a little flash list of questions here if we can go int
it, and you tell me what your answers are.
[00:17:20] MS: I’m ready.
[00:17:21] BB: First, video or phone interview?
[00:17:25] MS: I say video allows me to actually clarify that it's the real person.
[00:17:30] BB: Good point.
[00:17:31] MS: Phone can sometimes be a little easier time-wise because I know people aren't
always in front of their computer. That way, if you're driving or something, I can just hop on the
phone with you and get all the questions done. Either way, I can still record with permission or
type out, so it works for me.
[00:17:50] BB: Bullet points or paragraphs?
[00:17:53] MS: Bullet points, write out quotes.
[00:17:56] BB: Write out quote. Okay. Short or long pitches?
[00:17:59] MS: Short.
[00:18:00] BB: Of course. No one answers long. Actually, on occasion. Images attached or a
Dropbox zip file
[00:18:06] MS: Dropbox zip file because then I have more options
[00:18:09] BB: Okay. Twitter or a DM of some sort?
[00:18:11] MS: Twitter.
[00:18:12] BB: Wait, you said Twitter? You don't mind a DM on Twitter or X, whatever we're calling it now?
[00:18:21] MS: I've gotten it before. I'm fine with – I would say emails is easier. But if you'r
saying social media, then Twitter.
[00:18:28] BB: Okay. Okay, got you. Okay. Now, one follow-up or multiple?
[00:18:33] MS: One. It’s that. Like I said, it sometimes is annoying even the, “Hey, Veronica. Do
you really want this?”
[00:18:40] BB: Yes, yes, yes, yes. Direct or creative subject lines?
[00:18:44] MS: Direct.
[00:18:44] BB: Direct.
[00:18:45] MS: Yes. I brought way more than I needed, but I had one that was like, “From
Katz's diner to Alaska.” I was like, “What does that even mean?”
[00:18:54] BB: Okay. Press release or media kit?
[00:18:56] MS: Press release. Media kit often has too much information.
[00:18:58] BB: Yes, too much in there.
________
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