Shoshi Parks is the Executive Editor at 7x7
In this episode of Coffee with a Journalist, we chat with Shoshi Parks, the newly promoted Executive Editor at 7x7, a beloved Bay Area lifestyle magazine. Broadcasting from San Jose, Shoshi shares her path from earning a PhD in anthropology to leading an iconic regional publication. She dives into her editorial process, what makes a pitch stand out (and what doesn't), and why personalized outreach matters. Packed with insider tips and candid advice, this episode is a must-listen for freelancers, publicists, and curious storytellers alike.
Click below to listen to the full conversation and read below for highlights from the interview:
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[00:05:47] SP: Yeah, so I think the first thing is—so I should mention too that I, I do, I have this position with 7x7, but I do also freelance for some other national publications. So I tend to get a wide variety of things. But really, I'm specializing in, you know, I've got kind of two channels of stuff—7x7, so stuff involving the San Francisco Bay Area or California. And when it comes to those items, I'm really looking for—well, first off, is it geographically relevant? Secondly, is it even pertinent to the types of topics we cover? If you're pitching me something about a sports team, you know, we don't do anything about sports. So that's completely irrelevant to me, and I'm going to delete that right away. Same thing with, say, you know, somebody's representing a band, for example, and that's great, but that's just not really something we do. So anything that's just, you know, irrelevant geographically or topic-wise, I get rid of immediately. Things that have a little bit more promise—you know, perhaps they are within the geographical range, there's something maybe a little intriguing about the subject line—I'll typically open those. But I'd say, you know, at least half of those then get deleted after the quick open.
[00:07:13] BB: Okay. And then once a day is all you're saying that you kind of check it>
[00:07:20] SP: I mean, I'm kind of constantly perusing my inbox. But yeah, I try not to focus on it until, you know, I try to give it one solid kind of look every day.
[00:07:30] BB: Okay. Just every. Wow, wow. I'm on it.
[00:07:33] SP: Don't always succeed.
[00:07:34] BB: Yes, it's okay. You're giving me hope.
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[00:07:34] BB: Yes, it's okay. You're giving me hope. What about sources for you particularly, are you looking for? I, I don't know, park rangers in this, in the Bay Area who know about the weather, climate stuff or restaurant insiders who know what's going on with who's leasing out buildings. Like what's the get for you?
[00:07:54] SP: Yeah, all the above. I mean, I think somebody who has a inside knowledge about whatever it is they're pitching is always going to be a more attractive pitcher than, than somebody who, you know, really doesn't know what they're talking about. And I do sometimes get pitches where it seems like the, the rep, like literally is, you know, maybe it's the, maybe the job is new to them, I don't know. But it does sometimes seem like they really have no sense of what they're. They're pitching, and it's kind of, you know, all over the place. If it's somebody who really knows what they're talking about, I think, you know, you can often tell. And they. They tend to have maybe a slightly more conversational tone because they're able to actually converse about the topic as opposed to just, you know, here's what I'm selling.
[00:08:44] BB: Ooh, okay. So that's maybe how you suss out a real expert versus just can be.
[00:08:48] SP: It is one of many, I think, ways to.
[00:08:51] BB: Yeah, okay, you're saying one of many. What are some other ways. Stuff out of sorts.
[00:17:29] BB: I like that. Not friends. Excellent, Excellent. Okay, what else? I was, you know what, actually. Okay, we don't want the follow ups. You talked about making the life easier. Is there relationships to be formed with you? Do you want to be at a blue bottle in San Francisco having a coffee with a publicist ever? Or you're like, you know what, please stay in my inbox. That's all I can cover.
[00:17:55] SP: Yeah, that's a really good question. I'll be honest that, yeah, almost every publicist I've ever interacted with has been absolutely lovely. There's something about this field that really draws warm, interesting, kind of easy-to-talk-to people, and I love that. That said, I don't have a lot of time, and, you know, sitting down with somebody for coffee is a challenge. It feels like, you know, unless it's something that we're going to be diving deeper into, or it's perhaps somebody who represents a lot of businesses or organizations or whatever in my region that might be relevant to what I do, it, I think, is probably more of a waste of time than just sending me an email.
[00:18:56] BB: I think about this all the time. This is why we put together all these super efficient media events for our journalists and people in the tech world, especially on the brand side. Because, like—how is a journalist supposed to have 27 coffees?
[00:19:11] SP: Yeah. Exactly.
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