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The Marketplace section of The Wall Street Journal is arguably some of the most coveted media real estate in the world. And for high tech players, the impertinent "Boom Town"
column is the place to be. While columnist Kara Swisher doesn't track specific audience demographics, she has a good feel for her average readers from her prolific correspondence
with them. "I'm not getting [correspondence from] investment bankers and Silicon Valley people. It's the armchair analysts (and a lot of women). But 'the elite' do read the column
- to see what I'll make fun of."
Content/Contacts
"Boom Town" takes an irreverent look at technology and where it's taking us. Though many readers - not to mention tech gurus - have questioned the moniker given the recent
dotcom bust, Swisher maintains that the name may be more relevant now than when it was conceived. "Boom towns suggest busts and trouble," she says. "It's meant to signal that the
column is sassier, more opinionated and funnier" than other technology coverage. "The name wasn't literally about only good times." Her column covers a variety of Web-related
issues, but pitching Swisher on a new source to discuss what she covered last week is useless; she rarely does a second take on a given topic. Swisher is the sole contact for the
column and prefers email (she doesn't accept phone calls from PR pros - "It just takes too long."
Contact: [email protected].
Pitch Tips
Keep email pitches short and sweet so they stand out from the hundreds of emails she receives from readers. While Swisher says she rarely comes across pitches she can use,
she's open to communicators pitching experts to discuss technology issues; academics with big picture ideas or sources who have conducted interesting research. "New products are
useless," she says. "So is, 'we're a company that's made it.' I usually don't write about individual companies and when I did, I got 90 companies wanting me to profile them." But
Swisher is fascinated by the personalities behind the Web and profiles characters like Barry Diller, who recently purchased Expedia.com. The caveat: "They can't be yesterday's
dotcom person." Swisher often works off the news of the day to find the right hook for the column (a best bet for your pitch).
Swisher plans to turn to political topics for future columns: "I've already covered Internet tax legislation, Internet privacy, Napster." Among other topics she's considering:
the convergence of cable and satellite, online copyright issues and Internet gaming. Gamble on a pitch of what might make news tomorrow: "I don't usually break news; I make
predictions," Swisher explains. She sees the Web and email becoming integral, but invisible, parts of daily life. "The Internet [will become] like electricity," she predicts.
"You didn't get up this morning, plug in your blowdryer and say, 'I'm getting electricity.'" Macro concepts like how the Internet will support the economy or to what degree it
will become a seamless part of the American lifestyle are potential "Boom Town" fodder. "
Comments
Swisher has a bone to pick with the PR community: at the end of each column, she offers contact information designed exclusively to elicit reader feedback. "It's been great
except when PR people write in -- that's really annoying." She warns communicators to stick to email for pitching. "If I get PR people responding to my reader thing, I get mad,
and I delete them."
Embrace controversy - Swisher thrives on it. "When Microsoft does something, I have an opinion. When you have an opinion, you can really cause people to talk. I have readers
[criticize] me all the time. My favorite letter says, 'After reading today's column, I decided you're not as much of an idiot as I thought you were.'" While not likely to mellow
her cheeky style, Swisher wants to put a positive spin on "Boom Town." "I want to cover what works."
In The Pipeline
Swisher plans to turn to political topics for future columns: "I've already covered Internet tax legislation, Internet privacy, Napster." Among other topics she's consid-ering:
the convergence of cable and satel-lite, online copyright issues and Internet gaming. Gamble on a pitch of what might make news tomorrow: "I don't usually break news; I make
predictions," Swisher explains. She sees the Web and email becoming integral, but invisible, parts of daily life. "The Internet [will become] like electricity," she predicts. "You
didn't get up this morning, plug in your blowdryer and say, 'I'm getting electricity.'" Macro con-cepts like how the Internet will support the economy or to what degree it will
become a seamless part of the American lifestyle are potential "Boom Town" fodder. "