Reed Business Information
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The Windup
While the media din has reached excessive volumes in the last several years, most of the coverage tends to self-absorbed and only skin deep. But for in-depth, cold-eyed
coverage of the broadcast industry -- both the nets and cable -- Broadcasting & Cable remains one of the most effective media vehicles for communication executives.
The weekly (23,300-circ.) is divided into several sections that cover the entire broadcasting and cable gestalt: Top of the Week, with the latest news; programming; TV Buyer,
which is dedicated to TV sales and advertising; Washington (read: FCC), Business, Technology and People. The magazine also includes the "Fifth Estater," profiles of established
network and programming executives. The "Air Time" column, a 550-word contributed article, provides good potential for PR pros. "We're not looking for commercials, but a comment
on something that is happening in the business, like media ownership or the Vivendi Universal-NBC deal," says Harry Jessell, editor-in-chief. "We don't want, 'Look at me, look at
what I have.'"
The current issue includes a cover story on the ruling by Federal judges that put the brakes on the FCC's recent loosening of broadcast ownership rules; a profile of NBC
Entertainment President and programming whiz Jeff Zucker; a series of special reports on the expanding Latino market and a piece on a new chip developed for high-definition radio.
"We're a weekly in a daily world," Jessell says. "We try and spot the trends before other people spot them, do good analysis and clarify things. We're going be different than The
New York Times and The Wall Street Journal." For example, the Vivendi Universal-NBC rumblings sparked a B&C piece on "the broadcast affiliate reaction, which the Times or the
Journal would never think of doing," he adds.
The Pitch
It's a typical lament about PR execs. "I'll talk to anybody who knows the magazine, but I do get lots of calls from [PR] people who don't know the magazine or have a client who
doesn't belong here, which is just wasting my time," Jessell says. For high-end pitches, contact Jessell, [email protected].
Your best shot at getting in the book is to contact beat reporters directly. The broadcasting/advertising guru is Steve McClellan, [email protected]; for cable operators and mergers/acquisitions, contact John Higgins, [email protected]; if you sell technology to the broadcast business, Ken Kerschbaumer is your man, [email protected]; to pitch a story on cable programming, contact Allison Romano, [email protected] and for stories on local news broadcasts, go to Dan Trigoboff, [email protected]. Bill McConnell, [email protected], covers the
FCC while Paige Albiniak, [email protected], who is the L.A. bureau chief, covers network and syndicated television
programming. All reporters prefer to be initially contacted by e-mail. The earlier in the week you contact the publication -- which closes on Friday - the better chance you have
at getting exposure. If you pitch a piece on Friday, it should be a home run (or at least an exclusive). Monday is the best day to contact the magazine, and preferably in the
morning since there's a staff meeting that day between 2:30 and 3:30. "Reporters are looking for ideas on Monday morning," Jessell says. "Of course, things break during the week
and we cover them as needed. But it depends on what we're talking about: Is it real news or just soft? Of course, we like to be first." Access the magazine's Web site for an
editorial calendar. Pick your spots carefully since most every issue features some sort of special report: The October 27 issue focuses on TV News; the Hall of Fame issue runs
November 10 and Top 25 TV networks runs in the December 1 issue. Jessell stresses that PR people need to have their clients ready to talk "because we're not going to take comments
from a press release." He adds: "We're always looking for products, what the market is and who your competitors are, and don't be afraid to talk about that because that's part of
every single story."