1510 H Street NW
Washington, DC 20005
202/898-8000
http://www.upi.com
Shihoko Goto, senior business correspondent for United Press International, has a softer side. And she's bringing that unique mix of common sense and uncommon style to UPI to
fill what she considers a void in media coverage. "On the one hand, you have really hardcore financial news and policy stuff, and on the other hand, you have the Vogues and
Glamours. A lot of us are not just interested in which telecom company will go bust next, and we aren't fortunate enough to buy the $3,000 Jimmy Choo shoes the folks at Vogue tell
us are in."
Goto's new "GoTo Shop" column will offer editors and producers tracking the UPI wire all the latest on how the middle-income consumer can live fashionably on limited budgets.
Content/Contacts
"Middle income people don't have a lot of money to spare," Goto says. "But when they do have some, they want to have a good time." Goto's coverage will offer them the trends on
everything from dining to manicures to travel. She emphasizes that she'll have no fixed subject matter - any interesting "lifestyle" fodder will appeal to her.
"It's all about the little things that catch my attention in the course of living a relatively normal life. In reality, most people are capable of shopping at Wal-Mart, but we
are bombarded with glamorous things. But there are little treats we can afford."
Contact Goto via email at [email protected].
Pitch Tips
Goto has been receiving a steady stream of information addressed to her as consumer interest columnist or retail columnist, with pitches ranging from telephones to cruises. "I
have yet to get an offer for a free cruise. I live in hope of that," she jokes.
Avoid sending pitches for ultra-luxury items - remember Goto is looking at the middle income bracket and wants information on anything that would appeal to slightly shallow
pockets. But don't pitch the mundane, either. "Don't send 'improved' products, send a completely new product."
Goto prefers email pitches and has an active travel schedule. Phone pitches are a no-no. "If I get an email that is interesting, I would call them."
Comments
Subject matter for the column so far has included how sushi (which Goto informs us is "rather passé" here) is all the rage in Moscow, and how the Japanese are hooked on French
culture - including the French obsession with coffee. Unfortunately, according to Goto, the Japanese haven't adopted the French custom of relaxing over their lattés. She has also
covered how manicures are migrating from the "ladies who lunch" set to eight-year-old girls and 40-year-old men.
Goto's deadlines are as varied as her subject matter: "They really depend on the day. I can't really say [when a deadline will be]. That's why email is preferable. I'm not
really loathe to be rude on the phone when I need to be."
In The Pipeline
Goto's next column will focus on renting cars online. She was recently in London for a posh wedding and rented a car. "The catch about renting cars in London is that you get a
Mercedes, but it has big stickers saying EasyCars.com all over it. Your street credibility goes way down. I was at this very upscale wedding and had to drive in in my tacky car.
So much for spending all that time and effort dressing well."
Future topics are up in the air and will depend on the happenings in Goto's "relatively normal" life - or the pitches she receives.