601 E. Street, NW
Washington, D.C. 20049; Phone: 202/434-6880
Editor's Note: You would think that when it comes to the American Association of Retired Persons' 22-million-plus-circulation magazine, Modern Maturity, that it's not hard to make inroads because of the vast amount of attention that's being paid to senior-related issues. But that couldn't be further from the truth. These veterans are adept at spotting promotional hype and some of them welcome your attempts the way Bill Gates welcomes competition.
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SECTIONS
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EDITORS
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DAYS TO CONTACT/DAYS TO AVOID
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METHODS
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COMMENTS
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Food/Health/Nutrition The focus is "quality-of-life" issues. The magazine steers away from publicizing company-specific breakthroughs and drugs and new products. For instance, what the editor looks for is how to prevent illnesses - a lot is tied to heart disease, breast, colon and prostate cancer and Alzheimer's Disease. |
Health/Food/Nutrition Editor: Joyce Winslow
Phone: 202/434-6880 (extensions weren't disclosed) |
You're not bound to certain days and times because this news organization doesn't have to deal with the rigors of daily deadlines. However, it's also an operation that's driven by planning and scheduling so you have to think ahead. Winslow told us she's assigning pieces four to six months before the issue hits the streets. |
Send info. by snail mail. We assure you - and we stand by this advice - if you call these editors without just cause, you're sure to burn bridges.
On three separate occasions, we had to go through a gatekeeper who wouldn't even transfer us to the editors' individual extensions without details on why we needed to speak to them. Winslow accepts info. on an embargoed basis. |
Winslow pores through about 50 pitches, backgrounders and story ideas a week and finds that only a sliver of what comes her way can be used for an article; nonetheless, she's in the habit of reading everything because she never knows what might be buried in the pile. "I rely heavily on PR people but late-breaking news does me no good since I'm working on things so far in advance," she adds. (Modern Maturity's also one of those pubs that still fact checks so they need plenty of time to verify what's going to be printed!) |
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Gardening/Pets/Consumer A Smart consumer column runs in every bimonthly issue and news that touches on gardening- and pets-related twists also receives a heavy dose of attention. Remember, journalists at this news shop are speaking to Americans 50 and older and they aren't swayed by business-driven trends and Wall Street-weighted copy. |
Senior Editor: Ken Wibecan
Phone: 202/434-6880 |
Once again, coverage and articles are being planned about six months in advance. | We're not beating a dead horse but lest you miss the point: don't fax these editors your plugs. And a call alerting them to a release or made to find out if they received your news is also poor press relations on your part. (You'd be best served by studying several issues and then determining how your expertise is worth their time.) | Out of the approximate 30 pitches or suggestions that come his way weekly, Wibecan finds that just a few are worth his consideration. But like Winslow he looks at everything that comes in since it might be fodder for an idea he's mulling over or researching. |
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General News If you pitch an idea that's sure to be covered by mainstream publications as well as other niche outlets, you'll be on the bottom of their priority lists. What Modern Maturity excels at is putting a personal spin on how seniors are managing their health and their lives. We were told by one editor that if something has a "promotional" angle, it's sure to end up in the circular file. |
Articles Editor: John Wood
Phone: 202/434-6880 |
Wood works a minimum of seven to eight months to gel ideas with freelancers and other writers. | Don't fax, don't call, don't e-mail. And before you traipse into pitch territory, Wood's advice is that you must spend "an enormous amount of time studying the magazine so you can pitch something with an extremely narrow focus." | Even though he throws away pitches, we included John Wood in this rundown of editors because we think it's critical that you have a realistic sense of how some editors perceive you and your jobs. "I hate PR stuff and I don't even open my mail," Wood says. "People send us mass mailings but none of them are getting it right." This is the same fellow who authored "How to Write Attention-Grabbing Query and Cover Letters," a book published by Writer's Digest. (PR folks won't be giving him the diplomacy and professional courtesy award of the year anytime soon.) |