PBI Media, LLC
1201 Seven Locks Road, Suite 300
Potomac, MD 20854
301/354-2000
http://www.telecomweb.com/satellite
With satellites providing everything from intelligence on Iraqi
weapons to 300 channels worth of television entertainment, it's one
business that's never dull. The Satellite Today daily email
newsletter is an opt-in publication that covers the day's news in
the dynamic satellite industry. A sister publication to PR NEWS,
Satellite News, Interspace, Satellitetoday.com and Defense Daily,
this publication offers PR professionals the opportunity to get
their company or client in front of more than 5,000 telecom and
satellite executives worldwide.
Content/Contacts/Deadlines
Managing Editor Fred Donovan, who oversees PBI Media's satellite
and aviation newsletters, is your main contact. Pitch Donovan via
email; like most daily editors, he doesn't have time for phone
calls - especially if you're following up on a press release. "We
have relentless daily deadlines," Donovan says, and copy has to be
wrapped up at 2 p.m. So, "calling me between 2 and 3 p.m. is a very
bad idea."
The content of the e-pub includes a range of issues affecting
the commercial satellite industry. "Our bread and butter is
satellite communications. That's been the focus of Satellite News
for 25 years." But, given the sad shape of the telecom industry and
new developments in the satellite industry, the editors are
expanding their horizons to include satellite imagery and
navigation, particularly the commercial use of GPS technology.
Pitch Tips
Send an email to fdonovan@pbimedia. com. A
piece of news is your best bet, since the publication is strongly
news-driven. Also offer a company official, or, even better, an
independent expert to comment on the news. Pitching story ideas
will get you nowhere.
Also avoid product news that doesn't have any news value. "We
get product news that is highly self-promotional. Everything needs
to be put in the framework of the news." So, if you can provide
news on a deal to develop a new product, or a company buying a
large amount of your product, that might catch the editors'
attention.
Comments
Because the pub is a daily, pressures run high. The editors
cover the news in short, journalistic style - no feature material
here.
Send Donovan material late in the afternoon or very early in the
day - that's when the research and interviews happen. And he
advises any PR professional to check out the publication first at
http://www.telecomweb.com/satellite
to get a better feel for the way he and other editors cover the
news. "Focus on what we write about. Then you won't waste your time
or mine with irrelevant news."
In The Pipeline
Because the pub is so focused on satellite issues in the news,
it's hard for Donovan to say what will be next. But topics of
interest include satellite TV and radio, M&A activity,
bankruptcies and layoffs. "Stories on how satellites are helping
U.S. troops in Iraq would be interesting," Donovan says, adding
that military uses for commercial satellite capabilities are a
growing area of interest for Satellite Today.