Ad-Vantage. Want to ingratiate yourself with journalists? It helps if you can feel their pain - at least vicariously. Media relations guru Lisa Kovitz (Burson-
Marsteller) attended a recent Publicity Club of New York meeting to offer this day-in-the-life account from New York Times advertising columnist Stuart Elliott:
The ad column in the Times has been around for more than 60 years, but recent changes in the media environment have changed the pace of the column. The Internet means more new
campaigns, more people and more agency changes, Elliott says. "It's as if you were on the City Hall beat and one day an entirely new City Hall opened up across the street that was
also in the business of city government - and you have to cover both."
Elliott's column has two parts: the body of the column, plus a selection of noteworthy news items. His typical day involves a breakfast interview/meeting with an agency or
source. (Elliott never schedules lunch meetings because it's too hard to leave.) He then sorts mail, faxes and email, and conducts phone interviews for upcoming columns or
breaking news pieces. By 2:30 or 3 p.m., he locks in a topic, based on the news of the day. The column goes into production earlier than the rest of the paper (4:40 p.m.
deadline). After filing, he records the WQXR FM radio ad report, which airs at 6:45 a.m.
Elliott is hungry for exclusives - he competes with everyone from the Wall Street Journal, USA Today and the ad trades to Entertainment Tonight. He's interested in campaigns
and trend stories, but will always give breaking news stories priority in the column. Keep in mind, however, that he also writes "display" stories (i.e., larger trend pieces) for
section D1. He writes the column four days per week; guest columnists contribute once a week.
(Elliott, 212/556-1226; [email protected]. Assistant: Allison Fass, 212/556-1227)