If you're gonna be late for the media party, don't bother showing up. Anne-Marie Borrego, assistant editor at the D.C.-based Chronicle of Higher Education, recalls a
phone call she once received from a publicist touting a hot new dotcom -- six months after she had already written a lengthy feature on said dotcom. "I was very annoyed,"
says Borrego. "They should at least read their own hits before they start calling." This backfiring of the carpet-bombing approach need not happen, especially when agencies spend
big bucks on clipping services, she says.
So what's the best way to win Borrego's heart? Read her clips before you call. And kissing up doesn't hurt, either. "[Reporters] are pretty vain," she says. "We're
flattered when you call and say, 'I liked your story last month,' and then relate it to the story idea you are pitching."