25 St. James St.
London, England SW1A 1HG
Editors at this weekly international business newspaper don't break the stereotype of hard-nose newspaper journalists. Courting these bureau chiefs was no easy feat, as most weren't concerned with returning our calls. You'll have to hound these guys before getting any kind of response. Although we usually don't offer this advice, keep calling until you get a live voice. A great way to get coverage in the international arena is to target the N.Y. and Washington, D.C. bureaus. To pitch the specific beat reporters for the London office, see the list below.
SECTIONS: New York Bureau
The New York editors cover American finance, Wall Street, marketing and consumer goods news. This bureau contributes about six to seven stories a week to the paper.
A feature worth a pitch-note is Face Value, which profiles an individual such as a CEO of a company or an investor.
EDITORS/LEAD TIME: Bureau Chief, John Micklethwait
Fax:212/969-9098, Phone: 212/541-5730
Lead Time: at least one week
METHODS: Tuesdays and Wednesdays are the worst days to reach the editors, as the deadline is Thursday morning. If the story is big and breaking, don't hesitate to call on Mondays.
The bureau prefers faxes.
COMMENTS: Only a small number of pitches get a spot in the paper every week - about one or two, says Micklethwait. His main request is to refrain from any annual results or product launch pitches. He also says not to assume international news is of interest to the bureau. They report on U.S. financial issues.
"We hate the inane idea that if your company sets up an office in Europe that we'd want to write about it," he says.
SECTIONS: Washington, dc bureau
Stories focus on American politics. Bureau Chief Sebastian Mallaby gets about 100 PR pitches each day and only uses a "handful" of them, making him extremely wary of anything related to PR.
EDITORS/LEAD TIME: Bureau Chief, Sebastian Mallaby
Fax:202/737-1035, Phone: 202/783-5753
Lead Time: one week
METHODS: Thursdays and Fridays are the only days to get a sane person in the Washington office. Anytime during office hours on those days are appropriate.
COMMENTS: Again, faxes only.Make pitches short and to the point, as Mallaby is very curt on the phone. Don't be surprised by his tone, which toes the line between abrupt and rude.
His only advice to PR pros trying to make the grade: "Don't call us before you've read the paper."
Editorial Contacts at The Economist
Main Number: 171/839-7000
Shereen El Feki
Pharmaceutical reporter
Vijay Vaitheswaran
Environmental reporter
Iain Carson
Transportation reporter
Matthew Bishop
American financial editor
212/541-5730
Sameena Ahmad
American Marketing correspondent
212/541-5730
Francis Cairencross
Management reporter
Matthew Simonds
IT/Communication editor
Emma Duncan
Media editor
Recent Stories
"Plans To Reform the EU"
"A Financial Scandal in Ireland"
"A New Share-Trading System"
"The Future of Exchanges"