201 N. Fiqueroa Street, Suite 280
Los Angeles, CA 90012
Phone: 213/580-9882
This Washington, DC-based radio network provides hourly newscasts on the bottom of the hour about sports, business and entertainment. We've come to realize that the producers prefer the microphone over the telephone and rarely return calls. This is in part due to the frequent deadlines and in part to the small staffs of the bureaus. Put your best pitching foot forward and try targeting the L.A. bureau for UPI. Pat Nason, bureau chief, covers the entertainment side of the business - TV, movies, art, theater and books. He's responsible for two weekly shows, "While We're on the Subject" and "American Montage." American Montage is like a "poor man's Charles Kuralt," says Nason. Host Dennis Daily travels across the U.S. to interview "ordinary" people. Nason, on the other hand, only profiles "A list" interviewees such as Steve Warner or "The Practice" cast members.
Explaining the best route to get pitches to Nason is like constructing a map of the Bermuda triangle. There really is no good or bad time or magic methods. Nason suggests courting him from 7-9 a.m. PST because after 11 a.m., it gets hairy in the newsroom. Whether he'll pursue a story is a "seat-of-the-pants decision." Says Nason: "If it's a slow news day, I might say yes to something I might not have because I have room on my agenda."