IDG Corp.
500 Old Connecticut Path
Framingham, MA 01701
508.879.0700
http://www.computerworld.com
The Wind-Up
Computerworld.com, the online companion to IDG's Computerworld, targets IT executives at mid- to large-size companies who make sure a company's computer fires are kept to a
minimum. The Web site, which launched in 1995, is tightly integrated with the publication's print product (200,000-circ.) Computerworld.com had 854,000 unique visitors in June,
according to DoubleClick. Reporters switch-hit for both the print and online properties, writing breaking computer news for the Web site two times a day and then advancing the
stories for the print edition. Since the Web site is so closely aligned with its print cousin, it competes for eyeballs online with Ziff Davis Media's eweek.com and in print with
CMP Media's Information Week. Computerworld.com's editorial doesn't get into the minutia of computers, but instead focuses on the practical problems that IT managers confront on a
day-to-day basis. "We're not inside baseball and what's going on from one vendor to another," says Sharon Machlis, managing editor of Computerworld.com, "but what do things mean
for the end user." The site tackles a bevy of topics tied to computer systems in both the corporate and government markets, including management, security, hardware, software,
mobile and development issues and data management. The site also runs a Special Cover Page, featuring Big Picture types of computer stories such as the ongoing Oracle-PeopleSoft
saga and the SCO Groups's legal campaign against Linux. It also includes coverage of several vertical markets, including retail, financial and manufacturing as well as research
listings, white papers and a Buyer's Guide, which is a kind of Yellow Pages for computer vendors.
The Pitch
The site has four full-time editors, all of whom prefer to be initially contacted via e-mail. For computer security/storage pitches contact Marian Prokop, [email protected]; for breaking news and any Macintosh-related stories, give Ken Mingus a holler, [email protected]; for mobile/wireless and development stories, call David Ramel, [email protected] and for operating systems stories, e.g. Linux, Windows, contact Sharon Machlis, [email protected]. Computerworld.com has a full listing of reporters and editors and the areas they cover. All
beat reporters are under the gun on Thursday, so make sure to pitch on all the other business days. The best time to contact reporters is early morning or the latter part of the
day. "User impact is the way to perk people up," Machlis says. "We're not interested in what consumers or small businesses are interested in for their computers, so don't try to
convince us that consumer/small business technology is something we should be writing about." One way of increasing your chances for exposure is to offer contacts such as
corporate customers who can talk to the benefits of the product and/or service you may be pitching. Another route: contributed articles from business managers that run online (but
not in the print product). Contributed pieces are mostly of the how-to vein and your chances of getting published are improved if the articles include real world advice and tips
on the topic at hand.
The Follow-Through
You still may have a slight window of opportunity to pitch a Special Report running in mid-September on outsourcing; Computerworld's print editors will drive the report. In
October both print and online products feature a comprehensive salary survey, providing pay scales for IT professionals across the board. Edit is already gearing up for January's
Premiere 100 Report, which honors the companies that are using technology in unusual and innovative ways.