501 Second Street, #600
San Francisco, Calif. 94107-1453;
Phone: 415/243-0500
Editor's Note: It's estimated that as many as 6 million people read PC World on a monthly basis. These editors are venerable experts in their fields and enjoy a kind of notoriety you don't find in many media outlets. But realize that it's tough to get these folks on the phone since they have so many consumer, business and PR suitors. Expect some barriers - re-routing, trying to track down the right editors (hence, the list below) and calls that aren't returned.
| PROGRAMS | EDITORS |
DAYS TO CONTACT/DAYS TO AVOID |
METHODS | COMMENTS |
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Home Products In the era of virtual offices, PC World's content includes this focus on products for the home or the home office, with coverage including the Internet, hardware and software |
Contributing Editor: Christina Wood E-Mail: christina_wood @pcworld.com (Wood also helps oversee a joint consumer venture between Family Circle & PC World called Computers Made Easy.) |
Wood (who also writes the monthly advocacy column) is often working on pieces six months ahead of time. She relies heavily on embargoed Information and tips about yet-to-be-released products. | You might expect it from editors at a computer pub - e-mail is generally the preferred route unless otherwise specified. Wood says she's trying to train people not to call (she gets about 30 calls a day). She's one of the many editorial staffers who work at remote sites, so e-mail is a savior! | Wood's biggest pet peeve about PR people is that when they call, they leave lengthy messages and forget to give (or repeat) their numbers at the end. Wood doesn't have time to be kind and rewind, so leave your number at the end. Still, remember you're better off with paper since there's much less of a desire to purge (Wood pores over about 200 pitches a week). |
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Reviews PC World has earned its reputation partly because of the in-depth and frequent product reviews they tackle. There are frequent comparison "round-ups" of systems, software and hardware. |
Senior Associate Editor: Michael Desmond E-mail: michael_desmond @pcworld.com |
Once again, no good or bad days - just an appreciation that these editors are working on stories and features several months in advance and also work on a non-disclosure basis. | And once again, e-mail's the way to go. Desmond's also not big on phone calls: "When I say I'm busy, I'm not kidding." | Desmond writes about hot issues and trends: DVD (digital versatile disk)-ROM, VRML (virtual mark-up language) CPUs and operating systems (OSs). "If a PR person is really sharp he or she can be really useful," Desmond adds. "One thing editors don't get enough of [from PR rofessionals] is background." And if you send him a press kit, make sure it's utilitarian - not just gimicky. |
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Editorial Contacts at PC World Main Number - 415/243-0500 |
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Grace Aquino - Assistant Editor CAD, Image Editing, Home PCs, Graphics, Games Ext. 7406, [email protected] Denny Arar - Senior Associate Editor Cathryn Baskin - Editor-In-Chief Eric Bender - Executive Editor, East Coast Luis Camus - Managing Editor Tracey Capen - Executive Editor Michael Desmond - Senior Associate Editor Rex Farrance - Senior Associate Editor Angela Freeman - Staff Editor |
Brad Grimes - Senior Associate Editor Desktop Publishing, Graphics Boards/Accelerators, ISPs/Online Services, Systems, Word Processors Ext. 2683, [email protected] Bryan Hastings - Senior Associate Editor Anne Kandra - Assistant Managing Editor Michael Lasky - Senior Associate Editor Phillip Lemmons - Editorial Director Aoife McEvoy - Associate Editor Charles Piller - Executive News Editor Shane Rau - Technical Editor |
JoAnne Robb - Associate Editor Forms, Scanners/OCR, Push Technology, Graphics Boards/Accelerators Ext. 4542, [email protected] Randy Ross - East Coast Editor Karen Silver - Associate Editor Bill Snyder - Senior News Editor Scott Spanbauer - Senior Associate Editor Tracy Swedlow - New Media Editor Daniel Tynan - Executive Editor Carla Thornton - Senior Editor Christina Wood - Contributing Editor |