Coffee with a Journalist

Today on the show, we're chatting with Jennifer Ortakales Dawkins . Jennifer is an entrepreneur and small business reporter for Business Insider. She joined the publication in 2018 and prior to then, she was a blogger, social media coordinator, stylist, makeup artist, and freelance writer. Jennifer tells us about how she prioritizes her daily schedule, what she looks for most in a pitch, how impor...

On today's show, we're joined by Julia Boorstin , a senior media & entertainment correspondent for CNBC. Julia joined CNBC in 2006 as an on-air correspondent and previously reported for Fortune Magazine. Today, Julia shares about the 100s of emails she received per day as a broadcast reporter, her preference for the type of pitches she wants to receive, how and why she started the Disruptor 50 lis...

Maya Shwayder joins us on the show today. Maya is a freelance writer and most recently was a privacy and tech reporter for Digital Trends. She has extensive experience reporting from various locations including New York, Berlin, Washington D.C., and Boston. On the episode today, Maya tells us about her recent gig at Digital Trends, how long she spends reviewing pitches that she also places into on...

We're joined by Aaron Pressman on today's show. Aaron is a senior technology writer for Fortune magazine and the co-author of Data Sheet - a daily newsletter covering tech news. Aaron joined Fortune in March of 2016 and previously reported for Yahoo!, Bloomberg, and Reuters. On the show today, Aaron tells us more about his newsletter, "the Data Sheet," his latest coverage surrounding 5G, the ways...

Today, we're joined by John Biggs , the Editor-in-Chief of Gizmodo magazine. John's tenure in journalism has spanned 17 years including his past roles at The New York Times, TechCrunch, and CoinDesk. Not only is John a well-known journalist but he's also an entrepreneur and author, and most recently launched his newest book, "Get Funded - The Startup Entrepreneur's Guide to Seriously Successful Fu...

On today's episode, we're joined by Peter Adams , a reporter for Marketing Dive - an umbrella company of Industry Dive. Peter's coverage includes news, updates, and cultural trends in the marketing industry and most recently has written about the industry shifts due to COVID-19, marketing amidst social movements, and generational consumer behavior. Today, Peter shares about his favorite canned cof...

Today's guest is Kate Clark , a reporter for The Information covering venture capital and startups. Kate joined The Information in January of 2020 and was previously a reporter for TechCrunch breaking some of the biggest stories to hit the venture capital industry. On the episode today, Kate shares insight about her process for identifying sources in her inbox, where and who she gets her story ide...

On today's episode, we're joined by Olivia Solon , the editor of tech investigations for NBC News. She has previously worked at news outlets including The Guardian, Bloomberg, and WiRED. Olivia gives us an in-depth look into her inbox "shit-show", she shares more about her recent coverage surrounding Facebook and racial bias claims, why she prefers tips over press releases and pitches, and more.

On the show today, we're joined by Mary Ann Azevedo , the managing editor for FinLedger - a fintech-focused media brand designed for financial services professionals . Mary Ann has been a journalist for over 20 years serving as a reporter and editor, most recently with Forbes and Crunchbase News. Mary Ann talks about her new role and building a team at FinLedger, juggling writing, editing, and bei...

Today's guest is Samson Amore , a technology reporter for The Wrap where he covers tech, esports, podcasts, and gaming. Samson previously reported for the Los Angeles Business Journal and worked for notable news outlets including NPR and the Boston Globe. During the show, Samson tells us about his love of drinking coffee, the growth of The Wrap, the types of pitches that are helpful, how much of h...

On today's show, we're joined by Rob Pegoraro , a contributor to Fast Company, Yahoo Tech Finance, Wirecutter, and the Washington Post. Rob has been a journalist for over 20 years, and now covers computers, gadgets, and consumer-tech related news. Rob shares his insights surrounding data privacy, how he thinks about the broader view of a pitch related to a story he's working on, why he hasn't crea...

On today's show, we're joined by Ilyse Liffreing , the social media editor and reporter at Ad Age. Ilyse has served previous roles at NBC News and Digiday, and now covers the latest news surrounding social media, prominent platforms, and the emerging landscape. Ilyse shares with us how many hundreds of emails she receives daily, why she has to read every pitch in her inbox, the components of a goo...

On today's show, we're joined by Ben Schiller , the managing editor for features and opinions at CoinDesk. Ben has over 20 years of experience in business and tech journalism serving previous roles at Fast Company and BREAKERMAG. Today, Ben dives into the 3 segments of CoinDesk's audience, his focus on feature articles and trend stories, why pitches must be topical and newsworthy, BREAKERMAG's for...

On today's show, we're joined by Katherine Foley , a health and science reporter for Quartz. Katherine focuses on stories surrounding age-related health and aging populations and most recently has been covering these types of stories related to COVID-19. Today, Katherine tells us about how Quartz approaches COVID-19 coverage, how she organizes pitches in her inbox, why you shouldn't pitch her pers...

On today's show, we're joined by Joel Shannon , a reporter for USA Today's Nation Now team. Joel covers trending news stories including weather, health, and national news, and recently has covered stories about COVID-19. On the episode, Joel shares about the unique way Now News works with local news publications, why pitching him might be tough, how he works with beat writers from USA Today, and m...

On today's show, we're joined by Joshua Pinkay , a senior editor for Obvious Magazine as well as SoCal Magazine. For Obvious Magazine, Joshua covers various entertainment topics from interviews and personal profiles to news and updates within the industry. And for SoCal Magazine, he covers events, news, and human-interest stories with notable members of the Southern California community. On the sh...

On today's show, we're joined by Macy Williams , a senior shopping editor for POPSUGAR. As her bio says she, "literally shops for a living," and writes about the best fashion, beauty, fitness, and home products. On the episode, Macy shares about the hundreds of pitches she receives and how relevant they are to her beat, the ways she builds relationships with PR pros, and more.

On today's show, we're joined by Katharine Schwab , the deputy editor of Fast Company's technology section. Katharine covers large tech companies and how technology affects everyday consumers. Katharine talks about her transition from writer to editor, the importance of having a good subject line to grab her attention, how the tech team at Fast Company decides what stories to write about, and more...

On today's show, we're joined by Robert Archer , senior editor at CE Pro Magazine, and Tech Editor for Commercial Integrator, a sister pub to CE Pro. Robert covers a wide range of consumer electronics including audio, TVs, computer electronics, and more. Robert shares the types of stories CE Pro covers as a trade publication, the types of tech products he covers for the magazine, what he enjoys mo...

On today's show, we're joined by Eugene Kim , the chief tech correspondent at Business Insider. Eugene specializes in covering Amazon and e-commerce. Eugene talks about his unique approach to covering one of the most profitable tech companies, his interest in seeking out data-driven stories, why pitches should be short and to the point, and more.

Alana Hope Levinson , the deputy editor for MEL Magazine, sits down with us this week on the show. Alana tells us how the magazine got its start and by who, she shares the types of stories that interest her most, how you can pitch the rest of the editorial team stories and shares about one of her recent articles surrounding liquor stores and quarantine.

This week we're joined by Sara Jerde , publishing editor for Adweek. Sara gives an inside look into her favorite animal from childhood til now, her role covering the media industry, how she talks to sources daily, the effects COVID-19 has had on the newsroom, and more.

On the show this week we sit down with Adam Popescu , freelance journalist featured in The New York Times, Fast Company, Businessweek, and more. Adam talks about writing human-centric stories, his preference for building relationships with sources, his thoughts on local news, what's like being a freelance journalist, and more!

On the show for today, we sit down with Brenda Stolyar from Mashable . Brenda gives us an inside look into pitches she likes to receive, the "crazy" story angles she works on at Mashable, her love for reading and lots more.

This week's episode features Jacob Krol from CNN Underscored . Jacob joins us to talk about his love of reviewing products, his favorite singer (Hint: The Boss), his pitching preferences,  and lots more.