October 10, 2003
Interview
SUMMARY:
20,000 media buyers and media execs pay to get insider analysis and scoops from Myers' daily newsletters. We asked him how you should pitch a story for his publications, and what his PR pet peeves are. Fun and useful.
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Jack Myers
Editor & Publisher
Jack Myers Report
212-794-2122
jack@jackmyers.com
http://www.jackmyers.com
-> Reach
20,000 daily readers, paid circulation
-> Myers’ background
Jack Myers has been a consultant/media economist/media analyst for the last 20 years. He has offered consulting on media strategies for companies such as Coca Cola, Sears, Campbell's Soup, and AOL/Time Warner, to name a few.
To Myers, the media industry is the most dynamic part of our economy, and he's been a media hound since he got his family first got a TV when he was seven.
"I grew up in a small town with only one TV station, but still, the day we got that television was one of the most exciting days of my life," he says.
That small town in upstate New York happened to be one of the first towns to get cable TV (when Myers was 15), and again, that was a banner day. "The excitement that media provides is never-ending, there's always something new and entertaining."
As Myers sees it, we're moving away from the time of mass media and mass production back toward the days of small-town TV when marketers had more of a one-to-one relationship with consumers.
The segmentation of media and targeting is "driving dramatic and radical changes in strategic approaches, and it's exciting to be part of that," he says.
-> Current editorial coverage
Myers publishes ten newsletters a week:
o Five of them are behind the scenes in media trends and issues. "What are the driving forces that are impacting on media and advertising and what is their relevance," he says.
o One is a media and economic report. This focuses on the
economies of media, forecasting media and economic trends.
o Three days are entertainment reports that cover, among other things, interviews with entertainment industry leaders, movie reviews, and restaurant reviews. The audience is the media, advertising, entertainment, and financial communities.
o One is a political report covering topics such as media
politics and deregulation.
Each newsletter is delivered via email. About 20 percent of the weekly content is posted on the Web site. All of it is archived after 30 days.
The newsletters aim to offer insight on news and trends within the industry.
-> The best way to pitch Myers
Give him an exclusive. Beyond that, he looks for any hook that gives his readers something different than what's already out there.
He only reports on news as it provides a trigger to insights.
Pitch him via phone or email, and include the following 5
elements:
1. The difference between your story and what's being reported on in the industry in general
2. Exclusivity
3. The opportunity that your pitch offers his readers
4. Something that makes it clear that the email is directed to him specifically and not just a blasted press release
5. Short, to-the-point body copy
"The real key is an unusual story," he says. "I very much support being pitched stories, being pitched interviews."
Here are some thoughts on what he finds interesting in the
industry to help you craft your pitch:
"Media has been the fastest growing segment of the economy, the most influential sector of society," he says. "When you think about the influence that media has, it's the underpinnings of capitalism. The free speech that advertising supports, it underwrites everything from newspapers to magazines to CNN.
"We've been able to globally export our country in the form of media presentation and news around the world. We're the foundation for being able to tear down the Berlin wall and build our economic strength around the world."
Once you pitch Myers via email, follow up with a phone call, but make it pertinent, he says. Don't just call to say, "Did you get my release?"
-> Pet peeves
1. "When there's a release that I don't get, news that I see that I'm not aware of," Myers says. "Even when something is given exclusively [to someone else], let me know the day it's coming out that they've given it to someone else. I'd like the opportunity to exploit it in my own way."
2. "Getting a follow-up call to a release on the type of thing that I never cover, like personnel changes, which suggests that person doesn't read my newsletter."
-> What Myers looks for in printed materials
"I resent the press materials that a lot of money has been spent on, they're a waste of resources," says Myers.
On the other hand, gifts are nice and always appreciated if they're relevant. For example, "Someone just sent me a really nice Swiss Army Knife, that was fabulous, it was a great gift, pertinent to the story."
-> Deadlines
He has no written-in-stone deadlines. When something is
pertinent, he can react and change his publishing schedule to publish the next day or embargo something for two weeks, whatever is necessary.
-> Submitting pre-written contributions
Myers does all the writing himself. However, he likes research and thrives on research opportunities, so he'll accept studies to which he can add his own insights.
-> Where you can meet Myers
Give him a call if you have a particularly interesting client you want him to meet. "I'm open to meeting for lunch or breakfast, open to having them come to my office, but you know I have limited time."
-> Favorite professional publication
The NY Times, the Wall Street Journal, the New York Post (he likes Page Six). Also, Forbes, MediaPost, Media Life, Cynopsis, Wired, Business Week, Cable World, Multichannel News, Vanity Fair, New York, The New Yorker, and Time Out New York.
