Episode #56: Pitch an Exclusive Article Series with Liz Shannon Miller
“In general the word exclusive does work as a buzzword. It does get my attention. I’m also pretty careful about reading the fine print, and making sure I understand, “What kind of exclusive are we talking about here?”
Liz Shannon Miller, on pitching exclusives
Today’s episode explores an exclusive series pitched by a publicist and written by our guest. This obviously piqued our interest, and we're certain it'll pique yours as well. In this episode, we further explore entertainment journalism and PR, and walk away with an expanded view of just how vast, expansive, and interesting the PR industry is as a whole.
In this episode, you'll learn how to…
When/how pitching an exclusive series works
What the ins and outs are of entertainment PR
Why every little detail in your communication matters
Our guest is:
Liz Shannon Miller, a Los Angeles-based writer and editor. She’s currently a senior entertainment editor at Consequence, and her work has also been published by Vulture, Variety, The Los Angeles Times, Collider, The AV Club, IGN, Paste, The Verge, Thought Catalog, and more. She is also a produced playwright, an occasional podcaster, and a repository of "X-Files" trivia.
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Show Notes:
:00– Britt introduces our guest, and they all have a good laugh over how she’s constantly being called by her middle name by publicists (her name isn’t Shannon!)
2:38– Britt asks Liz to share the article series that she chose to share for the episode.
4:13– Britt asks Liz how many articles there were and whose story idea was this series.
6:40– Britt asks Liz to clarify why it’s not a series idea that she would normally pitch.
7:47– Britt asks Liz if the publicist used “exclusive” in the pitch.
9:37– Britt asks Liz to read the subject line.
10:57– Britt asks Liz how many hours of interviews it took to create the series.
11:23– Jackie mentions that Consequence has a good reputation in the entertainment space.
12:40– Jackie asks Liz if as an editor, she has to ask for approval internally for something like an article series.
13:18– Britt asks about press day interviews and what they entail.
15:08– Britt asks if press days are mostly in-person or virtual.
17:45– Britt asks if she had worked with Peter, the publicist before.
21:00– Britt asks what kinds of assets are helpful.
24:10– Jackie mentions the Joey’s episode, specifically exclusive imagery within the entertainment industry, and asks Liz if that matters to her for Consequence.
26:24– Britt asks Liz if her inbox is constantly bombarded with cool story ideas.
30:55– Jackie asks Liz if preserving the PR-journalist relationship is important to her.
33:40– Jackie asks Liz if she encounters publicists sitting in on interviews. This opens up an interesting conversation about the unique challenges of entertainment/celebrity PR.
41:28– Britt asks Liz for final tips.
44:22– Liz shares the brown m&m’s story and how it pertains to PR.
47:36– Jackie mentions a tough journalism class she had the time that prepared her for communications in the real world.
49:27– Britt asks Liz to give a shoutout. She gives a shoutout to the team at FX Networks, for their consistency, quality, and efficiency.
Things we talked about…
Connect with Liz Shannon Miller
Connect with Jackie & Britt
