Episode #30: Whip Up Sweet Rapport with Ni'Kesia Pannell
“I like to skim read. For me, it’s been helpful when someone writes a little paragraph saying— this is what this is and what it costs— basically, a compressed version of what a press release says.”
-Ni’Kesia Pannell, on what a helpful pitch entails
Fellow foodie listeners: we have a tasty episode for you. This week, we’re speaking with a weekend editor and contributing writer at Delish.com. Ni’Kesia Pannell covers breaking food news, focusing particularly on the intersection of food and culture. Our guest also depends on and loves working with publicists on a regular basis, so this one is chock-full of both actionable tips and feel-good moments.
In this episode, you’ll learn considerations for pitching a weekend editor at an online food publication …
What kinds of stories they are looking to cover
How far in advance to pitch new product releases
What to include in a food media pitch (online + offline!)
Our guest:
Ni’Kesia Pannell is an entrepreneur and journalist who covers food news as a weekend editor and contributing writer for Delish.com. She also covers the topics of faith, health and wellness, travel, beauty, lifestyle, and music for a range of additional outlets.
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Show Notes:
:00 — Jackie introduces our guest.
1:12 — Ni’Kesia goes over a few stories that resulted from PR pitches.
6:57 — Ni’Kesia goes into great detail on the role of exclusivity.
9:26 — Britt asks how Ni’Kesia communicates with the rest of the Delish team as a weekend editor.
10:38 — Jackie asks Ni’Kesia to go into detail about what the role of “weekend editor” actually entails.
13:17 — Britt asks if she has had trouble reaching out to a publicist during the weekend.
14:50 — Britt asks what publicists need to send Ni’Kesia in advance so she doesn’t need to go back to them during the weekend.
17:28 — Jackie asks if Ni’Kesia went to PR school (because, spoiler: she used to be a publicist herself). Meanwhile, we all learn that each of us are from Florida.
21:32 — Ni’Kesia explains how far in advance a publicist should pitch as well as an additional tip regarding relevancy of a pitch to what she normally covers.
23:06 — Jackie asks if Ni’Kesia likes getting product samples (spoiler: yes!).
27:00 — Jackie asks if Ni’Kesia would ever write about small food business (spoiler: she loves them and also owns one herself!)
29:40 — Britt asks how publicists can get Ni’Kesia’s address to send samples to.
31:50 — Jackie asks Ni’Kesia to give a shoutout to a publicist she thinks does a great job. Now here’s a first in WEM history, Ni’Kesia does not give one or even two shoutouts. In fact, she gives multiple. And, in true WEM spirit, we have to name them all and revel in the love. They are listed right below the time stamps.
34:30 — Jackie asks what characteristics these publicists have above the rest.
37:55 — Jackie asks Ni’Kesia what her favorite foods are.
Here are the publicists who Ni’Kesia Pannell says do an amazing job at media relations (MAJOR kudos to everyone listed here):
Things We Talked About
PepsiCo Is Releasing A Wild New Line of Non-Alcoholic Cocktail Mixers Soon
Carla Hall On The Evolution Of Soul Food And Her Favorite Cookbooks
Connect with Ni’Kesia Pannell
Connect with Jackie & Britt
