The Muck Rack Blog

#muckedup No. 2 recap: Twitter and interviewing

Our second #muckedup chat revolved around the topic of Twitter and interviewing.

Welcome to the second official #muckedup chat! Today we’ll be discussing the pros and cons of #journos interviewing on Twitter.#muckedup

— Muck Rack (@muckrack) May 16, 2012

The chat was inspired by a post from our founder, Greg Galant, which asked, “Is Twitter the best platform for journalists to communicate with sources?”

A big thank you to everyone who participated. You are what makes these chats fun and worthwhile!

It is our hope that #muckedup will evolve into a chat that bridges the gap between journalists and PR folks. We always want the conversation to be productive, honest and at times, even edgy.

We are always looking for more chat ideas so if you have any tips for future topics, email them to us at hello@muckrack.com.

You can find a full transcript of the chat here, but read on for the short(er) version!

Q1: Is Twitter the best platform for #journalists to communicate with sources? #muckedup

I would be surprised if someone said yes RT @muckrack Is Twitter the best platform for #journalists to communicate with sources? #muckedup

— Liz A. (@LizSnow) May 16, 2012

@muckrack Q1: it can be the best to quickly confirm or invalidate a rumour with a bunch of reliable sources. #muckedup

— Hedi⁂One (@HediOne) May 16, 2012

#MuckedUp A1: Twitter may be an easier way to contact and find sources, but nothing beats old-fashioned research to find the right ones

— Brian Moore (@redeyesportsguy) May 16, 2012

@muckrack Q1 Obviously less-than-ideal if you don’t want others, such as your competition, to know what you’re working on. #MuckedUp

— Sarah Millar (@sarah_millar) May 16, 2012

Q2 is for #PR pros. What would you recommend a client do if contacted by a #journalist over Twitter? #muckedup

@muckrack respond and ask to move the conversation to email or phone #muckedup

— Shilo Rea (@shilo_rea) May 16, 2012

A2 I’d recommend using Twitter for quick facts and quotes, but move the convo to email or phone afterward. #muckedup

— Danny Goodwin Jr. (@Danny_GoodwinJr) May 16, 2012

Q2: Respond with alt means of communication (email, phone). DON’T ignore request, offer a more suitable means to get info across. #muckedup

— Melissa Lee (@melissaslee) May 16, 2012

Q3 So, #journalists, what’s the most effective way to get a source to respond to you on Twitter? #muckedup

A3: I’d be much more tempted to help/respond if #journo clearly demonstrates knowledge about my client, not just asking for info. #MuckedUp

— Nicole Spears (@nSpears13) May 16, 2012

A3: I always provide my email address and phone number, so the convo can move off Twitter if the source is interested. #muckedup

— Ginger Christ (@ChristGinger) May 16, 2012

q3. i try to follow em on twitter so they’ll follow me back + i can dm them questions or i’ll try to find em on facebook to msg. #muckedup

— tracyswartz (@tracyswartz) May 16, 2012

Q3B: If you follow a source first, what do you do to ensure that your profile sounds legitimate and real? #muckedup

(Note: There was a bit of confusion around this question. We clarified, saying we meant how can you make your Twitter profile look as professional as possible.)

A3B: your twitter bio should include the cmpy you work for & link to more info whether that be your blog or #LinkedIn profile #muckedup

— Jessica Owens (@Jessicalowens) May 16, 2012

@muckrack If you don’t know how to make yourself come across as professional on SM, you shouldn’t use the tools professionally. #muckedup

— Sarah Millar (@sarah_millar) May 16, 2012

Q4: Twitter’s going to court to protect its users’ data. Does that motivate you to use it more/DM with sensitive/anonymous sources? #muckedup

A4 tough. but no. there is always human error involved. If there is any sensitivity it should be done over more secure connections #muckedup

— Jessica Owens (@Jessicalowens) May 16, 2012

A4: No way. There are much better ways to get that info privately OFF LINE after connecting via #Twitter. Don’t risk that trust! #muckedup

— Melissa Lee (@melissaslee) May 16, 2012

A4: I wouldn’t conduct any sensitive interview via Twiter. No chance. #muckedup

— Brian Moore (@redeyesportsguy) May 16, 2012

I would not want anything too sensitive over twitter - legally nothing has been decided yet. #muckedup

— Liz A. (@LizSnow) May 16, 2012

A4 When it comes to confidentiality, nothing will beat face-to-face conversation. Not Twitter, not even email.#muckedup

— Danny Goodwin Jr. (@Danny_GoodwinJr) May 16, 2012

Q5: What’s the best way to go from Twitter to offline? Is it always email and phone? What about in person? #muckedup

@muckrack A5 Scheduling in-person mtgs. via Twitter can be time consuming. I prefer to call/email to set up interviews.#muckedup

— Ginger Christ (@ChristGinger) May 16, 2012

@muckrack A5 I always invite to email and phone and you can go from there if you want to chat in person. #muckedup

— Sarah Millar (@sarah_millar) May 16, 2012

Were you at the this #muckedup chat? What were some of your takeaways? Will you be joining us in the future? Let us know either in the comments section below or on Twitter, @muckrack.

— EZ

Video: How not to pitch a journalist

Adam Sherk, an SEO and PR consultant, has created this hilarious video on how not to pitch a journalist.

The video is a bit clunky but given our recent #muckedup chats about pitching, it seemed too good not to share. You can read a transcript of the video here. 

My favorite part of the video is this exchange:

Reporter: Why on earth would I pay attention to you?

PR: Because I personalized my email pitch. I used your name in the email. I mentioned that I like your work. And each of the five follow-up emails I sent were also personalized.

Enjoy!

— EZ

Getting to know @CNNMobile

If your beat involves mobile news, you might want to consider following one of the newest CNN Twitter accounts, @CNNMobile.

The account just launched in April and joins the growing list of media companies with Twitter accounts dedicated solely to mobile news.

The creation of this new account is part of CNN’s ramped up commitment to mobile news, an increasingly prominent beat as smart phones and tablets become more advanced and popular amongst consumers. 

“The recent news that smartphone penetration has reached 50 percent in the U.S. as well as Facebook’s $1 billion purchase of Instagram show that we’ve reached a tipping point where mobile cannot be ignored,” said Etan Horowitz, CNN’s mobile editor who helps manage the account along with Callie Carmichael, a mobile producer.

The account’s bio says it is all about “sharing updates about CNN’s mobile products & CNN’s coverage of mobile news.” It is geared towards readers who are “passionate about using mobile devices,” Horowitz said.

In creating the app, CNN had three main goals, Horowitz told me. They were awareness, engagement and editorial coverage with a mobile focus.

“We also want to let people know when we curate special collections of content for a mobile audience,” Horowitz said. “We do this everyday in the “Featured” section of our iPad and Android tablet apps. Recently, we’ve had Featured section collections of Earth Day, South by Southwest, autism awareness and lots of other timely topics.”

CNN isn’t alone in creating a Twitter account to cover all things mobile.
Engadget (@EngadgetMobile), Mashable (@MashableMobile), All Things Digital (@ATDMobile), ReadWriteWeb (@ReadWriteMobile), the Wall Street Journal (@WSJmobile,) and The Next Web (@TNWMobile), to name a few, all have accounts specifically relating to coverage of mobile news.

Will you follow @CNNMobile? What reporters do you follow for the most up-to-date mobile news?

—EZ

Connecting with a Wall Street Journal tech columnist by protecting her privacy

Guessing that most journalists would prefer not to tell the world their exact 24x7 whereabouts I tweeted her right away…

Guest post by Laura Fitton, the founder of oneforty.com which was acquired by HubSpot in 2011

I once had an amazing opportunity to connect with Julia Angwin via Twitter. It was in oneforty.com’s very early days - pre launch - and though it did not lead to coverage, it’s a great example of what’s so great about Twitter for connecting with journalists.

I was following Julia for quite a while knowing that her WSJ tech beat was relevant for oneforty.com’s Twitter AppStore initial focus. One evening I recall being in my toddler’s bed waiting for her to fall all the way to sleep and keeping myself occupied with my Blackberry as she drifted off. At that moment Julia tweeted that she had installed Ubertwitter.

At the time Ubertwitter’s default location settings were terrible - it defaulted to broadcasting your precise latitude and longitude. Guessing that most journalists would prefer not to tell the world their exact 24x7 whereabouts I tweeted her right away that she should check the location settings, and that they were pretty invasive. She followed up right away with her thanks. What a great opportunity establish my expertise on Twitter apps.

Laura Fitton, known as @Pistachio on Twitter, is now the Inbound Marketing Evangelist at HubSpot. She’s also co-authored Twitter for Dummies and is a Muck Rack Pro subscriber. 

Join us for this week’s #muckedup chat

Following last week’s extremely successful #muckedup chat, we’ll be holding another one this Wednesday at 11am EST.

This time, however, we won’t tell you the topic until the chat. The topic will be is Twitter the best platform for journalists to communicate with sources? You may want to read this as some light background reading.

To join the chat, make sure you’re following @muckrack, where we’ll be tweeting the questions. Don’t forget to include #muckedup or @muckrack in your tweets to make sure we see your answers.

It is our hope that #muckedup will evolve into a chat that bridges the gap between journalists and PR folks. We always want the conversation to be productive, honest and at times, even edgy.

Missed last week’s chat on how do journalists want to be pitched on social media? Here’s a recap.

If you have any tips for future topics, email them to us at hello@muckrack.com.

— EZ

A special treat for Muck Rack readers: Get a discount on paidContent 2012 tickets

We’re excited to announce that Muck Rack will be a media partner at paidContent 2012: At the Crossroads. 

We know how expensive conferences can be so we’ve arranged a special 15% discount for Muck Rack readers! Register here or use code MUCKRACK to receive this special rate.

The one day forum, now in its third year, will feature the best minds in global media who will debate how to make money from content and create scalable, sustainable media enterprises. 

The forum features speakers such as Om Malik, founder of GigaOM; Jonah Peretti, co-founder of BuzzFeed and the Huffington Post, Rob Grimshaw, managing director of FT.com; Mathew Ingram, senior writer at GigaOM; Bob Sauerberg, president of Condé Nast; Vivian Schiller, chief digital officer at NBC News; and many others.

This marks the first year the forum will take place since GigaOM acquired paidContent in February.

Take a peek at the full schedule to find out more. Tickets are selling fast so register today to reserve a spot at this interactive forum.

Remember, Muck Rack readers, register here or use code MUCKRACK to receive 15% off.

— EZ