We Interrupt This Reguarly Scheduled TuneUp For...Editorial Calendar Season

Hello!

We interrupt this regular Wednesday schedule of TuneUps to tell you that the research team here at Tin Shingle is having an exciting planning meeting about bringing you Editorial Calendars from magazines for 2020.

October and November is Editorial Calendar Season for us here at Tin Shingle. During the course of the year, we research back 2 years to predict the following monthly topics for magazines who tend to not make their broad-theme editorial calendars public until it's too late for you to pitch editorial.

For those magazines who do make public their actual editorial calendars for the following year, that would happen now. Our Editorial Calendar Researcher, Yvonne, has been hard at work sleuthing for these, and is delivering her findings at today's meeting.

Maybe, just maybe, we'll turn on an InstaStory and tell you about it in person. So watch our Instagram for that. Otherwise, watch this newsletter space and our Blog for announcements to which new Editorial Calendars have been published to the PR Center for business owners, artists and makers with Media Memberships to Tin Shingle.

Media Contact Ideas: An Update At "CBS This Morning" And Others

Tin Shingle’s Media Contact Idea Center is to help you find the needle in the haystack of what person might be a great fit to feature your business. And there isn’t just one angle. There are an infinite amount! All you need are the ideas of why a writer or producer would want to feature this one thing about your business right now. Even if right now is in 6 months from now (for the print magazines who work that far in advance).

Our favorite thing to do is to write a pitch specifically for a certain person. Tin Shingle hardly ever recommends blanket-pitching the media. Blanket-pitching means to send the same pitch to 10 people, or even to 3 people. If you’re not writing a crafted pitch, then it can very easily get ignored. Why ignored? Because it’s not immediately clear from the pitch why this idea would appeal to those readers or viewers.

Now then. The traditional way in PR is to blanket-pitch. It is more efficient - in theory - to write 1 pitch and blast it out everywhere. Sure. If you like throwing spaghetti at the wall to see what sticks :)

Below is a short list of people who have recently been updated in Tin Shingle. We double check on people to see that they are still at a media outlet, and maybe add an Area of Interest idea, or an Instagram handle. Currently, we are focusing on CBS news properties, but if you are a Tin Shingle Media Member with a request, we can prioritize your request and dig in.

In our database, you can search by a person’s name, media outlet name, or area of interest (our favorite part). Area of Interest is great for if you hadn’t thought of an outlet before. You can see the details for these people when you are logged into your Media Member account at Tin Shingle. Learn more about how to activate that here.

CBS This Morning

Maite Amorebieta
Maite is a Producer responsible for editorial and creative content, including breaking news, special coverage and in-depth stories. Conceives, pitches, produces, and writes enterprise pieces for broadcast, including investigative, political, and features segments. Oversee all aspects of field production, editing, and scripting. Previously a producer for Fareed Zakaria GPS, and an Associate Producer for Dateline, specializing in investigative stories.
Areas of Interest: Breaking News, Consumer General Interest, Current affairs, Health, Energy, Immigration, Finance, Education

Sarah Huisenga
Sarah is a Senior Producer for “CBS This Morning.”
Areas of Interest: Breaking News, Consumer General Interest, Current affairs, Health, Energy, Immigration, Finance, Education

Erin Horan
Erin is a producer at “CBS This Morning.”
Areas of Interest: Breaking News, Consumer General Interest, Current affairs, Health, Energy, Immigration, Finance

Adam Verdugo
Adam is a Senior Producer who oversees all news and talent bookings for the broadcast. Previously, he was based in Los Angeles and headed up the west coast operations for the network's award-winning morning show where he also spearheaded the program's coverage of major entertainment award shows. Prior to joining CBS, Verdugo was the Senior Producer for NBC's Meet the Press, the top Sunday public affairs program.
Areas of Interest: Breaking News, Consumer General Interest, Current affairs, Health, Energy, Immigration, Finance

Alvin Patrick
Alvin is a Senior Producer who produces stories with CBS News Special Correspondent James Brown, across all CBS News network shows and platforms - including 60 Minutes, CBS Evening News, 48 Hours, Sunday Morning, CBS This Morning, Face The Nation and CBSN streaming network. Patrick was appointed to the Marist Board of Trustees. Should you pitch him 1 pitch for all of these outlets? No, and here’s why.
Areas of Interest: Features, News Features, Lifestyle, Sports, NFL, Football

Don’t see your Area of Interest listed here? Fear not! Don’t wait for the interest to come to them - pitch a person something relevant to what would work for their audience, and follow through. If you are pitching something about CBD, for instance, and you don’t see that listed here, it doesn’t mean you can’t pitch.

It’s your opportunity to educate someone about an important issue that matters to their audience.

Car and Driver Contributing Editor Davey G. Johnson Passes Away While Test Driving On A Trip

Calaveras County Sherrif’s Department found automotive writer Davey G. Johnson’s (nee David Gordon Johnson) body in the Mokelumne River on June 20th, 2019. Missing since June 5th, it is presumed he is a victim of accidental drowning and foul play is not suspected. (Car and Driver)

His girlfriend, Jaclyn Trop, said she last heard from Johnson early June 5th when he replied to her text saying the roads were icy and that his phone and laptop had run out of power. A few hours later, Johnson texted a photo of himself in a creek to a friend. 

He was heading home after test driving a motorcycle for two days in California and Nevada to write an article for Motorcyclist magazine. The motorcycle was found at a rest stop on Friday, and his clothes, cellphone and laptop were found the following day a few feet from the river.  (New York Post)

The river was at high flow, moving at 35 mph. According to officials, due to the massive snowpack melting, pouring water into the rivers and creeks, the state’s waterways are running very cold.

Davey G. Johnson’s obituary can be found at Car and Driver.

Tin Shingle has updated our Media Contact Idea Center to reflect this. His name remains in the list for those looking to pitch him but did not know about his passing. Bless.

Producer Katherine "Katy" Textor of "60 Minutes" Passes Away

Some sad news to report from CBS this week: Producer Katherine “Katy” Textor passed away at the age of 45 from cancer on June 14th, 2019 at New York-Presbyterian Hospital in Manhattan. She was best known for her collaboration with Morley Safer on nearly all of his reports from 2004 until his retirement in 2016. (Deadline)

Textor began her time at CBS in 2003. She was previously a producer for the White House at ABC News, worked for their documentary department, and reported on the Bush-Gore 2000 presidential race.

Her dedication to Safer’s work kept him on air until shortly before his death. Over the 12 years she’d worked for him, she helped produce many high profile features and investigations. The most notable of those was the first interview with Ruth Madoff in 2011, 3 years after her husband Bernie was arrested for turning his wealth management business into a Ponzi scheme.

Other memorable stories include the investigation of Dr. Ann Pou who was accused of administering lethal injections to patients during the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, a story on the discovery of a billion-dollar art hoard in the apartment of Adolf Hilter’s art dealers, and the Theranos blood-testing machine fraud.

Textor is survived by her husband Colin Farmer and two children, Riley and Will. She is also survived by her parents, brothers and their families.

Her memorial service was held on June 20 at Madison Avenue Presbyterian Church in Manhattan.

Tin Shingle has updated our Media Contact Idea Center to reflect this. Her name remains in the list for those looking to pitch her but did not know about her passing. Bless.

It’s Official: Real Life Thanksgiving Prep Has Begun - In October

It’s official. Thanksgiving prep has begun.

In terms of your getting the word out - if you are reading this issue of Bon Appetite Magazine and you wish your business could have been featured there, know this: the editors and writers were putting it together in July. Yeah.

Want to re-train your brain to think like a magazine producer so that you know when to pitch them at the right time? Subscribe to Tin Shingle’s newsletter. We send you tips like this throughout the year!

Media Contact Ideas: A Few Fashion Bloggers, Personal Finance, and Startup Culture

The best part about Tin Shingle’s Media Contact Library is the ideas it gives you. It helps you learn about publications or personalities you did not know about. Thanks to our “Areas of Interest” tagging tool, It also helps you consider a media outlet you may have known about, but did not consider as you’re trying to think of where to get the word out. When you search by Areas of Interest, you’ll discover all kinds of people who specialize in things that may pertain to you.

Highlights From Tin Shingle’s Media Contact Library

Here are a few people we recently updated in Tin Shingle’s Media Contact Library. We either added an updated Instagram account for them, or a new factoid that we thought you should know.

Fashion Bloggers

GIRL WITH CURVES
Tanesha Awasthi, Founder
Tanesha Awasthi is the creator of Girl With Curves. But did you know that she is also a Licensed Esthetician? Founded in 2011, GIRL WITH CURVES is an award-winning blog made possible by people who believe women deserve to look and feel beautiful, regardless of weight, shape or size. Their mission is to empower confidence through fashion. They believe that the foundation of a great outfit is confidence, and there’s nothing more beautiful than a woman who believes she is.
Areas Of Interest: Fashion, Beauty, Makeup, Style, Beauty, Plus Size, Weight, Confidence, Shapewear, Self-esteem, Body Image, Motherhood, Parenting, Denim, Lipstick

CUPCAKES AND CASHMERE
Emily Schuman
Emily Schuman is CEO, Blogger, Author, Designer and Founder of Cupcakes and Cashmere. She covers Fashion, Beauty and Grooming, Dining and Cooking and Home Decorating. She is based in Los Angeles.
Areas Of Interest: Beauty & Grooming, Home, Do-It-Yourself (DIY), Fashion, Epicurean, Kitchen, Reviews, Book Reviews, Food, Health and Wellness, Hair

WE WORE WHAT
Danielle Bernstein
Danielle Bernstein is the founder and face behind world-renowned fashion blog We Wore What (over 2 million followers). A native New Yorker, Bernstein started her career 10 years ago – leading the influencer industry into what it is today. She was placed on Forbes 30 Under 30 list before the age of 25 and since then has started and invested in many new business ventures including her own line of swim and overalls.
Areas Of Interest: Fashion, Lifestyle, Travel, Luxury Travel, Luxury Goods, Wellness, Health and Wellness, Social Media, Influencers, Interior Design, Design

Startup Culture

NEW YORKER
Anna Wiener
Anna Wiener is a writer about tech startup culture based on her experience working as a customer service employee in Silicon Valley. Her work has been published in the New Yorker (print and online), The Atlantic, New Republic (online), Harper's, New York Times Magazine, Wired, Racked, and The Paris Review. Only pitch her if it is really, really on the mark.
Areas Of Interest: Digital Technology, Tech, Startup Culture, Silicon Valley, VC Culture, Venture Capital

Personal Finance

KIPLINGER’S PERSONAL FINANCE MAGAZINE
Janet Bodnar
Janet Bodnar is editor-at-large of Kiplinger's Personal Finance, a position she assumed after retiring as editor of the magazine after eight years at the helm. While editor, Bodnar was honored by Folio as one of its Top Women in Media. She is a nationally recognized expert on the subjects of women and money, children's and family finances, and financial literacy. She is the author of two books, Money Smart Women and Raising Money Smart Kids. As editor-at-large, she writes two popular columns for Kiplinger, "Money Smart Women" and "Living in Retirement." Bodnar is a graduate of St. Bonaventure University and is a member of its Board of Trustees. She received her master's degree from Columbia University, where she was also a Knight-Bagehot Fellow in Business and Economics Journalism.
Areas Of Interest: Women and Money, Family Finances, Retirement, Retirement Finances, Finance, Personal Finance, Financial Planning, Money

KIPLINGER’S PERSONAL FINANCE MAGAZINE
Patricia Mertz Esswein
Patricia reports and writes about residential real estate, including market trends, buying and selling a home, mortgage borrowing and refinancing, reverse mortgages, homeowners insurance, home maintenance and improvement, water and energy conservation, renewable energy, downsizing and decluttering. Contribute to team-written feature stories.
Areas Of Interest: Real Estate, Residential Real Estate, Mortgages, Refinancing, Insurance, Homeowners Insurance, Home Improvement, Conservation, Renewable Energy, Downsizing, Declutting

To access the contact suggestions of these and more, activate a Media Membership with Tin Shingle today, and start getting new ideas for how to get the word out!

Nighttime Reading: Vanity Fair and Vogue Switch-Off

Night readings...Vanity Fair I’ve been reading for for a while, trying to get to the cover story article on Lupita Nyongo, making it through a couple articles and currently in the Elon Musk/SolarCity feature.

Then I pulled out Vogue from this summer to read the months old Ariana Grande cover story. So good.

Next Live TuneUp: How To Make An Exciting Newsletter

Recently Tin Shingle's owner, Katie, organized the float building and decoration for her children's elementary school. This is done by the school's PTA, and is her main contribution to the PTA each year. It's the 3rd year in a row that she's done this, and it would not have been possible without her sending newsletters to the parents on the PTA list. In addition to the Instagram account she insisted they start feeding photos to (another dormant account!), the praise she has received from other parents has been huge. "This is the most involved I have felt in the float building," one has said. "I love following how you do your emails! How do you get your subscribers?" another exclaimed.

Get the secrets to the success of these newsletters and learn why they worked, and how they drew participants who have never participated before.

It's easy to get your people jazzed about what you are making, selling, providing. Sending a newsletter is often underestimated, yet is one of the most powerful tools you have.

In fact, in the world of publishing and selling ads, the newsletter is the one that businesses want to buy space in. Want to know why? Because it arrives in a personal space - your inbox.

I know - you're saying: "But I delete everything."

No you don't. There are some that you open. And when you do, something powerful happens. You remember. Brand loyalty gets created. Even when you don't open something, you see the subject line. You absorb it a little bit.

This TuneUp will hit the hot spots of a newsletter and teach you how to mimic a successful newsletter campaign that led up to an event.

Apply what you learn to build-up to Black Friday, a Holiday Sale, a Product Announcement, or just simply staying fresh and top of mind for your clients so that they will hire you for new business. And you don't even have to directly pitch them!

Listen to this TuneUp to learn how to lead your customers to water.

Join us live on today's broadcast!

This TuneUp is great for people who:

• Need to get folks to an event.

• Need to create build-up for a launch or new product/design.

• Need advance sales for a service or product.

People love following a story. You're going to tell it to them.

Register here for the live free version of this TuneUp.

Instagram's New "Restrict" Tool; Possible Removal Of "Likes;" And What This Means For Businesses

Instagram released a new tool to softly reject someone’s bullyish or ugly Comment. “Restrict” is pretty simple to use, and the person who Commented doesn’t know you deleted the Comment, or restricted their future Comments. What will this mean for businesses?

When I was first hired to consult on a company’s social media strategy, I was conflicted about it. The whole thing felt like the Emperor’s New Clothes. How can you really tell if social media is working? All of these numbers of Likes and Comments and Shares of a social post or article were the way in measurement of the success of a social media campaign, or company in general.

At the end of the day, social media totally works, but what does that success look like? The easiest way is in the numbers and comments. Both of those are on their way out now, as Instagram rolls out its new “Restrict” feature, and as both Instagram and Facebook consider removing public-facing “Likes” from their platform.

Instagram Rolls Out The “Restrict” Feature - A Softer, Invisible “Block”

Instagram’s new “Head of Instagram,” Adam Mosseri, (don’t call him the CEO), has been on an interview circuit, like this one with the Today Show, to talk about how Instagram wants to be the leader in ending bullying online. One of their steps was to hear from people using Instagram and learn what would make them feel safer on the platform. Why couldn’t they simply use the “Block” feature?

The answer was “Because when we Block someone, they know it, and it escalates. They try harder.”

The “Restrict” tool is one that people can use after a Comment is posted, and they want it removed, but they don’t want the author of the Comment to know that. They can Swipe-Left on the Comment to Restrict it, and then all future Comments from that person will require approval from the person who is the Instagram account. The person Commenting will see their Comment there, and not know that it has actually been removed.

Muahaha.

More Emperor’s Clothes! But perhaps these invisible clothes are good.

The “Following” Tab Is Gone

Adam announced via Tweet that the “Following” tab is gone in Instagram. This showed you who of your friends Liked or Commented on what. You could find it in your Heart tab, which was annoying because presumably only things Hearting you were in that tab. This is a good move, as it reduces people obsessing over each other, and is one less thing to be distracted by. Read more about it in this Buzzfeed article.

Hiding “Likes” - It’s Coming

The next step will be removing “Likes.” This will make marketers crazy, and Influencers might totally freak out, as some of them use these numbers as proof to their marketing clients who pay them to post. However, everyone knows that bots can be bought to artificially Like things and drive up the popularity algorithm. Smart businesses won’t rely on such numbers to measure success, and instead will look to see if their bottom line is on the rise - with sales.

In Adam’s quest to make Instagram the leader in removing online bullying, he seems committed to creating a less toxic atmosphere. “The big idea is to try and make Instagram feel less pressurized, to make it less of a competition," Mosseri said during the Today Show interview. "So, you can spend a little bit less time worrying about how many likes you have and a little bit more time connecting with people or things that inspire you."

Facebook has also confirmed that they are testing removing Likes from their platform, as reported by TechCrunch. It should be noted that Adam Mosseri used to work at Facebook and is noted as developing the News Feed, which created this whole popularity obsession in the first place. When Instagram’s creators and co-CEOs resigned last year, Adam moved into his head position with Instagram.

What This Means For Businesses Who Pay Advertising Dollars To Social Media Influencers and Media Outlets

At first blush, not having these numbers will mean that advertisers can’t tell how their advertising investment is doing. But it doesn’t end the power of social media. It just throws a wrench into these measurement areas:

• Harder To Measure ROI (But Can ROI Really Be Measured?)

• MYTH BUSTED: ROI Really Can’t Be Measured By Like Counts Anyway!
  Major buyers or clients may not ever Like something at all, but may hire you for a job worth thousands of dollars. Totally un-measurable.

• Harder To Know What Of Your Content Is Popular
  When you publish something, and get engagement, it’s nice to know how the content is going over so that you can provide more of it, or switch tactics.

• MYTH BUSTED: Algorithms Make Knowing What Content Is Popular Impossible
  Here’s the thing. Algorithms mean that no post is posted and seen by the followers. Nothing is organic. Nothing works like an off and on switch (except for targeted PPC pay-per-click campaigns). If you put up a personal post in Facebook, and link it to a website, there’s a chance it won’t fly, simply because it has a link. If it’s talking about a currently sensitive topic, it also may be suppressed. Because Facebook is building math into its censorship of everyone - all of us - no post is created equal. If one post gets a ton of likes, and another doesn’t, it simply could mean that the unpopular post simply never saw the light of day for certain algorithmic reasons.

• Faking It Can’t Happen Anymore
  Those considering paying a social media influencer or news media outlet will need to really get to know that outlet’s social handles that they are about to invest in, to see if it’s a good fit. Numbers alone won’t guarantee you sales. Relationships do.

How Do Businesses Measure The Un-Measurable?

If you can’t trust numbers to give you a simple answer, how can you measure your success rate? Pay attention. As you’re sharing photos and musings in social media, pay attention to who percolates to your inbox, your text, or your shopping cart, and when. You’ll wake up prospective buyers, or keep them loyal, with your consistent messaging.

Next Live TuneUp: How To Get PR In October

In Tin Shingle's exclusive monthly TuneUp series, "What To Pitch The Media This Month," we zero in on what you should be focusing on right now for your PR and Social Media campaign planning. This is especially important for those of you who want to get featured in national magazines. We will cover what you could be pitching for:

• Magazines (in print) (story ideas relevant for 6 months from now)

  Hint: Think April. That means Taxes, Spring, Earth Day, Holy Days

• Blogs / Podcasts (story ideas relevant for 1 week to 2 months out)

• TV (story ideas relevant for 1 week to 2 months out)

• NEW! Seasonal (photo shoots dependent upon weather)