Get Known. PR & Media Podcast

In this episode, we had the pleasure of talking with Chris Chinchilla who is a podcaster, video maker, and a writer of interactive fiction, and games. Chris runs his own media and podcast called Chinchilla Squeaks which covers all kinds of tech-related topics.  

Being and running an independent media has its own opportunities and challenges. It was great to sit down with a journalist in this space because it seems that more and more people with a niche understanding and interest are choosing to build their own freelance media and stepping away from the constraints of the established players.  These kinds of media open up the door to areas sometimes inaccessible by many bigger media companies that are forced by their editors to stay in a particular lane. 

Chris goes between covering the tech industry and helping people with specific tech tools with his writings, podcast, and YouTube channels.  We started out by getting to know what he likes to cover all these different areas and media types.  Chris actually has recently returned from Ukraine and covering the industry there. We talked about what it means to cover tech in a war zone. 

We talked a lot about how people engage with the media in different places and things that turn a journalist off from what you are trying to get coverage. As we have heard from other journalists, Chris reiterates that he is super interested in speaking with the real makers of tech and is less interested in talking to the marketing-oriented people. He gives some good tips for tech folks who are asked to speak in behalf of their companies. We also spoke about sponsored content and ways it can be both beneficial and unbiased. 

In this episode, we had the pleasure of talking with Lou Covey the editor of Cyber Protection Magazine and the Crucial Tech podcast. Although, we have a deep interest in both these subjects, in this podcast episode we dove into the world of industry-specific media both on the side of journalism and a bit on the economics of running and editing this type of publication. As you will hear, Lou has a background not only in publishing but also in PR and media. When you talk to someone with such a diverse background and experience you get a great view from both sides of the table when it comes to PR. Industry-specific media also has its own nuances and economic model. We get the chance to dive deeper into how companies can better appeal to industry media and particularly about the unique cooperation marketing and press coverage have in industry-specific media.

Lou has been doing journalism everywhere from local news to well-known publications like the New York Times. So he brought all his experience to the table sharing information on the origins of the term earned media (go Finland!) and his decision-making on what to cover for Cyber Protection Magazine. He talks about the balance between news sourcing, and sponsorship. We also discuss journalism ethics within industry-specific media, his observations of how marketing and salespeople work together inside companies, and where journalism and PR fit within that combination. And an unforgettable history lesson about free press and advertising.

I really enjoyed not only the facts and observations that Lou brought to the table but also the real-life stories of his experiences that brought home this key area of journalism. Both the magazine and the podcast are looking to be a source of knowledge about the area of cybersecurity where there are not that many voices clarifying the landscape of more than 5,000 companies that are offering products and services. So, if you are looking to get industry-specific coverage for your company, this episode is a great opportunity to hear great advice from the inside.

Fake news, misinformation, and disinformation continue to be a huge problem in the world. It sometimes feels like you can’t trust anything you read. This was a bit of a different episode, where Steve Lee and Christina Forsgård, both comms pros, sat down and talked about the media and journalism getting deeper into this increasingly problematic issue.

Besides being the founder of Net Profile and crisis comms pro, Christina has spent years leading efforts in journalism and communication ethics to find ways to combat the growing problems with disinformation in the media. We got deep into the current culture of news consumption. the ways trust has been lost over the years and we discuss ways it might be brought back again. 

 Over the years the podcast has had conversations with different journalists whom we know are really providing solid reporting and ethical execution of information gathering and reporting. In my conversation with Christina, I was reminded how lucky we are to have journalism ethics and structures to share the truth.  But there are so many things that are getting in the way around the world and so many countries that do not have these freedoms we have in Finland and other Nordic countries.  Christina has great insights about how misinformation is happening around the current crisis in Ukraine and other ways bad news drives our news cycles.  In short, our conversation goes from Twitter to personal media consumption diversification so I am sure there is a bit of something for everyone as we try to solve one of the biggest issues in an internet-driven media world.   

In this episode, we had the pleasure of talking with Leah Hodgson from PitchBook.  We met Leah at Slush while she was digging into the stories behind the data that PitchBook gathers and publishes about the VCs and their activities. 

PitchBook started off in the US but Leah is the longest-serving journalist for the European news team.  Leah’s job is about completing the picture around the data and she appreciates the freedom within this kind of press organization where she can follow the pulse of the market and dig deep into the stories she thinks are most important. These data-driven ideas include looking at the dip most recently in fundraising deals and figuring out details about why investment trends are happening.  A good discussion was also had about series round labeling (pre-seed vs. seed? A round? B round?) and what they mean. This was not fully solved in our discussion but perhaps an understanding of the labeling and intention came out of it.  Of course, we also spoke about what makes a company interesting for the team to report on including the basic levels of investment PitchBook considers to be worth covering. 

In this episode, we got the chance to sit down with the one and only Mike Butcher from TechCrunch.  Having been with the publication since 2007, and a working journalist since the mid-90s, Mike has so many insights on the industry and tech journalism. He was kind enough to give us a first-hand look at how TechCrunch has developed from a pioneering blog into the online media icon it is today.  

As one of the most significant tech media, TechCrunch gets hundreds of pitches daily.  Mike helped us understand his views on what makes a great story and extremely useful advice on what he is looking for in a pitch.

In this episode, we had the pleasure of speaking with the Managing News Editor of Helsingin Sanomat, Jussi Pullinen. Jussi has been with Finland's largest publisher for the last 15 years starting out as a journalist there. We caught up with him the week before the big Slush conference here in Helsinki.

As a reporter, Jussi has covered everything from domestic reporting to culture and politics before managing the entire news operation, so he has both the practical experience as a journalist and the editorial needs of the publication in mind. He still does a bit of op-ed writing too.

Kristiina Nieminen, Strategic Communications Director at San Francisco Agency, sat down with  Jussi to talk about an interesting range of everything from the erosion of trust in journalism and the HS News editorial process to Elon Musk and Twitter. For those of you interested in understanding what gets an editor excited about your pitch, this is the episode for you. Jussi gives a bunch of tips and lessons learned.  They also dive into what the rest of the world can learn from Finnish media culture.

In this episode, we had the pleasure of talking with Khari Johnson, Senior Writer at Wired Magazine.  We originally thought that his focus was AI but found out that his work goes far beyond that to the “intersection of technology, society, and power”.  So much of our lives take the technology that drives our lives for granted as it is so seamless to the user that it often has huge amounts of influence over the way we function and yet we have no idea how much it impacts us.  In this interview, Khari tells about some of the places his reporting has taken him to and shares his process for getting stories both written and published.  We talk about working with editors and he helps build a much better understanding of the life of a writer.  He also shares some of the inspirational history of his family’s roots in journalism and how diversity can help make journalism and publishing better.

In this episode, we had the pleasure of talking with Robin Wauters, founder of Tech EU.  Robin was not originally trained as a journalist but rather in marketing. He found his passion for journalism and tech in the mid-2000s after starting his own blog and then over time turning that into a media company. He has been with publishers including Techcrunch and Next Web before starting Tech EU.

Along with giving some great tips for companies that want to get into the media, Robin shares his experiences from his own journey reporting on the start-up ecosystems and technology. His work has led him to his love to see start-ups grow up in front of his eyes and this passion drives the writing of the stories in Tech EU. Throughout the interview, he shares insights about the Tech EU editorial process and how they deal with pitches. Robin also talks about the balance between getting a news story out and wanting to dive deeper into all the cool technology that is out there to share.

In this episode, we had the pleasure of talking live from Slush with Mimi Billing from Sifted who started by giving us an understanding of where the name of the publication comes from. Mimi is a Swede who found her love for journalism on a trip to Israel.  Her main beat is health tech but she is most recently interested in new tech like nuclear power.

Startups are doing so many great things but she tells us that it's so important to go deeper in a story if you want to make something people really want to read. Throughout the interview, she provides interesting insight on how she works with editors at Sifted and how she chooses the stories to write about.

In this episode, we had the pleasure of talking with Lisa Morgan, content strategist, and journalist for Information Week. If you are into nerdy subjects and bringing life to stories about tech, Lisa has done it all. She shares key points about her process for finding good stories in the tech world along with how following her interests drives her writing.  She also talks about how COVID-19 in 2020 affected tech reporting and what exciting themes 2021 will bring. In her mind, we have all learned a lot and the entire tech world has transformed into a world where we must be agile and we have to use tech to pivot. Lisa also talks about the way she is using AI in her own work.

In our discussion, Lisa also went through the process she goes through in pitching new ideas to her editors.  We discuss what editors are concerned about and the pressures that journalists are under to help the publication reach its readership goals. Lisa shares how editors differ and what makes them choose one topic over another.

We have spoken to some journalists who say bringing humanity into a tech story is difficult. But I was surprised to find out that for Lisa, it’s fairly easy. She says it’s all in asking the right questions and having the right source with the right credibility with the audience.

In this episode, we had the pleasure of talking with Jari Tanner. Before his 16 years working at the Associated Press, Jari built experience at international news agencies like Bloomberg and Reuters. He is currently part of the AP team that covers the 7 countries in the Nordic and Baltic regions and spends most of his time in Finland and Estonia.

Jari starts with a brief history of the AP and its interesting non-profit model, continuing with his thoughts on what it takes for a story to be accepted by this strictly journalistic organization.

He also tells listeners about the skills required to build an incredibly concise story that his editors will agree to run, including the compelling pictures and videos that are part of every AP story. Linked to this is the way social media is changing the way news is reported.

Throughout the interview, he provides advice for companies who want to pitch to the AP. It seems that humanity is a big part of every AP story. COVID-19 dominated 2020, but there are places where other stories meet the high threshold of interest. This would include Jari’s breaking of the hobby horse phenomenon in Finland that was then reported all over the globe.

In this episode, we had the pleasure of talking with one of the best-known business journalists in Finland, Elina Lappalainen.  A lot of people know Elina as a tough journalist. and she is. But as you will hear,  it is clear that you can be a no-bullshit journalist and still be a really nice person.  You might be surprised to find out that she is into role-playing games and has written several children’s books.

In our interview, Elina shared lots of inside knowledge on how stories get written, what companies should and should not do. She also talked about how PR people can help her get more stories out with so many pitches to choose from.

Elina primarily covers the broad range of Finnish startups. As a business publication, Talouselämä’s and the other beats that Elina writes for are looking for business stories including growth and internationalization. But Elina did give away her soft spot for stories and that is companies that are making an impact on the world.

In this episode, we had the pleasure of talking with Charlotte Jee from MIT Technology Review (Tech Review). Charlotte is a UK based journalist responsible for the Tech Review’s newsletter the download.  She also writes news and features for the publication.

In this episode, we had the pleasure of speaking with Peter Vesterbacka from FinEst and FinestNinja. Peter is perhaps best known from his work at Angry Birds.  Peter talks to us about his views and advice after many years helping companies get known and stay known.

In this episode, we had the pleasure of talking with Benjamin Bathke a journalist who is spending most of his time working for Deutsche Welle technology and startups. Benjamin loves to tell human stories and in our discussion, he dives deep into what motivates his storytelling and how important the human element.  During our conversation, he talks about how bad pitches are extremely vague, the humanity around good stories, and how media is changing because of news fatigue.

In this episode, we had the pleasure of talking with Kati Pohjanpalo, the Helsinki bureau chief at Bloomberg News.  Kati shares her advice to gain newsworthiness in the financial press.

If you are looking for financial media #PR advice with no bulls#*t, this is the one for you. Kati tells it straight and you will probably want to take some notes.

In this episode, we had the pleasure of talking with Andrii Degeler from Tech.eu

As tradition demands, journalists from around the world visited Slush in November 2019. Slush may be dark and cold in Finland but it's a great time to talk to busy journalists and pick their brains.

Here at the Get Known podcast, we interview journalists about their work and what they cover so that companies know how to engage with the press better and get their company covered in the media.

Our big goal is to make sure that companies who are reaching out to the press build the right relationships, pitch the right ideas, and better understand what wastes journalists’ time.

In this episode, we sit down with Virve Rissanen, the technology journalist from Helsingin Sanomat, to discuss how to approach mainstream media and how to tell tech stories worth reading.

In this episode, we sat down with Tarmo Virki, Co-founder Magazine editor and broadcast journalist Katja Pantzar to find out how we can make their lives better when pitching and interacting with the media.