PR Pitching Tips for Technology Writer Steve Lohr at The New York Times

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This is a recording of a presentation by New York Times technology editor, Steve Lohr, who invited to keynote the Public Relations Society of America’s Technology Conference in New York. He focuses on how public relations agency pros can best support his reporting efforts.

PR Pitching Tips

3:03 – Steve Lohr introduces his keynote on how internet technology, websites, blogs, and podcasts have influenced what he writes about for The New York Times, as well as his relationship with professionals at PR firms. 

3:53 – Lohr talks about his professional background, what he covers at the Times, how the internet has changed how he does his job, what he chooses to cover, and how the web helps him do his job.

6:44 – Lohr discusses the opportunity the internet offers journalists:  “The narrow niche groups and markets are where the internet shines…the web and the internet, I think, also force us at the Times to place a greater emphasis on information discovery instead of information gathering.” 

10:24 – Lohr explains the difference between “information discovery” and “information gathering” and talks about the increased use of consultants to do SEO for news sites.

12:03 – Lohr discusses the benefits and drawbacks of having a blog: “For reporters, I think the blogosphere is a place to venture into with great care…there’s the danger of becoming identified with your opinions instead of your stories.”

13:04 – Lohr talks about the use of podcasts by newsrooms and companies: “[IBM’s podcast] strikes me as an interesting way to use new media to try to make IBM part of the intellectual conversation in fields where the company has large service practices…”

13:56 – Lohr talks about how public relations firms can help their clients gain news coverage and how Google and Apple successfully secured stories in The New York Times.

15:42 – Lohr shares how he likes to receive pitches.  

16:33 – Lohr on whether public relations practitioners should use the web as well as monitor the web. 

18:15 – Lohr, upon responding to a question on the Chinese government’s restriction of blog use: “The Chinese authority is sort of unable to control this…places like China are special cases…it’s a totalitarian government.”

22:32 – Lohr talks about the places PR people should look to gain news coverage.

25:02 – Lohr discusses net neutrality: “Google, Microsoft, and Yahoo and others…want the higher costs to be borne by the consumers.” 

29:40 – Lohr offers his opinion on Bill Gates and Microsoft.

32:38 – Lohr on who his online influencers are.

34:13 – Lohr offers his opinion on outsourcing jobs to countries like China and India. 

38:14 – Lohr talks about conceding economic power to China.

40:24 – Lohr discusses using search engines to do his job and the benefits of search engine optimization: “It’s a great tool…for that fact-checking kind of information finding…”

44:54 – Lohr on the importance of corporate websites and using search. 

49:59 – Lohr talks about the intersection of media companies and technology companies. 

53:02 – Lohr on his and his colleagues’ comfort level regarding sharing their opinions on blogs and what makes a great corporate blog.

59:20 – End.

Photo by Internet Week New York