Mon, 2021-03-01 13:58
Sam
Why Fahmida Took the Job
Fahmida Y. Rashid is back in what PR pros call “earned media.” After three years as senior managing editor of Decipher, a cybersecurity publication from Duo Security, Fahmida is now executive editor at VentureBeat, helping the 15-year-old publication shift focus to help serve B2B technology decision-makers.
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IDG Communications yesterday laid off 93 employees, mostly in US-based editorial. It was the largest layoff in IDG’s 53-year history. Says IDG CMO Josh London in an email: “This was a difficult decision for the company, but we are grateful to those colleagues whose roles have been affected for their many contributions to IDG.”
This time last year, InfoWorld senior writer Fahmida Y. Rashid managed the RSA Conference blog. "If journalism is a 10,000-foot view, [at RSAC] I was getting a 20,000-foot view," Fahmida says. And she learned a valuable lesson: security is only part of the picture.
Unlike most of the reporters you pitched this year, IDG News Service senior correspondent Katherine Noyes is a former senior copy editor and adjunct college instructor. That makes her a language expert. Her years of covering Linux and open source make her a tech expert, too.
PR pros rarely think about headlines. Yes, it's not their job to write them, and pitching one usually insults your target and could get you blacklisted. But times have changed. Publishing is now software and software is driven by science. Upworthy editors write 25 headlines for each article before choosing one. InfoWorld EIC Eric Knorr holds daily headline meetings with his staff.
Two scenarios dominate your use of SWMS valet consulting these days. One, after a gatekeeper rejects your IT-related contributed post, you send it to us and ask who else might run it. Or two, you'll send us a draft and ask who might run it. In both cases it is usually too late: the piece lacks the context gatekeepers require.
Looking to place IT-related contributed content, not just once or twice, but regularly? The fast-growing IDG Contributor Network "is a collection of blogs written by leading IT practitioners about technology trends, business opportunities and the challenges they face every day." The IDG Contributor Network is directed by Joyce Carpenter, who spent eight years building Computerworld's blog network.