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Darkness On The Edge of Tech

We’ve decided to go ahead and publish selected slides from a presentation we made to a subscriber several weeks ago. We hesitated because some of the slides leaned toward “preachy”; subscribers typically like it when SWMS stays in its lane, delivering cheat sheets and tech media analysis.

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Pitch Advice from 6 at Axios

A recent edition of the new Axios Communicators newsletter offered pitch advice from five Axios reporters and a co-founder. Newsletter author Eleanor Hawkins polled her colleagues on what PR folks need to be told.

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On Ukraine

On Feb. 28 we received an inquiry from a subscriber (vendor, not agency) asking whether journalists were bristling at being pitched in light of the crisis in Ukraine. The subscriber said “proactive pitching” had been paused. Here was our response…

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Meet The Wikipedia Whisperer, David King

SWMS contributor Bob Scheier writes: A company’s Wikipedia entry is often one of the first to come up in response to a Web search, and might get more exposure than its Twitter, Facebook or other social media account.

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Bob Scheier: ‘Hey Vendors! Put a Media Contact on Your Web Site!’

I’m finding that a surprising number of vendors have removed or hidden the “media contact” links on their sites. They’ve been replaced by lead-snagging “bots” asking if I’d like a demo or what “digital transformation” challenges I’m facing, and generic “Contact Us” pages that may or may not lead to someone who can respond to a media request.

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AI Will Write Your Pitches — Soon

Tired of writing pitches and press releases? AI writes copy these days. This month we used Copy.ai to promote the fictitious Wazoolie Pro, “a hypnotizer that convinces prospects to buy products and services they don’t need.”

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FRIDGE NOTES

Latest WSJ Mission: Get Younger Readers

The average age of a WSJ reader is 59. That’s just one of many insights in this terrific piece from The Daily Beast, published this week in its gossip column. EIC Emma Tucker is said to be asking all WSJ reporters to contemplate these questions before proceeding with a story:

— Who is the target audience?
— What do they want to know?
— How can this piece broaden the WSJ audience?
— What format is best for telling this story?

Take Me Out To The Concert

Which musical artist, over the course of his still-active career, played sold out shows at both Yankee Stadium and Shea Stadium? Sirius/XM is broadcasting a channel celebrating his music, for “a limited time.”

Walter Thompson’s Observations from TechCrunch Disrupt

From today’s TC+ Newsletter: “No one I met said they were looking for ‘thought leadership’ or scorching hot takes,” wrote TC’s contributed content gatekeeper. “Almost everyone wanted actionable advice that would help them fundraise, build and scale.”

Good guidance indeed.

We Are Devo

Somewhere along the line, Cambridge, Mass.-based Devo Technology rebranded as Devo. Warner Music Group apparently has no objection.

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