Journalist Encounter: Sally Whittle, writes for The Guardian/The Times, blogger and editor
This week Sublime PR was fortunate enough to interview a bit of a journalist legend, Sally Whittle. Sally has been in the industry for as long as I can remember and with her highly influential and successful parenting blog 'Who's the mummy' http://www.whosthemummy.co.uk/ as well as being the founder of Tots100 http://www.tots100.co.uk/ an index/network of the top UK parent blogs, Sally has a lot of experience and knowledge under her belt. We talked to Sally about all things media and PR - here is what she had to say...
Sublime PR: What is your professional job title?
Sally: Blogger and journalist.
Sublime PR: What magazines/blogs do you write for?
Sally: I occasionally write for The Guardian and The Times newspapers but most of my writing now is on my own websites and blogs.
Sublime PR: What is your PR pet peeve?
Sally: When PR people ask for a lot but don't do me the courtesy of researching even the basic info about me first. It says on the home page of my blog that my daughter is seven, so why do I get so many emails asking me to review weaning foods?
Sublime PR: Do you prefer a phone pitch from PRs or an email?
Sally: Email. If we're in the middle of a project, then a phone call is often quicker than ten emails but as an initial contact email is easier for me to look at when I have a moment.
Sublime PR: How many emails and/or phone calls do you receive from PRs per day?
Sally: Between 200 and 500.
Sublime PR: How do you read the news – via newspapers, TV, Radio or online?
Sally: Online, except at the weekend when I might read the papers.
Sublime PR: What newspapers/magazines do you read?
Sally: The Guardian, primarily, online I dip into lots of publications from wsj.com and NYTimes to Perez Hilton and Lainey.
Sublime PR: Are you a regular tweeter and can PRs contact you via Twitter?
Sally: Yes I tweet at @swhittle far too much, frankly.
Sublime PR: What is your top tip for businesses/PRs wanting to get coverage?
Sally: Research the journalist and the publication/blog before pitching. Then, be concise.
Sublime PR: What is really grabbing your attention in the industry at the moment?
Sally: I'm interested in Facebook and social media and the tension between monetisation, user experience and ROI for brands.
Sublime PR: How important is a good image/video for a news story?
Sally: Critical and becoming more so.
Sublime PR: What are your passions/interests/hobbies?
Sally: I now work pretty much full-time as a blogger, and that's so much fun it's hardly work, so does that count?
