November 09, 2007
Interview

PR Interview: How to Be a Part of the Most Livable City - Pitch the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

SUMMARY: The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reaches more than 500,000 people each day in Western Pennsylvania. Their Web site, post-gazette.com, gets the most daily page views of any site in the same region. Pittsburgh was rated the most livable city in the country by ‘Places Rated Almanac’ this year, beating San Francisco, Seattle, Washington, DC, and Boston. Check out our tips on how to get mentioned in its main newspaper and site.
Contact information
Tim McNulty
Reporter
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
34 Blvd. of the Allies
Pittsburgh, PA 15222
tmcnulty(at)post-gazette(dot)com
412-263-1581

Background
McNulty started working at the newspaper in 1996. He has degrees from Trinity College and New York University.

Circulation & Readership
Total average paid circulation - Daily: 212,075; Sunday: 354,966
Source: Publishers statement Sept. 30, 2006

Readership - Weekday average: 559,635; Sunday average: 842,775
Source: Scarborough 2006

Almost 30% of the readers are ages 25 to 35. There are slightly more males than females. College graduates make up more than 40% of the audience. The Pittsburgh market is considered a leader in advances in medicine and technology.

Current Editorial Ccoverage
Newspaper sections: Arts & Entertainment, Business News, Events Calendar, Health & Science, Jobs, Lifestyle, Local News, Nation and World, Opinion, PG Store, Sports and Travel.

Business section divisions:
o Previous Articles
o PM Report - Dateline
o Top 50: Annual staff rating of the region's nonprofit institutions
o Markets
o Personal Business - Technology
Mortgage Rates - Consumer Rates

Web Site
Launched in 1997, http://www.post-gazette.com is the most visited Web site in Western Pennsylvania. Media Audit indicates that the site attracts mostly young, affluent and educated readers.

Monthly average page views: 40 million; monthly average unique users: 3.2 million
Source: Omniture, September 2007

Less than half of the site's content is from the newspaper. Some of the offerings that are available only online include the latest news, customizable market reports and trackable features, events calendar, searchable jobs section with online application process, résumé database and job video clips. In addition, a podcast, Pittsburgh: Hear and Now, is posted weekly. Listen to it here: http://www.post-gazette.com/podcast/

Web extras, such as marketplace coupons, RSS feeds, videos, multimedia presentations and mobile news alerts attract young readers. Real fans of the newspaper can even shop in the Post-Gazette’s store. Check out Pittsburgh memorabilia here:
https://ssl.post-gazette.com/store/

The Post-Gazette offers 15 separate newsletters for delivery to your email inbox:
- 4 News emails (Local, Regional, National; Neighborhoods; Business & Technology; Health & Science.)
- 1 Editorial Opinion email
- 5 Sports emails
- 5 Entertainment emails

How to Pitch the Post-Gazette - 5 Tips
#1. Email individual reporters with your story idea, McNulty suggests. Their contact information is listed at the bottom of their stories. If you can't find it there, try emailing them using this format: first initial followed by the last name of the person @post-gazette.com.

#2. Send timely pitches. Editors prefer stories that resonate with what is going on in the news.

#3. Make sure your query is sent to the right person. Familiarize yourself with the type of material journalists focus on by reading the paper and browsing the site. McNulty concentrates on arts and pop culture, but instead of writing about what’s happening, he elaborates on how the event affects economic developments. An example of a story he would be interested in is an examination of how theater-goers make an impact on business districts: How does it help with jobs, income, revenue, etc.?

#4. Don’t call or email the writers and editors on deadlines, i.e., late afternoons.

#5. Don’t harass journalists with constant follow-ups. They will let you know if they are interested in pursuing the subject matter you suggested. They simply don’t have enough time to respond to all queries. If you don’t hear back, it’s a subtle hint that they are either not interested in or not ready for your pitch.

Contribute to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
To contact the business department, fill out a form here:
http://biz.post-gazette.com/contact/comments_form.aspx?ID=42

To reach an editor, see list of telephone numbers here:
http://biz.post-gazette.com/contact/editors.aspx

Post-Gazette editors encourage submissions of exclusive opinion articles for their Perspectives pages and for Sunday Forum. They are looking for persuasive pieces written by experts on timely topics. To submit a guest column or an essay, email opinion@post-gazette.com. Paste your work into the body of the email for easier reading.

Meet McNulty and Other Editors
Although the editors and writers “attend conferences from time to time,” a face-to-face meeting isn’t likely because of deadlines.



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