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Monthly Luncheon Report

(Sept. 8, 2004 PCC Monthly Luncheon)

Gossip, Glamour and the columnists who know it all!

Invite Britney Spears to Your Party and Newspaper Columnists Will Give You Coverage

PCC’s first program of the year at Magianno’s in September 2004, gave PR pros great tips for garnering coverage for their clients in celebrity “nightlife” newspaper columns. It also conjured up the lyrics to Alicia Bridges’ disco classic: “I Love the Nightlife (Disco 'Round)

“Oh, I ... Ohhh I ... I love the nightlife,
I got to boogie on the disco 'round, oh yea.”

This essentially sums up the lifestyle and editorial mission of three of Chicago’s top “nightlife” newspaper columnists, who can occasionally be found at 3:00 a.m. hanging around popular night spots waiting for celebrities to make an appearance.  The panel, moderated by John Iltis, a top Chicago entertainment PR executive, consisted of: Liz Crokin, “EyeContact” Columnist for the Chicago Tribune’s RedEye;  Susanna Homan, “Susanna’s Night Out” for the Chicago Sun-Times; and Wanda Wright, columnist for N’Digo.

John Iltis began the discussion by asking the panel how they keep a weekly column fresh.

Liz Crokin, a former White House reporter and current entertainment reporter for “US” magazine in addition to her Tribune beat, noted that she likes having a Monday column because “everything happens on the weekend, and people want to know what happened.”  Her column is really party/celebrity oriented. Although she originally was hired to combine national and local celebrity news, she thinks there is enough local events going on that her focus is on the Chicago celebrity scene and gossip.

Wanda Wright, who will be adding to her editorial responsibilities at N’Digo as a contributor to Los Sabores (Flavors), which will target Latin Americans,  revealed that she needs to be out seven nights a week scoping out stories. Her editorial focus is on “relationships,” or how events interact with charitable and other organizations.

Susanna, who by day is a group supervisor at PR 21, a Chicago public relations agency, suggested that since most people in town don’t attend the big parties in town, she attends the parties on their behalf and reports on the action. “I’m kind of like Chicago’s Bridget Jones,” she said. Since she personally attends the events she wants to cover, “after the fact” releases or photos are never used. She also attends events with a photographer, after a stint where she did her own photography with a digital camera.

Liz only wants to be contacted by phone or email. She works part-time so faxes to the Tribune will never be seen. She warned not to send releases six months in advance of an event because it probably won’t be kept on file. Contact her a week or so before an event as a reminder. Your event must have a celebrity focus. When you email her, your header line should read: “(name of celebrity) to attend (event)  at (place) on (date and time).”  Her deadline is Sunday, so if you had an event on Saturday, you need to be available in the event she has questions. Make sure she has a cell phone number or other number where you can be reached.

Susanna works at night or in the early AM on her stories, so she will need contact information.  Again, a cell phone number is useful. If she says she will call you at a certain time, you must be available.  

Wanda bemoaned the fact that many people associated with events do not have PR training and don’t know how to pitch a story or send concise press releases. She likes to work with PR pros who have established a relationship with her.

Susanna reported that Tammy Chase is the new Lifestyle editor at the Sun-Times and wants to include more women-oriented stories. The coverage will include traditional “society” stories, that will complement Susanna’s coverage of younger audiences. “Covering Chicago’s nightlife is a step into the great unknown.  There aren’t a lot of reporters at Crobar on a Tuesday night at 2:00 a.m,” says Susanna.   So she won’t usually be covering black-tie soirees.  She also writes a column called “Mix-It-Up” which focuses on new fun drink recipes being served at local bars.

Photos only a play a role with Wanda and Susanna. Liz rarely uses a lot of photos due to space limitations. When she does use photos, they are taken from the Tribune’s photo files.

Susanna likes animated poses, and her camera lens is usually focused on young (20-30), hip, good-looking and photogenic people. “Funky and vibrant” is how she describes the look she wants.

Wanda doesn’t use staged photos. She likes animated shots and often waits until the party is in full swing and alcohol has released guest inhibitions. Colorful backdrops make for better photos.

Wanda can be reached by email at RYTENOW@AOL.COM. She likes to be contacted three times: 1) phone 2)email 3) fax

Reach Susanna at SUSANNASNIGHTOUT@YAHOO.COM.  She doesn’t pickup voice mail, so email is the preferred contact method. Concise alerts are much preferred. The email subject line is key if you want to catch her attention.

Liz can be reached at EYECONTACT@TRIBUNE.COM. She’s hardly ever at the Tribune, so contacting there is not advised. Use email.

All three warned not to send emails with attachments. They also (GASP!) don’t care about exclusives. The only exception is that Susanna won’t cover events that are covered by Mary Cameron Frey.

Finally, tips from the panelists for getting coverage in their respective columns:

Susanna: “Get media involved in the event. Ask them to be judges or emcees. TV anchors are good because at least their own station is likely to cover your event.

Wanda: “Passion sells a story. If you are passionate about the story, and I sense that it’s important, I’ll pay attention.”

Liz: “Just because I’m with the Tribune, don’t be intimidated. The RedEye is a different dimension of the Tribune—more down to earth and low key.”

As Alicia Bridges would sum up:

“I got to go where the people dance.
I want some action ... I want to live!”

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