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Monthly Luncheon
Report
(Wednesday,
September 20, 2007 PCC Monthly Luncheon)
Hitting the Mother Lode: Moms
and the Media
MODERATOR
Katherine Sands
The Reynolds Communications
Group
PANELISTS
Marlaine Selip, Executive
Producer
iVillage
Jennifer DuBose, Parenting
Columnist and Mom Blogger
Chicago Parent
Ana Belaval, “Around Town”
Reporter
WGN Morning News
PROGRAM SUMMARY
Ana Belaval (from
left), Jennifer DuBose, Marlaine
Selip and Katherine Sands. Photo by Ted
Lacey.
By Sue Masaracchia-Roberts
As
panel moderator Katherine Sands of
the Reynolds Group Women told a
packed PCC luncheon meeting (the
first of the new club year), women,
particularly mothers, are making 80
percent of all household decisions.
She suggested that this niche
audience has enormous potential for
media relations activities, but moms
are not always being served by
marketers, especially by PR
professionals. This fact was
underscored by an expert panel of
media representatives.
Ana Belaval, WGN Morning News “Around Town” Reporter
A feature reporter for WGN
Morning News, Emmy award nominee Ana
Belaval, who is expecting her first
child, is naturally inclined to
cover stories about moms. She began
her TV career at Univision before
becoming the Around Town reporter,
focusing on people, places and
things of interest around
Chicagoland.
Belaval’s segments appear during
the 7 to 9 a.m. time slot, providing
“six segments over two hours that
are very visual. Each segment is
considered a piece on its own.”
Since people can turn the show on at
any time, this allows anyone
watching the segments to know what
is going on. “We are very
irreverent,” added Belaval, “and are
always looking for an angle, a hook.
If you have a connection to a
celebrity, that helps.”
She explained that prior to the
birth of Tom Cruise and Katie’s
baby, Suri, there were a lot of baby
stories, such as what they received
as baby shower gifts. She added,
“It’s sad, but we’ve been reduced to
that.”
She urged attendees to think
about how a story fits into the
news. What matters?
“I do a lot of family-oriented
stories, especially between 8 and 9
a.m., as that is when parents drop
their kids off and there is quiet in
the house,” Belaval said. “It is our
job to catch their attention while
they are working, doing their
freelance work from home, doing
laundry or whatever they are doing.
We try to find things to catch their
attention. Each hit offers something
different, so they are not watching
the same thing over and over again.”
As for pitching WGN’s Around
Town, Belaval looks for pitches that
are about “the newest and latest,
like finding the cheapest trendy
chocolates.” The station also likes
pitches that are quick and easy.
“Use the Web to entice us. Create a
pitch using video. We are
short-staffed and have producers
doing three segments at the same
time.”
However, she warned of starting a
pitch with “Have you ever...?” The
station prefers receiving a pitch
that is quick, that shows and/or
tells about the visual components
available and why it is a great
idea. Pitches sent by e-mail are
best; Belaval can be reached at
abelaval@tribune.com.
She added that if the story is
not accepted once, pitch it again.
The best months for being able to
provide stories are between January
and May. “We beg for stories during
that time,” said Belaval.
To understand the kinds of
stories that work for Around Town,
Belaval stressed watching the show.
“If this doesn’t fit Around Town,”
said Belaval, “other producers do
other segments. You can ask if there
is another segment producer who
might be interested. In fact, the
executive producer sends out ideas
he receives as blanket e-mails to
all of us for consideration.”
For the WGN morning show, she
needs speakers “who are
well-prepared and able to back up
their comments with facts. We only
have two and one-half minutes at a
time, so we cannot get that deep. We
go to commercial after the 5Ws.”
Having worked for nine years at
the Hispanic-focused Univision,
Belaval offered luncheon guests the
insight that this market “is huge
and has a lot of economic power.
However you need to know how to
pitch – and you MUST have someone
fluent in Spanish who can be
interviewed.”
Jennifer DuBose, Chicago Parent Columnist and Blogger
Although currently a Chicago
Parent columnist and blogger,
Jennifer DuBose began her career as
a family therapist and school
counselor. She believes “that a good
belly laugh of recognition can go a
long way toward making a crazy
parenting day a little easier.”
DuBose views Chicago Parent
as a local magazine with a strong
Chicago connection. The publication
covers seven counties in northern
Illinois and northwest Indiana and
is also online at
www.chicagoparent.com. “I don’t
preach,” said DuBose about her
column. “I talk about what’s
happening – like what I’ve overheard
people talking about in the grocery
store.”
Receiving 80 pitches a month, she
does not want to hear about stories
that have been done, even if there
is a new spin, and they must be
short and concise and are best
received if sent via e-mail. She
explained, “A pitch is too long if I
cannot read it while sitting on the
toilet or at a red light.”
“We need to be different in a big
way,” DeBose explained. She needs to
talk to experts who are “okay with
being quoted and named, have their
photos taken and are ready to go. If
you can, supply artwork and let me
know if photographs are available.”
An example of a good story for
Chicago Parent would be a piece
about a new MRI machine that is
kid-friendly that has a physician
available at times convenient to
magazine personnel, along with
testimonials.
As for stories with holiday
themes, “the safe bet for the
deadline is a six month lead time,”
said DuBose. “Be sensitive to the
timing of your pitch. The more
timely the pitch, the more likely
you are to get a faster response.
Guidelines are available online and
each editor sees every pitch.
Pitches should go to the new editor,
Tamara O'Shaughnessy.”
Very cognizant that children pick
up the magazine as well as parents,
her stories focus largely on
education, nutrition, mental and
emotional health. She urges pitches
to be candid and concise, but warns
PR people not to beat around the
bush. Dubose said she wants stories
that are “honest, simplify life and
show how to step back and relax, how
to make juggling busy schedules
easier.” She acknowledges that with
more than 100 magazines out there,
there is a lot of information aimed
at parents. She is looking for
stories with an edgier angle.
Some features invite input from
bloggers and discussion groups.
“Everyone wants to be safe. They are
vulnerable about what concerns
them,” said DuBose. "The blog helps
us learn about our demographics.”
She added that there is a growing
population of families who deal with
disabilities. Therefore, they like
stories that show other parents how
they can deal with this situation
using firsthand experience.
“As parents,” said DuBose, “we
are in this together, along with
people who care about parents.”
Marlaine Selip,
iVillage Executive Producer
Two-time national Emmy Award
winning producer Marlaine Selip has
had an extensive career on daytime
television. Her credits include
television talk shows like Phil
Donahue, Joan Rivers, Montel
Williams and Jane Pauley, as well as
shows like the Better Homes and
Gardens TV, Discovery cooking show
and several primetime specials. Her
current project, In the Loop, with
iVillage explores parenting, health,
beauty and lifestyle topics familiar
to Web site visitors.
“This is interactive daytime TV
that launched just this week,” Selip
explained. “The show is shown in 11
NBC markets and is believed to reach
two to four million – mostly women.
We have a great freedom to try new
things, fitting within the four
hours of the Today Show. Our
demographic is women between the
ages of 34 and around 54 and we
drive 17 million people a month to
the iVillage Web site.”
In the Loop’s recognizable hosts
are Kim Coles from Living Single
and In Living Color and
Apprentice veterans Ereka
Vetrini, Bill Rancic. Its producers
are Cindy Patrasso and Hank Mendheim.
Mendheim can be reached at
hank.mendheim@nbcuni.com or
312-836-3496.
The most welcomed pitches are
“sent by e-mail and tell me what the
story is about and why it is helpful
to know within the first three
sentences,” she explained. If the
pitch does not fit her show, she
will pass it on to associates.
“We need quick information and
need to fill seven segments a day,”
said Selip. “Fun is a big focus,”
she added, explaining they recently
did a piece on the candy show
complete with having kids compete to
see who could eat the most candy.
Selip is very receptive to “local
experts who can cover sensitive
topics in a funny way. I want the
best experts who are upbeat and
positive and who can tell the story
the best. As guests, we need
qualified people with all the
answers.”
”Pitches regarding parenting and
pregnancy, celebrity, health and
wellness, love, sex and
relationships, style and fashion,
travel, home and gardens and
weddings are welcome, however, Selip
explained, due to integrated
partnerships with companies which
pay for segments, there is no
interest in topics like fragrances
and cosmetics, cookware, fitness,
hair care and baby products.
She acknowledges that there is
“definitely a dwindling audience on
television and one that is growing
on the Web. We see more and more
product integration and believe that
is the wave of the future. I think
the turning point on that was when
Oprah gave away all those cars on
TV.”
There is a definite difference
between traditional media and the
new media. As a result, Selip urged
PR people to become familiar with
both the show and the website.
“Parenting is a big issue. Watch for
trends and give us ideas we can
present quickly. Everything is fast!
Rachel Ray and the Food Network are
fast. If you want in-depth, watch
PBS. We work to drive people to the
web for additional content, get them
to click through for depth.”
It also helps to name drop –
especially if your client has been
on Today or on The View. “Being on
those shows puts you in a different
realm since we know those venues
would not put someone on if they
weren’t good,” she said.
The show’s lead time is one week
at the moment, but that is subject
to change as they fine tune the
show. “We devour content,” Selip
said. “We are still figuring out
what works and what doesn’t but we
also need to make sure that it all
looks the best way possible.”
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