The Watch Tree is also looking for great community columnists to offer a variety of perspectives on the community–political, environmental, economic, etc. If you represent someone who would be a fit, please email the information to the publisher, Elizabeth Smith.

TheWatchTree.com is an “online newspaper as social network” providing Coverage of the Community, for the Community and from the Community of Scottsdale at the hyperlocal level.

An application must be submitted for consideration. Applications can be obtained by visiting the Ad 2 Phoenix website or by submitting a request to ad2phoenix@yahoo.com. Applications are due by August 31, 2009.

For more information contact Candie Guay, Ad 2 Public Service Chair, at cjguay@gmail.com.

Votes can be cast at Experience AZ’s Web site, where you can also find a list of this year’s winners.

Name: David Mills

1. What are your main daily duties?
Shoot, edit, write stories for web content and airing on live morning show.

2. What kinds of visual stories are you looking for?
Mostly evergreen stories that aren’t dated. Fun events or activities, new stores, restaurants, unique and interesting shops and hobbies.

3. What’s the best way to approach you with a pitch?
By email. I can make contact and schedule intervies and shoots.

4. What recommendations do you have for PR professionals if they secure a shoot?
Call me, and we can put it on my schedule.

5. What’s the strangest/weirdest pitch situation you ever had on a shoot?
Hopefully, it’s something I get from you guys! I like weird!

Trade Talk - Mike Sunnucks, msunnucks@bizjournals.com or 602-308-6507.

2.0 Minutes With… – Kat Bryant, katbryant@bizjournals.com or 602-308-6509.
2.0 Minutes With… is about the strategies and the way an entrepreneur does business. This person should have been in business for several years and be able to talk about what has worked for their business. This is a Q&A format and will be done mostly via email. The paper will need a color photo of the person from the waist up at 300 dpi.

Startup- Lynn Ducey, lducey@bizjournals.com or 602-308-6517.
Startup is about a fairly new entrepreneurial business and how it was started. They need a color photo of the person or item being featured at 300 dpi.

Lessons Learned - Angela Gonzales, agonzales@bizjournals.com or 602-308-6521.
Quotes from business people about lessons learned in the business. Need a color headshot at 300 dpi.

Close-Up - Lisa Poulin, lpoulin@bizjournals.com or 602-308-6522.
Close-Up is mostly about an entrepreneur that has been in business for several years and a little about how the business began. This is a small article and will be done with a phone interview. The paper will need a color photo of the person from the waist up at 300 dpi.

If you have any questions about these sections contact Lisa Poulin.

Name:     Michelle Glicksman     
Title:       Editor-in-Chief   
Outlet:    Scottsdale Health
Phone:    480.353.6729
Email:     michelle@richmanmediagroup.com
 
1. What are your main daily duties?
Developing all content, overseeing/writing it, concepting and directing photo shoots, editing, marketing/sponsorships, etc.

2. What kinds of stories are you looking for?
Fitness, nutrition, wellness, athletes, relationships, stress-busters, news about Scottsdale. Things with a Scottsdale or Paradise Valley slant get first priority.

3. What’s the best way to approach you with a pitch?
Email, please!

4. What recommendations do you have for PR professionals?
If you have something that truly fits and you don’t hear back, keep checking. Sometimes I’ll get a couple hundred emails a day and something just got lost in the shuffle!

5. What’s the strangest/weirdest pitch you’ve ever received?
Hmmm..thankfully I really haven’t had any of these!

Hello! I recently accepted an assignment to blog every week on “good deals” in the east valley region of Phoenix, Arizona. Specifically, my pitches/ideas should be located in Mesa, Chandler, Gilbert, and/or possibly Ahwatukee. There is a staff writer who already handles major grocery store deals, so my editor has asked me to focus on restaurants and retail establishments. Basically, I am to submit 5 good deals to him a week that will appear on azcentral.com in the “Deals” section, and each blog should be about 100 words. I’m supposed to pitch the ideas to my editor first for his approval. I am looking for any good deals that your clients might be offering that I can suggest to him. The blog would include the name of the place and the contact info and what the deal is. This is an ongoing assignment so even though this Tuesday is my first deadline, I will be looking for ideas for months to come! Thank you so much for any help you can give me, take care, Alison Stanton

Specifically, she needs:
An agent who can put her in touch with a seller to discuss how they were able to sell their homes (with a photo taken by Republic staff and a box of tips on how to sell)

An agent who can put her in touch with a buyer to discuss how they settled on that perfect house (with a photo taken by Republic staff of buyers in their new home, and a box listing their 3-4 houses they looked at before settling)

Contact:
Geri Koeppel (email)

480-897-0033 home office (ALWAYS TRY THIS NUMBER FIRST)
480-298-0958 mobile

Thank you!