Valley PR Blog

Pitch Me: Elizabeth Smith

By Charlotte Risch on August 12th, 2008 In ValleySource

Name: Elizabeth Smith

Title: Executive Editor

Outlet: Arizona Foothills Magazine

Phone: 480.460.5203 x 230

Email

1. What do you do at Arizona Foothills Magazine?

I’m accountable for the overall quality, content and accuracy of Arizona Foothills Magazine and its bimonthly sister publication, Arizona Foothills Tucson Magazine. To this end, I lead a team of staff editor-writers in content development and concepting, interface with our internal creative team, and represent the magazine to the community. Features editing, style editing, copy editing and proofreading for both magazines are my responsibility, and I serve as the final eye on all layouts and proofs.

 2. What kinds of stories are you looking for?

Arizona Foothills’ tagline is Style.Substance.Sophistication. So I look for stories that combine all three. Stories that are merely overhyped fluff with no foundation, or that are all news with no lifestyle element, are no good for us. The sexy angle that also has depth is generally a winner.

Also, AFM is continually in search of stories relevant to our readers that have gone untold as well as the inside scoop on amazing individuals making a difference in the Valley.

3. What’s the best way to approach you with a pitch?

I prefer e-mail unless I already know you well and you’re reconnecting with an idea you know I’m going to love. Depending on the day, magazine editing can be either a soulful creative process or a stressful crunch to the printer. Either way, phone calls can come at a bad time. Naturally, as a writer, I’m more comfortable dialoguing by e-mail. Furthermore, being on a longer lead time, I prefer not to be pressed to make instant decisions on the spot.

4. What recommendations do you have for PR professionals?

Understand how Arizona Foothills is different from our competitors in terms of what we cover and how we cover it, and pitch an angle that’s appropriate and specific to AFM.

Also note that, like national magazines, we work on a significant lead time. The editors meet annually to determine the next year’s editorial calendar and flesh out features for the year ahead. So regular departments and front-of-book items, which are chosen three-plus months out, are most open to pitches (although we also always need local sources and leads for the features on our editorial calendar).

We write a minimum of three months ahead (meaning our September issue will have deadlines in early June), so drop me a line on a great story well in advance, even if you don’t have all the marketing materials together yet. Given our lead time, we prefer timely information and leads over attractive pitches that come too late for us to use.

Finally, while AFM has been a local luxury leader in Phoenix for more than 10 years now, our sister magazine in Tucson is approaching its two-year anniversary. Because we’re new to that market, we’re always looking for good stories of Southern Arizonans making a mark—especially those with dual resonance/suitability for our Valley readers.

5. What’s the strangest/weirdest pitch you’ve ever received?

Let’s just say, avoid confetti and pastels. 

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