Valley PR Blog

Pitch Me: Kathleen Gorden-EV Living

By Charlotte Shaff on February 4th, 2008 In ValleySource

Name: Kathleen Gorden
Title: Editor/Managing Director
Outlet: East Valley Living – Your GUIDE to the East Valley
Website: http://www.EVLiving.com
Phone: (480) 998-0246
Email: Editor@EVLiving.com

1. Tell us about your publication.

East Valley Living is an online publication providing news and information specific to the greater Phoenix Arizona and East Valley area and offers an array of featured columns with articles of interest to the community.

Founded in November 2003 with the goal of providing attention to news that mainstream media may otherwise ignore, EVLiving provides its visitors with an alternative news outlet. We draw articles, news releases and announcements from an array of sources and publish news announcements submitted by local individuals, businesses, media outlets, PR firms and other organizations.

EVLiving may be considered a small media outlet by some, but on the Internet, we pack as much punch as the Big Guys! Recognized as an accredited media outlet, most content is picked up on the Internet within minutes of publication.

EVLiving is promoted by local business associates and marketing specialists who utilize a systematic approach to marketing that includes traditional and non-traditional methodology including the use of social media marketing, Internet marketing, event marketing and much more. Website traffic continues to grow each month as we refine and target our reading audience. Most PR individuals are aware of the impact a systematic approach can have in marketing their clients.

We encourage community participation and are pleased to promote news announcements, events and happenings around the greater Phoenix East Valley area that would otherwise have little or no coverage.

2. What kinds of stories are you looking for?

Local, as it relates to any event, any individual, any group, any organization or any business in the greater Phoenix and East Valley area (Maricopa County, Maricopa and Queen Creek included).

If the above criteria is met, then we will consider submissions in article or press release format relating to:
• Human interest or community stories
• Non advertorial, non-commercial newsworthy announcements or event announcements such as open house, grand openings, fund raisers, , etc., for publication in the local news category
• Events – arts and entertainment
• Real Estate – news about realtors, mortgage companies, lenders, brokers, qualified commentary about the local real estate market, trends, etc.
• Guest articles written by greater Phoenix area individuals or business professionals on topics of interest to the community, for publication in our features or health categories
• Bylined articles; commitment required, contact the Editor for details
We decline self-serving, self-promoting, political, religious, individual or special interest group editorial commentary and/or scandalous story submissions.

Example: XYZ Store Announces Back to School Sale
Advertorial/Commercial/Submission will be declined
Example: Macy’s Donates $500 Back to School Shopping Sprees to 100 Local Indigent Families
Community Interest/Will take under consideration

Example: (Insert media/pr outlet) Recognized as Best Phoenix Media Outlet in 2008
Self-serving/Submission will be declined
Example: (Insert media/pr outlet) Employees Donate Lottery Proceeds to Local Hospital
Community Interest/Will take under consideration

Example: (Insert Politician) Denies Accusation; Did Not Participate in X-Rated Film
Political/Scandalous/Submission will be declined
Example: (Insert Politician) Hosts Free Breakfast to Discuss Community Issues
Community Interest/Will take under consideration

Example: Right-On Church of AZ Wants World to Believe in their Doctrine
Religious/Submission will be declined
Example: North Valley Community Church Hosts Holiday Musical
Community Interest/Will take under consideration

Example: Gay Rights Group Sues State, Demands Rights
Special Interest Group/Submission will be declined
Example: Gay Rights Group Petitions State to Approve Health Initiative that Benefits Entire Community
Community Interest/Will take under consideration

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

We’re easy to reach via email or phone and our preference for contact is in that order.

If we do not yet know you, a brief intro will be appreciated in each email submission until we have established rapport.
i.e., “Hi Kathleen, I’m Cindy, the account exec for Pirate PRarrrrgh, a Tempe PR agency. I have a local news article to submit for your consideration.”

You may wish to also provide us with the reason why your submission is timely or should be of interest to us. A lengthy paragraph to sell your submission to us is not necessary; an on target sentence will suffice!
i.e., “Kathleen, this story would be a great fit for (insert upcoming holiday or major event).”

Send an email with your news submission pasted into the body of the email. Please do not send attachments. We do not open attachments unless we solicit them.

If you believe we have overlooked an item that you previously sent and you have not received confirmation that the item was published within three business days, feel free to send us an inquiry, i.e., “Hello Kathleen, did you see my submission about the Save the Horse event taking place at West World next month?” We welcome your inquiries and if we are aware of specifics, we will provide information to you. We are also open to reconsider a submission. It may be as simple as a rewrite with more or less content. Oftentimes, however, we’re a step ahead of you and will reply to the original submission and advise of necessary changes in order to approve it.

4. What recommendations do you have for PR professionals?

We have nothing but praise and respect for most of the PR professionals we encounter. We know a lot of you through local networking events, some of you we only know from afar or by reputation, some we know from our connections on LinkedIn, others we know through email alone, and a few of you by way of periodic phone conversations.

We appreciate receiving your timely, newsworthy announcements and if they’re a good fit for our publication we are happy to publish them.

We ask that PR individuals and agencies alike refrain from flooding the Editor Inbox with a multitude of identical submissions. Our staff reviews our Inbox throughout the day to ensure timely publication and we do not want to duplicate our efforts by receiving and potentially publishing duplicate content. Publishing an article multiple times on one venue does not equate to greater reach. And… when our site visitors note duplicate content, they may no longer perceive our venue as a provider of quality content.

EVLiving takes time and effort to operate; our publication staff consists of a large pool of area business professionals who also work full time. This service is provided as a way of giving back to the local community. PR professionals and their local clients qualify for this service but limitations apply.

You may request our current media/pr submissions guidelines by email.

PR Agency status does not provide you with preferential treatment per se. Each submission is considered individually. Once a relationship is established, however, it is more likely that your news submission will be accepted, unless we perceive our policies are abused. In that event, we are more than happy to engage in conversation to resolve any perceived issues via email or telephone.

To learn more about contributing to EVLiving, please visit:
http://www.evliving.com/about.php?action=fullnews&id=1033

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

Oh don’t I wish a PR firm would send us something I could consider strange or weird! Come on PR folks, let’s use some imagination!

All kidding aside, our strange, weird emails only seem to come from non-PR individuals who submit bizarre news announcements that are totally unsuitable and we are not able to remotely consider them of general interest to the community, or we receive such outrageous commentary or news announcements written so poorly, we’d be embarrassed to publish them.

While we do not require a degree in journalism as a qualifier for news submission, we do want material that is professionally written and material we are proud to publish. We are eternally grateful that most PR firms submit quality material in that regard.

We appreciate the opportunity to serve you and thank you in advance for considering East Valley Living as a media source for your news announcements.

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