Over the past year and a half, the Connect2 team has interviewed a long line of leading journalists and editors in the tech and business space. For today’s blog, we would like to take you down memory lane and share some of our favorite conversations from 2019.
Episode #13: Mike Robuck, Editor of FierceTelecom Listen to the full episode here
Reporters want that “New-News”…
“Last year’s MEF conference was a good one for me. What I like about that conference is I have access to the people that are speaking and demos taking place. Sometimes at these larger shows it is hard to get out on the show floor to meet people because they are so spread out, but at MEF18 one can see a demonstration on block chain and talk to someone after a panel. Another good one I went to last year was the Open Networking Foundations Connect Event. We were able to talk to people out in the hallways, everyone was accessible, people wanted to share knowledge, and there was big news. Sometimes when you go to the larger events, people don’t really want to say anything that is newsworthy. They want to talk about something they are already doing. When reporters spend time going to a conference, we’d like to get ‘new-news’, we’d like to be able to meet with people face-to-face, and we would like time to go out on the show floor and talk to vendors and exhibitors.”
Episode #17: Tim Greene, Network World Listen to the full episode here
Economize your words…
One of our favorite debates in the office is whether to keep a pitch short and sweet, or longer and more detailed. Tim Greene’s answer? Yes, to both. He said the most effective pitches get straight to the point. Pitches should not start with a, “I know you’re busy, but hear me out,” phrase. Tailor your pitch like a news story. Tim gave a great example with the following, “XYZ company just did this [insert fascinating action item here], to advance security in blank.” Once you’ve established the main idea, you can go into more detail about the specifics. But, don’t get too carried away! Tim put it perfectly when he said, “economize your words.” Make sure that every sentence you put down advances the reporter’s knowledge in whatever the pitch may be about.
Episode #19: Sarah Needleman, Wall Street Journal Listen to the full episode here
Did you always know that you wanted to be a reporter?
"I knew from an early age that I was probably going to do something in writing. I had a knack for it. I think it was as early as third grade, I can remember a teacher saying to my mother how I impressed her with a paper that I wrote. I thought I was going to be a book writer like fiction and write mystery novels. However, at some point I said to myself if I want to earn a salary on a regular basis, I should put my writing skills to a more practical use. So, I shifted gears towards newspaper right around when I started college.”
Episode #21: Gina Narcisi, The Channel Company Listen to the full episode here
Advice for young tech journalists and public relations specialists…
“Don’t be afraid to ask questions. When I started out at age twenty-two, imposture syndrome was very strong with me. Do not be afraid to ask questions because, in general, people love explaining what it is they do. I like to tell people if I really don’t understand something, explain it to me like they’re explaining it to their grandmother. No one will think less of you and they’ll probably appreciate the honesty. You’re not proving anything by pretending you know something you don’t.”
Episode #22: Sascha Segan, PCMag.com Listen to the full episode here
Intrigued by 5G…
We learn from Sascha that he is fascinated with the development and growth of 5G. The reason being is simple, this technology changes how we live in so many subtle ways. He explains that, as a reporter, he’s been through the wireless waves of 2G to 3G and 3G to 4G, and with those waves, there are all of these subtle differences that improve our way of living but they add up in a huge way. He believes that if the FCC were to free up more mid-band spectrum for 5G, we could see adoption happen much faster because it's much easier to build at mid-band with its greater range. He also mentioned that he loves talking about 5G because it allows him to “geek out really hard.”
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