Episode #61: Pitch an Education Reporter with Cole Claybourn

“There are a lot of media lists that I have been part of, where I’m not sure how I got added to that list. I get pitches from products and people that are nowhere near relevant to anything that I cover. [...] I get stuff all the time on cryptocurrency and random stuff I have never once talked about publicly or written about.”

-Cole Claybourn, on receiving irrelevant pitches

Today we have an awesome education journalist who focuses on consumer advice. Unfortunately, even some of the most well-meaning publicists get his name and his beat wrong all of the time. We find that even with some of the most seasoned professionals, these mistakes are surprisingly easy to make in a fast-paced, efficient environment. Listen on to find out how some things that may seem obvious still fall through the cracks.

In this episode, you'll learn how to…

Triple-check your media lists and pitches
Understand the nuances of a journalist’s beat
Avoid being overtly self-promotional

Our guest is:

Cole Douglas Claybourn is an education reporter, where he primarily covers the transition from high school to college. He’s also a writer and podcast producer for Sports Spectrum, which covers the intersection of sports and faith, as well as his Christian podcast, “In No Hurry.” Before that, Cole spent five years as a public educator where he taught high school English and served as the Student Publications Advisor. He also worked for the Evansville Courier & Press and the Owensboro Messenger-Inquirer, where he covered both news and sports on a regional scale.

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Show Notes:

:00– Jackie and Britt discuss with our guest how he gets misnamed all the time.

6:24– Jackie officially introduces our guest.

8:15– Jackie asks Cole to introduce a story that stemmed from a PR pitch.

13:08– Jackie reads the pitch subject line and asks about the contents and focus of the pitch. This turns into a quick side conversation about how many irrelevant pitches Cole receives in his inbox regularly.

19:48– Jackie mentions Cole’s mention of consumer advice, and the types of experts Cole would like to speak to are discussed.

23:20– Jackie asks Cole to discuss acceptable overlapping topics with higher education.

25:10– Jackie asks Cole about his publishing schedule.

28:40– Britt asks Cole about editorial guidelines.

33:04– Jackie summarizes the takeaways from the episode.

41:45– Shoutout time! Cole gives a shoutout to Cory Marshall (San Diego State University)

43:36– Britt asks Cole about his pivot from teacher to reporter.

Connect with Clay Colebourn