Food editor and freelance journalist John Porter tells us more about the workings of The Publican in this weeks Focus Interview. Read on for some tasty PR tips.
About the publication:
Who reads it and how many of then are there?
The Publican has a readership of around 34,000, we also operate ThePublican.com website which has a wider readership profile, although with plenty of crossover.
What subjects do you cover?
News and features relevant to anyone running a pub or pub group.
What makes you different from the other outlets in your sector?
We’re the best.
Do you produce a features list?
Yes
Why? To help us focus on specific issues across the year as well as, of course, to attract commercial support.
Do you use freelance contributions, and if so, are they for any particular section/type of work?
We use freelancers for features as appropriate.
About PRs:
Do you work closely with PRs (e.g. for supplements, round tables, events) or do you keep them at arm’s length?
We have good working relationships with PRs.
Do you have any advice for PRs?
Know the basics about the publication – frequency, readership , etc – before you get in touch.
What’s the best starting point for a PR who wants to tell you about their client? Email me.
What information/input from PRs is most useful to you? News/features relevant to the pub trade.
Do you have a PR pet hate? Apart from the ‘will you be using my release’ phone call, it’s those who won’t take ‘no’ for an answer. We have to be the best judge of what’s relevant to our readers.
When is the best time for PRs to contact you & what is your deadline for contributions? Prefer email contact initially, I’ll respond if it’s relevant. Three weeks before publication for feature submissions.
About you:
What do you write about? I work as Food Editor of The Publican three days a week, writing about all aspects of the business of sourcing and serving pub food. I also freelance as a news and feature writer, researcher and copywriter.
What interests you most about your job? The pub trade is an interesting and challenging sector.
What led to you becoming Food Editor for The Publican? I had freelanced for the title for some years, and was invited to take on the role.
Do you Twitter? Yes. Why? Communication is changing fast, it’s important for journalists to try and understand these changes.
I’d like to have a go at… writing a pub food column for a consumer title. There are loads of interesting stories about pubs that just don’t get told currently.
If you could time travel what time would you go to? Back to the 1970s to give my younger self some useful career and lifestyle advice.
[lnk|http://www.featuresexec.com/publications/info_features.php?pubid=4273|_self|The Publican]
[img|jpg|John Porter]