In this episode, we had the pleasure of talking with Lisa Morgan, content strategist, and journalist for Information Week. If you are into nerdy subjects and bringing life to stories about tech, Lisa has done it all. She shares key points about her process for finding good stories in the tech world along with how following her interests drives her writing.  She also talks about how COVID-19 in 2020 affected tech reporting and what exciting themes 2021 will bring. In her mind, we have all learned a lot and the entire tech world has transformed into a world where we must be agile and we have to use tech to pivot. Lisa also talks about the way she is using AI in her own work. In our discussion, Lisa also went through the process she goes through in pitching new ideas to her editors.  We discuss what editors are concerned about and the pressures that journalists are under to help the publication reach its readership goals. Lisa shares how editors differ and what makes them choose one topic over another. We have spoken to some journalists who say bringing humanity into a tech story is difficult. But I was surprised to find out that for Lisa, it’s fairly easy. She says it’s all in asking the right questions and having the right source with the right credibility with the audience.

Get Known. PR & Media Podcast

Get Known. S3 E2 - Lisa Morgan from Information Week

In this episode, we had the pleasure of talking with Jari Tanner. Before his 16 years working at the Associated Press, Jari built experience at international news agencies like Bloomberg and Reuters. He is currently part of the AP team that covers the 7 countries in the Nordic and Baltic regions and spends most of his time in Finland and Estonia. Jari starts with a brief history of the AP and its interesting non-profit model, continuing with his thoughts on what it takes for a story to be accepted by this strictly journalistic organization. He also tells listeners about the skills required to build an incredibly concise story that his editors will agree to run, including the compelling pictures and videos that are part of every AP story. Linked to this is the way social media is changing the way news is reported. Throughout the interview, he provides advice for companies who want to pitch to the AP. It seems that humanity is a big part of every AP story. COVID-19 dominated 2020, but there are places where other stories meet the high threshold of interest. This would include Jari’s breaking of the hobby horse phenomenon in Finland that was then reported all over the globe.

Get Known. S1 E3 - Jari Tanner from Associated Press (AP)

A  personal show note from Steve for a unique Get Known Episode: Needless to say, with a global pandemic combined with a major social awakening that has been sparked by the killing of another unarmed black American, George Floyd, we happen to be in a moment that feels like a special opportunity for truth and understanding. Of course, when we are directly touched by seeing people we often know pushed to their limits and we see the protest in our own streets, it is easy to feel this way.  But this time, for me, the media I consume has provided so much new context and learning that it has made me feel very hopeful about the future. This is despite the fact that the things we are seeing and hearing are often horrible. I had the pleasure of stumbling upon a LinkedIn post from Laura Smith in my own search for more knowledge and understanding of the history of the black experience that led to the most recent protests.  Laura is another African American comms person living in Helsinki. In her YouTube video, she beautifully lays out some very concrete ways companies and individuals are able to use this moment to make a lasting difference. So I thought I would ask her to expand upon her thoughts in a discussion for Get Known. We talk about internal and external communications, the media, Finland, race, and some things from our own lives here and in the US. As promised in the podcast, below are a few links that I found helpful in my education. Even as a person of color, there has been a lot to learn and listen to because I am finding out there is so much I don’t know.  So I hope these additional items help you as well. Through Line episode on the history of policing in America. https://podcasts.apple.com/fi/podcast/up-first/id1222114325?i=1000477045455 This episode of Radio Lab is about the origin of the reasonable officer standard, with the case that sent two Charlotte lawyers on a quest for true objectivity, and changed the face of policing in the US. https://podcasts.apple.com/fi/podcast/radiolab/id152249110?i=1000477046043 “1619” is a New York Times audio series hosted by Nikole Hannah-Jones about the real history and legacy of slavery. https://podcasts.apple.com/fi/podcast/1619/id1476928106 The Air We Breathe: Implicit Bias And Police Shootings.https://one.npr.org/i/876073130:876079143 Patent Racism: The story of how black people in the US were. https://one.npr.org/i/876097416:876420841 Report of the Non-Discrimination Ombudsman: Racism and discrimination - everyday experiences for People of African descent in Finland. https://www.syrjinta.fi/web/en/-/report-of-the-non-discrimination-ombudsman- And finally, clear words of wisdom with 5 steps people can take to make a difference in this time in a video from Laura Smith.  https://youtu.be/g-qJPM-PEY4 

Get Known. S2 E9 - Thinking about diversity with Laura Smith

In this episode, we had the pleasure of talking with one of the best-known business journalists in Finland, Elina Lappalainen.  A lot of people know Elina as a tough journalist. and she is. But as you will hear,  it is clear that you can be a no-bullshit journalist and still be a really nice person.  You might be surprised to find out that she is into role-playing games and has written several children’s books. In our interview, Elina shared lots of inside knowledge on how stories get written, what companies should and should not do. She also talked about how PR people can help her get more stories out with so many pitches to choose from. Elina primarily covers the broad range of Finnish startups. As a business publication, Talouselämä’s and the other beats that Elina writes for are looking for business stories including growth and internationalization. But Elina did give away her soft spot for stories and that is companies that are making an impact on the world.

Get Known. S2 E8 - Elina Lappalainen from Talouselämä

In this episode, we had the pleasure of talking with Charlotte Jee from MIT Technology Review (Tech Review). Charlotte is a UK based journalist responsible for the Tech Review’s newsletter the download.  She also writes news and features for the publication.

Get Known. S2 E7 - Charlotte Jee from MIT Technology Review

In this episode, we had the pleasure of speaking with Peter Vesterbacka from FinEst and FinestNinja. Peter is perhaps best known from his work at Angry Birds.  Peter talks to us about his views and advice after many years helping companies get known and stay known.

Get Known. S2 E6 - Peter Vesterbacka

In this episode, we had the pleasure of talking with Margarita Khartanovich from Binary District. Binary District writes stories about tech-related research and development to catch “technology at its inception”. Their articles are also syndicated in Next Web. Margarita is also a PhD candidate in journalism focusing on the timely and fascinating challenge of how certain people can be about the news they consume in a world where there is so much to doubt.

Get Known. S2 E5 - Margarita Khartanovich from Binary District

In this episode, we had the pleasure of talking with Benjamin Bathke a journalist who is spending most of his time working for Deutsche Welle technology and startups. Benjamin loves to tell human stories and in our discussion, he dives deep into what motivates his storytelling and how important the human element.  During our conversation, he talks about how bad pitches are extremely vague, the humanity around good stories, and how media is changing because of news fatigue.

Get Known. S2 E4 - Benjamin Bathke from Deutsche Welle

In this episode, we had the pleasure of talking with Kati Pohjanpalo, the Helsinki bureau chief at Bloomberg News.  Kati shares her advice to gain newsworthiness in the financial press. If you are looking for financial media #PR advice with no bulls#*t, this is the one for you. Kati tells it straight and you will probably want to take some notes.

Get Known. S2 E3 - Kati Pohjanpalo from Bloomberg News

This episode we spoke with Amy Lewin from FT’s Sifted. Sifted gets deep with startups beyond the funding and into the interesting stories and how-tos of being an entrepreneur. Amy talks about everything from how she became a journalist to some solid advice to anyone looking to pitch to media. You can contact Amy on Twitter (@amyrlewin) or LinkedIn along with subscribing to their awesome newsletter (that Amy writes each week). 

Get Known S2 E2: Amy Lewin from Sifted, The FT backed new-media site for Europe’s innovators and entrepreneurs

In this episode, we had the pleasure of talking with Andrii Degeler from Tech.eu As tradition demands, journalists from around the world visited Slush in November 2019. Slush may be dark and cold in Finland but it's a great time to talk to busy journalists and pick their brains. Here at the Get Known podcast, we interview journalists about their work and what they cover so that companies know how to engage with the press better and get their company covered in the media. Our big goal is to make sure that companies who are reaching out to the press build the right relationships, pitch the right ideas, and better understand what wastes journalists’ time.

Get Known S2 E1: Andrii Degeler from Tech.eu

In this episode, we sit down with Virve Rissanen, the technology journalist from Helsingin Sanomat, to discuss how to approach mainstream media and how to tell tech stories worth reading.

Get Known. S1 E2 - Virve Rissanen, the technology journalist from Helsingin Sanomat

In this episode, we sat down with Tarmo Virki, Co-founder Magazine editor and broadcast journalist Katja Pantzar to find out how we can make their lives better when pitching and interacting with the media.

Get Known. S1 E1 Tarmo Virki from Co-Founder Magazine & Katja Pantzar of Blue Wings

Here at the Get Known podcast, we interview journalists about their work and what they cover so that companies know better how to engage with the press and get their company covered in the media. Our big goal is to make sure that companies out there who are reaching out to the press, build the right relationships, pitch the right ideas and understand better what wastes journalists and their time

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Get Known. PR & Media Podcast

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