Podcast

Today, we’re joined by Sissi Cao, a Business and Tech Reporter for Observer. She joined the team in October of 2017 and covers major news and updates surrounding power players including Tesla, SpaceX, Toyota, Amazon, and Uber. She’s also worked for Trusted Insight as a Finance Editor and for Capital News Service as a Business Reporter and Web Designer.

Sissi talks about one of the most interesting cold pitches she received on the show today, the Slack channel her team uses for PR pitches, the similarities between Silicon Valley and the journalism industry, and more.

We’re joined by Christine Hall from Crunchbase News on today’s episode. Christine has been a Contributing Writer for Crunchbase News since April of 2020 covering startups and venture capital with a focus on venture-backed companies, entrepreneurs, trend pieces, and funding announcements. She started her career as a reporter for The Houston Business Journal in 2002. 

On the episode today, Christine tells us about her process for reading, responding, and forwarding emails to colleagues, how she’s adapted to remote work, her favorite kinds of novels, and more.

Today, on the 50th episode of Coffee with a Journalist, we’re joined by Caroline Haskins from BuzzFeed News. Caroline has been a Technology Reporter at BuzzFeed News since 2019. Prior to then, she was a staff writer for Motherboard and an Editorial Intern at The Outline. 

During the episode, Caroline tells us about her process for finding unique stories to cover, how hectic her inbox can be, a major story she broke during the George Floyd protests, and more.

Today’s guest is none other than Erin Griffith from The New York Times. Erin has been a Correspondent for NYT since 2018. She currently reports on technology start-ups and venture capital from the San Francisco bureau. Erin has also been with many other notable news outlets including Wired, Fortune, and Adweek. 

During the episode, Erin tells us about the type of stories she’s been focusing on at NYT, the importance of subject lines, one of her favorite stories she’s written, and more.

Joining us today is veteran journalist, Michael Liedtke from the Associated Press. Michael has been a business/tech writer for AP since April of 2000. He covers a wide range of tech businesses from Google and Yahoo to Netflix and Twitter. Additionally, Michael covers the issues affecting technology and society, including stories on privacy and innovation. 

During today’s episode, Michael talks about why he’s more likely to read an email he receives, his feelings on local journalism, and much more.

Mohana Ravindranath has been a reporter for Politico since 2017 and currently covers and tracks evolving stories within HealthTech, data privacy, algorithms, and the digital divide. Prior to 2017, Mohana worked for notable news outlets such as The Washington Post, Business Insider, and The Daily Pennsylvanian. Mohana tells us more about her “chaotic” inbox filled with over 50,000 emails, how she separates “buzz” from real news, the complexity of covering the eHealth industry, her role as a reporter, and more.

On today’s show, we’re joined by David Jeans, a tech reporter for Forbes Magazine. He joined the publication in March of 2020. His previous experience includes covering WeWork, real estate tech startups, and commercial real estate for The Real Deal. David tells us more about how he responds to pitches (or lack thereof), where the best stories tend to come from and how to catch his attention with an exclusive, one of his favorite books, and more.

Today on the show, we’re chatting with Jennifer Ortakales Dawkins. Jennifer is an entrepreneur and small business reporter for Business Insider. She joined the publication in 2018 and prior to then, she was a blogger, social media coordinator, stylist, makeup artist, and freelance writer. Jennifer tells us about how she prioritizes her daily schedule, what she looks for most in a pitch, how important pitch subject lines are, the types of pieces she tends to write, and more.

On today’s show, we’re joined by Julia Boorstin, a senior media & entertainment correspondent for CNBC. Julia joined CNBC in 2006 as an on-air correspondent and previously reported for Fortune Magazine. Today, Julia shares about the 100s of emails she received per day as a broadcast reporter, her preference for the type of pitches she wants to receive, how and why she started the Disruptor 50 list, how different it is pitching a broadcast reporter versus a digital reporter, the specific types of stories CNBC covers, and more.