"Pitch This" is a Q&A with various print, television and radio journalists who have been asked to share their thoughts on how PR people can best work with members of the media.

Our first interview is with Joel Sappell, Business Entertainment editor of the Los Angeles Times.

Laura Galloway: What's your biggest source of annoyance when it comes to PR people? What turns you off?

Joel Sappell: When they don't understand what my job is, or do not appear to have read the paper and the kind of coverage that we do. On any given day, I'll come in and have anywhere from 15 to 20 e-mails from publicists. None are personalized or are pitching stories that fit our newspaper's style of coverage. The net impact is an immediate turnoff.

If a publicist hasn't got a good handle on who they're pitching, it won't work. You've got to understand the fit. And—I can speak for myself as well as every other editor I know—e-mail blasts do not work. Period.

LG: Follow ups are necessary for PR people—and often a dreaded part of the job. But there's a fine line between stalking and pushing an agenda forward. In your view, what's the most effective way to follow up?

JS: A follow up is worthless if the initial pitch isn't good. If the pitch has potential, then I'm happy to hear a follow up call, during which the idea can be refined. But if it's simply a matter of, "I want to make sure you got the e-mail that we promoted someone as the VP of Marketing at a somewhat second-tier company," than that call, especially if it comes on deadline, can be annoying and work against a publicist in the present and future.

For the initial pitch to be good, it cannot be a form letter. It's got to be tailored in some way to the individual publication. This means that the person making the pitch has to have read the publication. If you aren't familiar with who your pitching, it's a waste of everyone's time.

LG: Your most nightmarish PR experience?

JS: I haven't had a specific PR nightmare, but I can speak in general terms. These days, I do try to make an effort to explain how to best pitch, because I think bad PR is a problem for everyone.

I always suggest that when pitching, you should put an idea into a broader context, whether it illustrates a trend, something unique, or something novel in some way.

Let's take an example: something that's happening just as I'm talking to you. I just got an e-mail. I don't want to embarrass anyone, so I'll leave out names. It's a press release, a "VIP" event reminder that has been sent to me. It has zero relevance to me. I'm in LA, and it's an event that's taking place in NY. It's a retail event. I don't cover retail. I cover business entertainment.

If publicists do a good job, it benefits them and it benefits us, as journalists and editors, too. Their information can be folded into something bigger and more unique. A good story pitch stimulates our thinking and raises our awareness. But it needs to be known that most major publications are not going to take any single item and follow it as a story. It serves no purpose. Context and relevance are critical.

And here we go again: another e-mail in my in box. It's about an actress from a hit TV show who is lending her name to a health-related cause. This is an incredibly worthwhile mission, but I'm the entertainment business editor. This is completely inappropriate for me. And, it's a general release. Its an e-mail blast.

LG: So Joel, what's better? E-mail or phone?

JS: E-mail. A well-thought-out e-mail. Since I've been talking to you, I've been interrupted twice by other phone calls. I can tell you that in the newspaper biz, phones are not good. Faxes are dead. I don't even go to the fax anymore.

LG: What's the best pitch you ever received? Give us the broad strokes. What does the PR pro do?

JS: I've had contact with a PR person that was incredibly persistent in thinking about what actually makes a story. The PR people who are best are those who understand the ingredients of a newspaper feature or story, and, if one pitch doesn't work, he or she can go back and come up with a different angle. If you're pitching a concept over and over, eventually, one will hit—or there's at least a greater chance of success—than if you're trying to pitch your product on its own.

Again, it's got to fit into some broader context—especially at a bigger paper, where there's a lot of competition for space. I'll typically advise people to look at the stuff that's used as a news brief, and you'll see the level of competition. So the announcement of someone being promoted for something, in most cases, is not going to end up in the paper.

LG: Any parting advice?

JS: My bottom line advice is, it's really important that publicists do the kind of homework that is expected of reporters.