For the second year in a row, Fifth Ring has sponsored the annual PRSA Houston Energy Media Mixer. The event brings together members from the oil and gas public relations community and editors from some of the most prominent oil and gas publications in Houston.

After breakfast, networking and brief introductions, the panelists took questions from the audience. Panelists included Eldon Ball, editor-in-chief at Offshore Magazine, Pramod Kulkarni, editor-in-chief at World Oil magazine, Rhonda Duey, executive editor at Hart’s E&P magazine, and Simone Sebastian, the senior energy reporter for the Houston Chronicle.

There were several pieces of great information to walk away with, however our top five takeaways are listed below:

1. Know the publication you’re pitching to. Take the time to read past issues of a publication so you can become familiar with their writing style, tone and perspective. Also be familiar with what type of topics they cover, pitching relevant topics increases the likelihood you’ll be picked up now and in the future.
2. Be familiar with editorial calendars, but don’t be afraid to deviate from them. An editorial calendar serves as a guideline for the content in upcoming issues. However, if you have a great idea for an editorial that fits with the general content profile of the publication, don’t hesitate to pitch it to the editors. The panelists said they always leave room for current events and news that couldn’t be predicted at the time they created the editorial calendar.
3. Publications are constantly looking for online content. Time sensitive news can easily be uploaded to the website in minutes rather than waiting for a printed copy.
4. Do your homework before making follow-up calls. Try to note which editors appreciate calls, and which don’t. Make sure to always do a thorough online search before calling an editor to see if your press release was used, especially with general interest press releases like staff appointments.
5. Digital subscriptions are a slow growing trend, but digital content for the website is booming.There is high demand for online content, and readers are slowly moving to digital magazine subscriptions. Our panelists estimated that 20 to 30 percent of their subscriptions are now digital.
   
   
   
   

   Written by Claire Jackson