When you think of Boston, what comes to mind? For many people, including Bostonians themselves, the answer would be a fierce hometown pride—so it is no surprise that there is a demand for quality local journalism, especially covering the city’s entertainment scene.
Alexandra Cavallo, deputy managing editor for The Improper Bostonian as of February 2014, has had time to develop an in-depth knowledge of entertainment and culture in the city. She started her journalistic career with a nearly four-year span at the now-defunct alternative newsweekly Boston Phoenix; from there, she joined Metro Boston as their entertainment editor, gaining a great deal of local knowledge and stylistic expertise in the process.
“I have experience at—on one end of the spectrum—a very lefty, alt-weekly at which we were allowed pretty much free reign to write about what we wanted, and express ourselves with a unique voice, and then, on the other, at a more conservative and mainstream daily newspaper,” she said. “Having navigated the transition between the two, I learned to strike a balance, and learned to temper my voice when needed, while inserting a more unique voice or perspective when it seemed fit.”
Her history on the Boston journalism scene also led to her current role. As it turned out, former colleague Jacqueline Houton landed at the Improper after the Phoenix shuttered and reached out to Cavallo when a position opened up on staff.
“… Networking and making solid connections with people who know your work is a really important part of moving forward/upward in any career, I think.”
She’s still settling into her new role, her first at a magazine. “I like the autonomy the new position affords me, for sure. If I’m being honest, the thing I probably like the least is that, now, I have to be at work at 9 am—an hour I’ve considered ungodly up until now.”
Of her goals, she said, “I’m hoping to, hopefully, bring some, for lack of a better word (and I don’t love this one) ‘edgier’ ideas to the Improper audience, and a bit of a different voice, while still aligning content with the Improper’s aesthetic.”
Some of those ideas may be found online in social media. As someone who works in entertainment/arts and culture journalism Cavallo feels that both Facebook and Twitter are “great tools for finding out about interesting, cool stuff that you might not otherwise be aware of.”
You’d be surprised how many stories have resulted from something cool a friend or friend of a friend posted to Facebook, whether it be a cool event, band, artist, etc.,” she said.
Still, caution is necessary. As a reader, she provided the following example: “When the Newtown tragedy happened last year, I and most people I know were glued to Twitter, following the breaking developments. While this was a great source of up-to-the-minute news, there was also a lot of speculation, misinformation and blatant slandering mixed in with the legitimate news.”
She continued, “The fact that someone on the Internet got their hands on a Facebook profile/photo of who they believed to be the shooter, and then that photo/information was passed among thousands (millions?) of users within mere minutes, falsely identifying the shooter, was a prime example of how, in this new age, readers now have to be as responsible for assuring the credibility of the information they’re receiving as the newsmakers/journalists.”
While Cavallo touted the easy access to information and the opportunities for writers that the Internet provides, she added, “I personally am a big proponent of the printed word (I will never get down with eBooks and would always prefer to kick back with a hard-copy of a newspaper and a cup of coffee than to read a long-form article on a screen) and think it’s a real shame to see so many newspapers and magazines begin to flounder, and fold.”
Pitching Tips
Cavallo advises PR professionals to “never, ever cold call a writer or editor with a pitch.”
“Send an email,” she added. “I can tell you with certainty, that when I receive an unsolicited phone call from some publicist or, worse, some PR intern essentially reading me a PR pitch over the phone, I am disregarding it as they speak. I’m not saying that’s right, I’m saying that’s my gut reaction.”
For better results, she advised, “Send that information through a concise, clean email — preferably with the pertinent info bulleted, bolded and made easily apparent — and then follow up with a phone call.”
She also warned against misleading subject lines that are attention catching but irrelevant. “I will open them, sure, because your dish-y subject line has caught my attention, but once I realize what you’re pitching has absolutely nothing to do with what you’re advertising I’m more annoyed than anything else. Fool me once, shame on you, I guess.”
