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Erik Spanberg covers government, sports business, hospitality and airlines at the Charlotte Business Journal (CBJ). He was kind enough to enjoy a quick cup of coffee with Trisha and me to tell us about his adventures in journalism. Learn more about Erik from our Q&A below.
Q: What is your favorite beat to cover and why?
Probably sports business and government because they have the most strife and chaos. While very different, they are similar in that they are still both about winning and losing. And, most people like sports and/or politics, so that makes it interesting to cover.
Q: What is your source of story ideas?
I come up with ideas, our editors and other staff writers provide ideas, and sometimes public relations people like yourself. Plus, you oftentimes just look at what’s going on; if you had a soccer story you were thinking about, now would be a good time to write it.
Q: What is the best interview you ever conducted? Who is the most famous person you’ve ever interviewed?
A couple of months ago I was co-hosting on Bo Thompson’s morning show on WBT and we had the impressionist comedian Frank Caliendo in the studio. He may not be the most famous but he was certainly the most entertaining interview I’ve ever done. And as for famous people, I think I would say the late Paul Newman, who spoke to me and a small group of reporters when the Petty NASCAR family built the Victory Junction camp for sick and disabled children. Sadly, he did not share his salad dressing recipe with me.
Q: How do you feel that the political landscape in Charlotte has evolved?
Politics in Charlotte is much more popular and active since I first moved to Charlotte 20 years ago. Recently, we’ve held the DNC here, we have one former mayor who is governor, and another former mayor who is part of President Obama’s cabinet.
Q: From a reporter’s perspective, how do you feel the Bobcats to Hornets change will impact your writing?
Bob Johnson and the Bobcats became a mess of a franchise. He said some dumb things, in other cases, some people around town didn’t provide as much support as Bob thought they would and the whole thing just fell apart. The team was mostly lousy, they lost tens of millions of dollars every year, and nobody liked the name or the logo. Now the Hornets name is coming back at the same time the team is getting better on the court and Michael Jordan seems to be finding his footing as an owner. People have an interest and hope in the NBA in Charlotte again and for me, as a reporter, it’s good to have something to write other than Groundhog Day versions of lose-lose-lose.
Q: How do you feel like you the CBJ has evolved?
The digital tide has certainly changed the way we work. The CBJ used to just be a weekly publication that came out on Fridays. Now, it’s a constant conversation with social media playing a big part in that. It makes us more relevant because we’re covering things every step of the way — not just once a week. Now we can take it every step of the way and that makes a big difference. And we’re doing more with TV, with radio and so on.
Q: How can communications professionals stand out and catch your attention?
I always tell people to think about ALL sections of the paper; there is an entrepreneur profile; someone could author a column or essay offering his/her point of view or opinion; if a company has someone that could serve as an expert, that is always useful — the key is to think about all different avenues. Also, photos are great as we sometimes include those in the back of the paper. Additionally, as you know, media is fragile. Sometimes it’s just all about the day that you catch us. On a slower day, for example, there may be more opportunity.
Blog
Last week our very own Trisha McGuire was able to catch up with Charlotte and Where® Charlotte magazine journalist, Virginia Brown. Check out this post from Trisha…
Like me, Virginia is a rarity – a Charlotte native. After graduating from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Virginia worked at a law firm for a while but decided she wanted something different. She took the leap to change careers and pursue the field of journalism. Bags packed, she moved to the windy city where she not only gained a great education at Northwestern University, but also got to experience the COLD winters of Chicago. Fun! Upon graduation, she quickly moved back to Charlotte to work….and thaw out.
At Charlotte magazine, Virginia is an associate editor covering a broad range of topics, including travel, history and nature. But, she primarily focuses on travel, whether that be day trips, family trips, or Caribbean coverage because of Charlotte-Douglas being such a great airport hub and her work as a travel editor for Charlotte Wedding (for honeymoons). She also handles many of of of the magazine’s feature packages, such as the recent Burger feature and an upcoming “50 Things Every Charlottean Should Do.” Additionally, she writes for Charlotte magazine’s sister publication, Home+Garden.
At Where® Charlotte magazine, Virginia covers anything from dining and shopping to museums and attractions. The magazine is really designed for travelers coming to the Queen City to give them the local, non-tourist perspective (e.g. she might mention 22 gallery in NODA as an out-of-the-way fun spot for a drink). The magazine, which is global in scope, typically hires editors from the city, not someone trying to learn the city, so that the editor can truly provide insider knowledge. She still covers the main attractions though. For example, she might cover the Justin Timberlake concert but then talk about five things around that concert that are fun facts or tips, and maybe mention the best place to park. She also edits Where’s annual Guest Book & Map.
When asked about her travel editorial roles at the two magazines, Virginia said “It’s the difference between showing off the city versus getting away from the city for a break.” She described that Charlotte magazine of course targets Charlotteans who know the city fairly well, whereas Where® magazine is for individuals from all over the country. “I’ve found that some of my twitter followers for Where® live here but want to give ideas to their friends and family who are visiting, so they can show off the city.”
Virginia was kind enough to let me play role reversal, serving as the journalist and ask her some questions. She also generously allowed me to paraphrase her responses!
Q: What is your source of story ideas?
For the Where® audience, I find myself constantly discovering and re-discovering areas around the city and then tweet to Where® followers. Oftentimes, it hits me when I’m not working; I may be at a café with a friend. For the Where® audience, I try to think about transportation – places that have easy access, taxis around, or hotel hubs like Ballantyne & Southpark. I also think about business travelers coming in weekly, from Monday through Thursday. I try to come up with a cool happy hour spot that they haven’t seen yet. Some of my followers tweet about what they want. Other times, someone may just give me an idea.
Q: Do you ever receive pitches from PR/communications pros and if so, which stand out?
I do. I get lots of them for Charlotte magazine, but not so much for Where®. The ones that stand out are the ones that are the most targeted and you can tell the person did their research. They maybe reference a story that we did last month or last year. We can always use ideas. If they are evergreen stories, we might be able to fit them in an issue where, at the last minute, a story falls through and we need to replace it. In Charlotte magazine, we have a front of book section called “Buzz” that showcases people doing really cool things or local businesses.
Q: What is the favorite story you have written?
I wrote a story called “Rooted” in August 2013 about the city’s trees. I wrote about how important it was to have an urban tree canopy and what it means for the vibe of the city. I thought about, what if they all went away? I’m an outdoors-y person and I grew up here, so the story was important to me. Charlotte is actually in the top 10 of urban forests. Some places, we have 200 year old trees in the middle of large urban areas, largely thanks to codes and laws to protect the trees. I heard from lots of people after the story was published, and received lots of letters. It always makes it seem more worthwhile when you hear that a story you wrote affected people. That story took me about three weeks to a month to complete; that includes the reporting, writing and revising. It’s going to be in a book called “27 views of Charlotte,” put out by Eno Publishers this fall.
Q: What is your favorite neighborhood?
That’s a hard question. Sometimes I’ll want to go to a wine bar in Southpark, sometimes a dive bar in NODA. That’s the nice thing about Charlotte; it caters to differences. So, depending on my mood, I have a lot to choose from. I don’t spend much time in the suburbs but when I do go, I find little pockets that are neat. Most recently, I was visiting a friend in Huntersville and I found it so pretty. Charlotte is nice because it’s so diverse in what it offers.
Q: What is your lead time for your magazines?
For Where® magazine, it’s about a three-week minimum lead time, and it is a bi-monthly magazine. For Charlotte magazine, it’s about two months. For example, for the August issue, our closing date is July 3 but we started writing in early June. But, for evergreen stories, we can sometimes fit them in last minute.
Press Release
Strategic Management Decisions (SMD), a talent management and analytics company headquartered in Charlotte, N.C, has hired Pivot PR to assist with its public relations and marketing programs. Specific areas that Pivot PR will focus are message strategy, content development and media relations.
“It’s exciting to be working with SMD, a business completely transforming the way a business function — human resources — impacts the bottom line,” said Drew Porcello, President and CEO of Pivot. “SMD’s success is a testament to the power of small businesses, and one that we hope to emulate at Pivot PR.”
Strategic Management Decisions (SMD) is enabling businesses to monetize people management, ultimately accelerating and optimizing business results and ROI. With SMD Link, its patented cloud-based talent software with built-in analytics, SMD can identify cause-effect relationships between talent management data and business outcomes to transform complex analytics into actionable results. SMD’s analytics reporting and customizable action planning tools transform complex algorithms into simple reporting for front-line managers and individual employees.
Press Release
Pivot PR conducted a workshop titled “What’s Your Story?” to highlight best practices in public relations on June 6, at Industry Charlotte (Industry). Topics ranged from message strategy to media pitching. Local start-up business, Volcally, served as the case study example for the workshop.
Pivot PR utilized a live case study approach to help the audience more fully understand the practical application of public relations principles. Volcally’s current goal is to raise funds from local businesses to support its social platform where community members are recognized and rewarded when they use their unique skills and talents to empower local nonprofits. Pivot PR created Volcally’s message architecture, outlined a communications strategy and provided suggestions for corresponding tactics.
“Pivot PR did a great job,” said Adam C. Young, co-founder and CEO of Volcally Corporation. “They gave valuable, actionable information and fostered good group discussions.”
The audience was largely comprised of Industry members. Industry is a shared office environment designed for creatives, technology professionals, freelancers, small businesses and other independent workers. It’s also home to startups, small companies and remote workers who may be with larger firms outside of the Charlotte market.
“Our audience was filled with amazingly talented business owners who don’t necessarily have a communications background, but execute communications programs daily,” said Trisha McGuire, vice president and direct of client services at Pivot PR. “We hope that, with the guidance offered in the workshop, they can apply what they learned to their communications to further strengthen their businesses.”
Blog
Today I want to introduce you to a new Charlotte magazine called b2bTRIBE. What I like most about this publication is that it’s created by small business, for small business. The focus is on learning from and connecting with like-minded individuals, particularly business owners.
Before the inaugural issue is released this summer, I would encourage you to do the following:
1.) Take advantage of their feature article or Q&A profile opportunities to highlight you and your company.
2.) Sign up for your FREE print and digital subscription HERE.
3.) Consider all the different advertising opportunities found HERE.
You can also follow them on Facebook and Twitter.
As always, we’re here to inform and help you with your communication efforts. Please let us know if there’s anything we can do for you!
Erik Spanberg covers government, sports business, hospitality and airlines at the Charlotte Business Journal (CBJ). He was kind enough to enjoy a quick cup of coffee with Trisha and me to tell us about his adventures in journalism. Learn more about Erik from our Q&A below.
