The Recap: AMA with Marie Claire, Men's Health, OprahMag.com, & Women's Health

Here's what we covered.

On May 27, we were joined by Danielle McNally of Marie Claire, Spencer Dukoff of Men’s Health, Arianna Davis of OprahMag.com, and Robin Hilmantel of Women’s Health for our Ask Media Anything (AMA). These top editors and digital directions of consumer and lifestyle publications answered questions for 60 minutes straight, so make sure you check out the recording here. Thank you to everyone for their questions and participation!

Your media questions answered.

What stories are consumer and lifestyle media interested in amid the COVID-19 crisis? Below is a snippet of the questions and answers we covered on the AMA:

Are your or your readers COVID-19 fatigued? If so, how do we all move forward?

“Yes, but OprahMag.com found a nice middle ground. Our readers weren’t coming to us for COVID-19 news, they are coming to us for a bit of an escape,” said Arianna Davis of OprahMag.com.

Do you like/dislike random check-ins to see what you’re working on?

“You’re better off pitching a more junior editor with a specific beat who is looking to go really deep on a niche topic. They’d probably appreciate the check-ins more than a more senior editor who’s overseeing broad coverage,” said Danielle McNally of Marie Claire.

What types of experts are you most interested in speaking to?

“Someone who is actually an expert, they need to have the resume and experience to back it up. We heavily vet our experts and are careful not to quote someone who just calls themself an expert on their website,” said Arianna Davis of OprahMag.com.

In our new normal, what new sections do you see evolving over the next few months?

“Two words that go around a lot at Men's Health are ‘vitality’ and ‘joy.’ They have always been part of our DNA but now we’re really focusing on them.” said Spencer Dukoff of Men's Health.

Are you interested in data from brands that show trends?

“Data is always of interest, especially for nuggets in print stories. It might sound counterintuitive, but the more surprising the finding in the data, the more likely it is to get an editor’s attention," said Robin Hilmantel of Women's Health.

Are you mostly contacted by founders to talk about their products or by firms, and do you have a preference?

“I see [an email] if it is from a gmail.com address or if it is from an actual website. If there is a layer of legitimacy built-in, I am more open to responding. PR reps add a layer of legitimacy," said Spencer Dukoff of Men's Health. Danielle McNally of Marie Claire said, “The publicist is the way to go to get the attention of someone that is very busy."

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