How a disruptive media outlet thinks about pitches.
Amanda Coffee is CEO of Coffee Communications and ex-Under Armour, PayPal and eBay.
Sherwood is one of the newest players in business journalism, operating as the editorially independent news arm of Robinhood. With a mission to deliver finance and business news tailored to a retail investor audience, Sherwood covers many of the same stories as legacy outlets but through a lens that speaks directly to individual investors. In this conversation, we sit down with Edward Moreno, a business reporter at the outlet, to discuss his beat, which spans healthcare, GLP-1s, and even dating apps and cannabis, the kinds of pitches that actually grab his attention.
- Sherwood is a relatively new media outlet. Can you provide an overview of what the news organization is focused on?
Sherwood covers business and finance news but catering to a retail investor audience, generally speaking. We’re an editorially independent news arm of Robinhood. So, we’ll cover a lot of the same news that the legacy business press would but the way we cover it or the companies we focus on may look a little different.
- What’s your beat focused on? What topics drive the most readership?
I cover healthcare generally, which ranges from insurers to cannabis companies. I also cover dating apps, though that’s a smaller and less newsy group of companies.
The bulk of my job these days is covering GLP-1s, which is what readers seem most interested in as it relates to my beat. Sometimes things like vaccines or Medicare Advantage will be in the spotlight but not as consistently.
- What’s an example of a PR pitch that was an immediate yes and why?
Honestly, I can’t remember the last time I received a PR pitch that I thought was a good story as-is. But I will almost always take a call with an executive or a director if it’s offered to me.
Recently, a privately-held company in the GLP-1 space was announcing a big ad campaign and asked if I would like to speak to their CEO leading up to the announcement. I let them know the campaign itself was not particularly interesting to me but that I’d be really eager to do a story based on the interview. That’s exactly what I did and I think we were both happy with the result.
Another example: A couple months back I wrote about a large pharmaceutical company firing a round of lawsuits against smaller telehealth startups. As I reached out for comment, one of the telehealth startups offered to put their CEO on the phone the next day, which is not something companies usually do after getting sued. Of course I took them up on it and I was able to use that interview for a larger story I came out with the next week.
I understand that’s a level of risk most companies aren’t comfortable with, but frankly, I likely would not have written about that company had I not been offered access during a major news event for the industry.
- A lot of your coverage focuses on the larger players in the industry. If a company is a startup and not publicly traded should they still pitch you?
They totally should. Most of the telehealth companies selling GLP-1s are private and relatively small but I still find it helpful to talk to them to get a sense of how things are going in the industry more broadly.
That said, I get a lot of pitches from startups saying they are “reshaping healthcare” (often in some “AI-powered” way) and would like a profile written on them. That’s a bit of a hard sell.
Details on revenue, fundraising, etc, get my attention but absent that I think the most realistic way for us to work together is to talk for a more thematic or news-based story.
- Do you have an example of a PR pro that built a relationship with you that resulted in more in-depth coverage?
I have one contact who has several clients in the financial services sector. At my previous gig (at The New York Times) I covered markets more broadly so he used to help me connect with analysts. That’s not really what I do anymore, but he was proactive in reaching out to me when I switched gigs so he could help tailor his pitches to me.
It turns out he also represents a firm that releases a lot of economic research on tariffs, specifically as it relates to European pharmaceuticals, which has been a huge story this year. It’s been very helpful to have his clients’ insights in my inbox and I’ve used them quite a bit.
That’s just one example, but generally, my best experiences with PR folks (both in-house and agency) have come after a get-to-know you chat. So, if your boss or client does stuff in my coverage area, let’s talk.
- You have a background in writing for the legal audience at your previous roles at The New York Times, Bloomberg Law, Law360 and The Hill. What about thinking like a lawyer has helped you?
Cutting my teeth as a reporter at legal trade publications was helpful in a lot of ways.
For one, it taught me how to quickly find news in long legal documents and it helped me familiarize myself with a lot of legal and finance mechanics you run into as a business reporter. I’ve found that once you understand and have written about the wonky or less-sexy topics, the juicier stories are easier to find.
It also taught me how to interview lawyers, who are probably the cagiest people out there. Getting a BigLaw partner to say something colorful or revealing isn’t easy so I learned how to ask good questions. I still think lawyers are really insightful and under-utilized sources.
- There’s a ton of coverage on GLP-1s. How do you make sure your stories have a unique angle?
I cover the business of GLP-1s. So, while there might be stories to be written about the cultural or societal impact of these drugs, that’s not the kind of stories I’m going to do.
Sherwood also has an emphasis on data visualization. So if a story has a lot of numbers, we will almost certainly include a chart in it.
Another thing about Sherwood is that we’re a little less scared of being risquéthan most of the business press. I mean, I have probably reported more about erectile dysfunction pills this year than most journalists have in a lifetime. That’s all to say: if you have a business story about something awkward or unconventional, I’m all ears.
- How do you find your sources to quote in stories?
Honestly at this point I get so many pitches that the first place I go is my inbox. Often there is a pitch that’s a few weeks old that’s relevant to what I’m working on.
I’ve also been trying to find more creative ways to source now that I write for our specific audience. So, smaller investment firms or independent analysts who are active on social media, for example. I’m always open to suggestions.
The post Inside Sherwood: Covering healthcare, GLP-1s and the stories that matter to retail investors appeared first on PR Daily.
