Advice from the Media | Kevin Bushweller
Name: Kevin Bushweller
Title: Executive Editor
Media Outlet: Education Week Digital Directions (Publisher is Editorial Projects in Education Inc.)
Twitter Handle: @kbushweller
Web site: www.digitaldirections.org
1) Describe your typical workday in 140 characters or less.
There is no typical day, seriously. One day, I might be giving a keynote speech at a national conference. And the next day I might be scrambling to get a magazine issue out the door.
2) What’s the best pitch you’ve ever received?
Let me re-frame the question: Who are the best pitch artists? They are the PR folks who think like journalists. They see how their products or services fit within a bigger picture story or trend.
3) The greatest words of wisdom an editor ever gave you?
“You are only as good as your next story.” Generating original ideas is key to survival.
4) If there was one thing you could tell every PR practitioner, what would it be?
If you sound like everyone else, you will not get my attention.
5) What’s your craziest or most interesting newsroom story?
I arrived in New York City on Sept. 10, 2001, to work on a story about the psychological impact on a high school teacher who was violently assaulted by a student. I drove to school with the teacher the next morning, arriving in Manhattan on a beautiful day not knowing what was happening above us in the air. I spent the day at the school, working on a breaking story for Education Week’s web site about what it was like to be in a school near the Twin Towers on Sept. 11, 2001. I also used the day to observe how the teacher I was visiting handled the stress. The story about the teacher appeared in Teacher Magazine and Education Week several weeks later and eventually won a national writing award from the Education Writers Association.
6) What sets your page apart from the competition?
Education Week Digital Directions provides the most balanced, critical coverage in the business about educational technology topics. And the visual presentation of the magazine is exceptional.
7) Any shameless self-promotion you want to add?
Read my favorite Editor’s Note: “Necessity Drives Innovation”