Disclaimer for Journalists

By Melissa A Vitale 

My goal for MAVPR is to be the ANTI-PR firm: to do more than send media alerts and press releases, but actually curate brand stories and trend conversations that audiences can't help but click on. Not only do I craft more curated pitches than a long press release, but I research each and every contact before pitching. 

I am human: If you received a pitch that isn’t a fit for your beat, I may have found a specific assignment of yours and assumed you cover the topic regularly. Sending me a note of your personal and professional coverage preferences will make sure I only send you the most curated pitches for what you and your audiences will find innovative. I work across Sex, AI, Tech Startups, and Cannabis, Wellness, Luxury and everything in-between and I'm sure I have an angle you'd like to sink your teeth into. 

Let me take a moment to introduce myself: I am the publicist that “knows what’s up”. I’m a sex and cannabis positive Brooklynite with roots in New Jersey so I don’t like to beat around the bush. I smoke way too much weed to follow up 5 times on a single email as I’ve seen some publicists do. I even have an app that tells me if you’ve read an email so sometimes, I use that to avoid follow up at all. Nice right?

I’ll go out of my way to make sure I don’t come off as a pushy, coverage hounding publicist. If you want to feature my clients, great... I’ll have all image and quote assets ready for you on your deadline. If not, keep them in your inbox for future stories. I try to make sure all my pitches are engaging and all my targets are relevant. If they are neither, please let me know! I welcome feedback and thoroughly enjoy writing emails I know press will love.

When I send a pitch, I'm not expecting you to stop what you're doing and cover that angle. But I know that in the coming months, it may be useful to have that pitch sitting in your inbox for when you assigned a relevant topic. 

I only work with brands I love and support, so if I’m telling you a product is great, it’s not because I’m paid to do so; its because I actually work with some amazing clients and therefore I want you to try them, and make sure your audiences know about them. Along with brands I adore, I genuinely love working with media who are great and passionate about what they do. From an early age I've always respected journalists and held them on a pedestal. The journalists I work with are more than just a field in an email blast: I see the human behind each headline, and I'd rather build a strong relationship than make you feel used with every pitch you get. 

Being based in NYC, I work with a number of event producers and brand events taking advantage of New York’s media hub. If you get an event invite, please RSVP without worrying that I require coverage or will hound you for weeks after the event. I am not the Coverage C*nt! During the event, I won’t even be the pesky fly on your shoulder asking you if you see an angle yet from an event. If you come to an event, that is great! If you cover an event, you will be invited to every single event I ever host. If you come to an event and cover a related topic without including my client, then maybe lets talk, lol! Come to an event, enjoy, and if something sparks your interest (and I do some cool events from erotic off-broadway plays, immersive play parties, CBD self-care nights and cannabis speakeasies and dinner series, so I’m sure your fancy will be tickled), we’ll make sure you have all the event details, photos and b-roll you need. One thing to note, I try to offer plus ones and press bags to all plus ones, but with startups and emerging brands, my clients don’t always have the budget to do so.

Beyond pitches and product samples, if you’re in or traveling to NYC, I would love to make sure you get to an event I host and take things offline and actually get to know each other. The more I know you and what and how you like the cover topics and brands, the better I can communicate to you in the long run (aka the more enjoyable our working relationship can be).

Outside of events, I love to take things offline for a drink, a smoke, a night on the town, an evening in hanging out with my 20-lb Maine coon over a bottle of champagne and some snacks Italian-mom style (cheese plate, meat plate, and dessert plate all served at different times). Just because we work together doesn’t mean it has to be dry. We work in media this is why we do it! These are the perks!!

Sadly, I’ve had some journalists say that I ruin all other publicists for them, and I probably will. I hate that some people in my industry are so pushy and ill-mannered that they ruin the name publicist (one of the reasons I wrote this post). I’ve met some other incredible boss babes who “get it” as well and we focus more on telling great stories and offering great angles, products and education to strong media relations, but we probably only make up 1% of the PR industry.

Because I don’t work for a larger firm, I often miss the gossip of public relations. As a result, bad PR tactics are my erotica, so if you have a horror story you’d like to share, I’d love, love to hear it. Seriously I would love to know how bad some people can get because this way, when I pitch a lot one week, I don’t feel as bad.

I’m happy that I provide the best service I can not just to my clients but to the journalists I work with every day. 

PR is not the only goal in the next 20 years, I want to be president, and I want to transform human rights conditions globally, and I have the 20 year plan to prove it. For that reason, I’m passionate without being jaded, because I know media is just the first of my many careers (and if you’re politically minded, we could literally talk for hours!)

If you saw something that made you laugh above, let me know. I’d love to know what we already have in common

Thanks for reading and looking forward to working with you!