Local Magazine Coverage Can Be Yours

(Nov. 2006) There is a myriad of local magazines that feature news about people, places, and things we know and love in our beloved city of San Antonio. Attendees of the November PRSA Luncheon Program had the opportunity to hear from the editors of two of these magazines. The guest speakers were Eliot Garza, Editor of NSIDE San Antonio, and Beverly Purcell-Guerra, Editor, San Antonio Woman. Both speakers spoke of the human-interest stories that most captivate readers and how you can develop story ideas to increase the chances of seeing your client covered in the pages of these publications. Moderator Lorraine Pulido-Ramiréz posed three important questions to the panelists and then opened up the floor for a few questions.

The first question was about the publication, the target audience, and the number of locations where the publications can be found. San Antonio Woman, celebrating its fourth anniversary, has a publication of 30,000 per issue. The target audience includes young career women, with women of all ages enjoying the insightful articles that cover many of the topics that are salient in the minds of San Antonio women. San Antonio Woman can be found in most H.E.B. stores and other selected businesses.

NSIDE San Antonio, currently in its first year, focuses on different aspects and topics geared toward the business community in San Antonio. There tends to be a focus on those who might be considered underdogs in business. NSIDE San Antonio is currently at 15,000 in publication and can be found at approximately 220 different business locations. While both of these publications offer subscriptions at very reasonable prices, it is great to know that they continue to remain free to the public due to their revenues being earned by advertising.

The second question targeted what the process is for deciding who will be featured on the cover of the respective magazines. Both Eliot and Beverly agreed that there is no particular formula for deciding who will be featured on the cover. Basically profile decisions are based on the pitches or ideas sent to the editors by their audience and others in the business community.

The third question was geared toward how the PR professionals of San Antonio might be able to make the jobs of these editors easier. Beverly and Eliot agreed that one way to do this is to research whether a story has been done by the publication, or whether it is appropriate for the particular publication. E-mailing profile ideas are encouraged because with e-mail an idea can be saved for future use. This is important because these magazines are on a bi-monthly basis so they beginning working on an issue three to four months in advance of the issue’s publication. Another area of agreement was the amount of time prior to an event should it be submitted as an idea for the magazine. Both felt that the sooner the better, for example an event being held in May should be submitted in December or January.