How to Pitch Sarah Mitroff

1) What’s the best way to pitch you?

Email, never call. I don't answer my phone because it's almost always a pitch I'm not interested in and I'm usually too busy to have a one-on-one chat like that.

Send me a short, concise email with the details. Something as simple as "Hey, I have a new app I think you'll like for this reason. It does this, is launching at this time." Please no wacky/funny subject lines, just something straightforward.

At least 24 hours before the embargo lifts. Any later than that, and it will be extremely hard for me to cover it, so I probably won't. Few journalists come into the office with no clue what they are doing each day -- we have plenty of things on our plates and need to budget our time accordingly. Please never, ever pitch me at 5:01pm on news that's going to break tomorrow morning at 6am PT. It will not get covered, because I won't have time -- unless it's big news from Google, Apple, Facebook, etc.

 Ideally, give me several days or a week's notice of upcoming news. That way I can plan it into my week and maybe take a meeting if needed.

3) Other than your own, which is your favorite publication to read?

I don't read tech news from anyplace other than CNET, but in my off hours I read Lifehacker, XoVain, Autostraddle, and Vox.

4) Who’s your favorite journalist?

I don't really have one. I read the stories from my current and former colleagues, and industry friends because they're all awesome journalists.

5) What kind of stories interest you?

Human interest, backstories about how tech came to be and how-tos about the tech I use, like Android and Macs.

6) What tips would you give someone pitching you?

Make your emails short and show me that you put some care into pitching me. Meaning, is it obvious that you actually thought I'd want this story? Or are you just spamming me? Take the short time to check what I write about to make sure it matches what you're pitching.

Please do not followup hours after the first email. Also please do not use my personal email -- if its ends in @gmail.com, it's the wrong email address.

7) What will you never write about?

In my current role, I will never write about: enterprise anything or conference-calling software.

8) Star Wars or Star Trek?

Star Wars.