Monday: Last call for several stories + a quick debriefing. Oy to the vey, lot to chat about today!

Plus: New job leads! Also: If you are pitching kosher for Passover products, some guidelines to keep in mind.

Happy Monday!

Some newly published stories to share on this rather Manic Monday, for Forbes.com: 17 Spring-Inspired Cocktails To Enjoy This Easter and also 15 Sustainable Cocktails To Enjoy During Earth Month. (Note, I’m also working on a Passover cocktails story that I will be wrapping up in the next few days, so get those pitches in now!) Also, for Travel & Leisure: I Travel Solo Often, and I Won’t Stay in Another Airbnb Without Packing This 1 Safety Device.

Another admin note: I’m going to be wrapping up my tax season food deals at restaurant chains story in the coming few days, as well as my story on southern chefs sharing advice from their moms, so send those pitches my way as well! (And please scroll down for specific sourcing instructions before you do so!)

Now, a little bit of an explainer —this below is ONLY for those people who are pitching food or spirits for Passover this season and everyone else can feel free to scroll past, but for those who need it and are interested, this part is here to help you help me and not to in any way scold anyone…

As happens every season, you probably saw I’m working on a few stories this year related to food and wine/spirits that are kosher for Passover. (You might have caught some I’ve done in the past, such as, for Forbes: Shopping For Passover Wine And Spirits Requires Careful Preparation, for Wine Enthusiast: 10 Passover Wines to Make Your Seder Shine, and for Southern Living: Invited To Your First Passover Seder? Here's What You Should Bring.)

In this year’s call for pitches, as with previous years and previous stories, I always very specifically state in my call for sources that kosher and kosher for Passover are two very distinct certifications and the items I include need to be certified specifically for Passover.

…and EVERY day, I receive many pitches for products, telling me these items are kosher for Passover, when they are clearly not. In fact, sometimes I am argued with when I try to explain the distinction…(sometimes the items are not even kosher, let alone kosher for Passover…again, not the same thing!)

Now, this is by no means telling anyone at all how to observe or what the right way to observe is, but simply: What is kosher for Passover for those who are observant — who happens to be the audience reading an article about kosher for Passover foods. We owe it to them to give accurate information.

Jewish homes go through a lot each holiday to ready their home for Passover and introducing something into it that contains chametz (more on that soon) and is not marked for Passover will undo of their work and derail the holiday (and anyone eating with them or their home).

Now, note: I’m not at all religious. I don’t pretend to be. 1’m not kosher in my day-to-day lifestyle. I love shellfish and cheeseburgers and post about it on Instagram regularly. We all know this. But, out of respect to my family and tradition, I actually observe the holidays pretty authentically — but even if I didn’t, if I was going to write a story geared toward kosher products, I am going to make sure I write that story in a legit way and only include authentically kosher products — in the same way, that if I was writing a story about vegan items, or gluten-free items, I’d never put someone at risk by saying something adhered to those certifications if it didn’t.

It’s really important when pitching kosher foods to a kosher audience for a Passover story (or any dietary law of any religious group, to be armed with the right information before you set out and avoid inaccuracy or embarrassment for anyone.)

I’m going to try to explain this in a really simple, user-friendly way and see if it’s helpful.

To be kosher (or, kashrut) is the basic dietary laws for observant Jewish people. These laws are applicable 365 days a year.

…except the laws are different on Passover.

The difference between standard kosher and Kosher for Passover is that kosher rules are WAY more specific for Passover. During Passover, you are not allowed leavened foods (which we Jews refer to as chametz, but it’s not necessary to know that for this conversation).

Basically Kosher for Passover means nothing that contains wheat, rye, barley, oats, and spelt. (The reason matzo is OK though it contains flour from grains is that the dough must be completely baked within 18 minutes of the water mixing with the dough. This is to prevent the leavening process in the dough.)

But honestly, as people pitching food products for stories related to the holiday, and food/drink on the holiday, you totally don’t need to know all those details.

All you need to know is: These additional requirements mean that although kosher for Passover food can be eaten year round, food that is kosher year round isn't necessarily kosher for Passover. And NOTHING is Kosher for Passover that isn’t certified to be so. Everything from your wine to your bottle of horseradish needs to be marked. If it isn’t…it may be kosher every other week of the year, but it’s not kosher that week — and does not apply to stories about products for that week.

Now, again, I’d never tell ANYONE what to do or how to observe or what observations or beliefs are right or wrong. But if you are pitching for Passover, to people writing about Passover, it’ll be super helpful to you (and placing your client) to know the difference…no one wants to be the person in a story misrepresenting their product or their client.

I hope that helps. And if it doesn’t…I’m always here for you. Email me anytime!

Job leads

Edelman is looking for a Media Supervisor to join their earned media team. More info here.

Limited-time deals on consulting sessions and ad placement!

Reminder: I’m offering a limited-time special consulting session discount for paid subscribers: If you are a paid subscriber, you can for a limited time, get 25% off a virtual consulting session (where we can have your own private or agency-wide AMA session on anything you want to chat about!) — I have some slots open in the next few weeks, so if you or your agency is interested in booking one, email me today and we’ll chat details.

Flash sale: If you book a group subscription for your agency, you may be eligible for a FREE consulting session for your team (if you buy 12 or more seats as part of your annual group subscription). Email me so we can discuss!

I’m also offering a seasonal special on advertising in this newsletter. I’d love to place your sponsored posts and advertising in this substack, which goes out to nearly 10,000 media professionals every single day; Note: I do limit advertising to only what would be of interest to my readers, but am open to both short paragraph blurbs and dedicated posts - if you are interested in chatting details and scheduling something, please email me at alywalansky@gmail.com today!

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Thank you for helping get the word out!

We had an amazing turnout at our recent Mother’s Day gift guide pitching workshop — and there’s a full recording available for paid subscribers. If you are interested in me sending you the video link, drop me an email. Thanks so much for your support and happy gift guide pitching!

Related: We loved how many of attended you took the time to attend our webinar event last month, covering the upcoming ShareASale to Awin migration. We covered an overview of the migration process and timeline, pricing of networks, and choosing a network for your specific client needs. If you missed it, we do have a recording available for paid subscribers. Email if interested and I’ll share how to grab that recording as well!

Looking to up your affiliate marketing game?

Affiliate marketing is complicated, and it seems that the landscape keeps changing. If you are looking to be prepared for gift guide season and all other shopping-related content, you may want to try the Ultimate Masterclass and Introduction to Affiliate Marketing for Publicists. It's a brilliant course and it'll answer all your questions (including some you didn't know you had!)

Newly published or freshly updated

Since people are often asking about the status of stories from a while ago, and I only share stories in this newsletter that were published or updated in the current week, I have created a list of my author pages at various publications to which I contribute. Bookmark it and make your life a bit easier.

• Forbes.com: 17 Spring-Inspired Cocktails To Enjoy This Easter

• Forbes.com: 15 Sustainable Cocktails To Enjoy During Earth Month

• Travel & Leisure: I Travel Solo Often, and I Won’t Stay in Another Airbnb Without Packing This 1 Safety Device

• Yahoo Life!: Best pedometers of 2025, tested and reviewed

• Yahoo Life: The best black tea to brew in 2025, according to testers and experts

• Travel & Leisure: I Found the Perfect Walking Shoes to Prevent Sore Feet During Travel — Score Styles on Sale Up to 62% Off

• Apartment Therapy: The $3 Cleaning Gem I Use in Almost Every Room of My Small Apartment

• Today.com: Do drugstore wrinkle creams really work? Experts weigh in

• Food Network: Popeyes Is Bringing Its Most Popular Sauces to Grocery Aisles.

• Southern Living: KFC Is Bringing Back Their Most-Requested Side—But For 2 Weeks Only

• Travel & Leisure: In-flight Theft Is Unfortunately a Thing, but These 12 Items Give Me Peace of Mind When I'm Traveling by Plane

• Apartment Therapy: I Asked Pro Travelers to Share Their Packing Tips for Spring Break

• RetailMeNot: How to Save Money on Groceries in 2025: 10 Tips That Actually Work

• Southern Living: The Unexpected Reason I Always Travel With Duct Tape—And You Should Too

If you or your client are featured in any of these stories, I super appreciate any social media shares! Please remember to tag @alywalansky and the outlet.

Here’s what I’m working on:

Be sure to read the below list carefully. Many are stories I posted about yesterday, but some of yesterday's stories are no longer listed and a few new ones have been added since yesterday. This (below) is everything that is still a currently open opportunity as of today.

Please remember when pitching me: Email me at alywalansky@gmail.com - do NOT just hit reply on this newsletter, or there’s a good shot your email will be lost in the heap. Give your email a subject line that makes it clear which story you are pitching me for — it’ll help you in the long run.

Please consult my industry insights guides on submitting expert commentary, sending emails that will catch a journalist’s attention, how to craft pitches journalists will say ‘yes’ to, and the right and wrong way to submit photos, if you need any extra guidance before sending your pitches.

Southern Living

Southern Chefs Share The Best Cooking Advice They Received From Their Mom - really excited about this piece I’m working on as we lead up to Mother’s Day. For this one, I’m looking for one cooking tip/method/hack they learned from their mom/grandma (or any important female role model in their life) that informs how they cook and run their kitchens to this day. Even better if they happen to have some classic kitchen photos of them and their mom to share! Would love to hear from some notable celebrity chefs based in the south or from the south originally for this one.

Food Network

For FoodNetwork.com, I’m rounding up national restaurant chains offering food deals/freebies/promotions in honor of tax day/tax season. If this is you, please tell me what the deal is, how to claim it, and any disclaimers. Would also love imagery or links to social media posts advertising the promo if you happen to have it. Thanks!

Forbes

I’m rounding up Kosher for Passover treats/snacks/beverages (must be certified as SPECIFICALLY kosher for passover and not just regular kosher certified - a reminder that these are completely unique certifications and this differentiation is crucial for anyone observing the holiday. Please email me if you have anything!)

I’m also looking for Passover-themed cocktails, as well as spring-themed and Mother’s Day-themed, that are on the menu or will be over the holiday in either restaurants are bars. If you have anything, please send me all the following info:

• Name of drink/where it’s found, city, state, URL

• description

• quote from chef/bartender

• image (and who to credit)

…and Mother’s Day gift guide assignments are coming soon. Maybe as soon as this week. So keep your eyes on this space!

<3

aly