Thursday: A real-life cautionary note to travel PR about why vetting journalists is more important than ever.

So this is a call out to all my travel PR friends…

There’s a situation in our industry that I know a lot of you probably have heard about from social media, but if you haven’t, you need to know.

One of my very good friends is Jenn Rice. She’s been in the travel/food space for ages (and I actually know her from before she was in that space!). She’s a delight and incredible at what she does — which she does for some some amazing outlets.

But the last year she has been going through something kind of shocking. There’s someone else out there who has the same name as her — and has been attending press trips AS HER. This person gets away with it because technically, yes, they have the same name on their passport — and people will extend invites to fake-Jenn assuming it’s real-Jenn and she’ll…accept those invites. But she’s taken it further, using real-Jenn’s bylines as her own and “guaranteeing” coverage on these trips in said outlets — when she herself writes for none of these places and has no way of writing or publishing these stories.

Jenn has already caught fake-Jenn on A BUNCH of really major press trips in the past year — and it’s really been devastating for her as this identity theft is detrimental to her reputation and career.

It’s so important to vet journalists before inviting them on trips. We’ve all gone through smaller scale versions of people trying to be us for the perceived perks — I’ve had people make restaurant reservations in my name thinking it was some sort of golden ticket. (It’s not, I promise you. Don’t try it. No one will care!). Years ago, I had a hair salon in LA DM me on Instagram reading me the riot act for coming in for a treatment and never writing about it — I had to inform them…it was not me. I was never there. I’ve never had that treatment. I’ve never even heard of your salon.

But none of that compares to what is happening to my friend Jenn. So, if you are a travel publicist and are about to invite someone named Jenn Rice on a press trip or already have one pending, please make sure you are doing the following:

1. Emailing the right email address. The real Jenn Rice can only be reached via jenniferannerice@gmail.com. If it’s another email address, it’s the imposter.

2. Referencing the right social media. The fake Jenn is using Jenn’s outlets as her own and it is reflected on her Instagram. But the REAL Jenn’s instagram is this one.

3. If someone shows up on your trip that doesn’t look like that girl in Jenn’s instagram, that’s not her. You’ll probably want to reach out to real Jenn immediately (and cancel the fake one’s flight!)

For reference, this is the REAL Jenn - accept no imitations.

Aly Walansky

Aly Walansky on Instagram: “I have been friends with @jennricewrites forever, and that friendship has taken us to multiple continents and bunches of time zones - but today she judged the boiled peanut contest at @euphoriagreenville and granted me an exclusive tell-all interview after. Next level. Video within!”

June 6, 2023

But I think also this opens the discussion of vetting journalists. What happened (or is happening right now - it’s still very much ongoing!), is a pretty shocking, rare instance - and would make a great Netflix miniseries — but there’s always stories of writers misrepresenting themselves to get on trips or dinners or media samples.

People are such liars. It’s sad but true. Always Google people before inviting them. Where are they contributing, what sort of content are they contributing? Are those contributions current or did they write for that outlet 5 years ago? And, of course, you’ll want to make sure the social media and email and Muck Rack you are looking at is actually the person you intend to invite!

My friends and I have noticed an interesting trend the last few months where sometimes pre-press trips, people are doing quick introductory Zooms with attendees to go over itinerary issues and such. We can’t help but wonder if it’s a direct reaction to the Jenn situation, as it’d be a really quick way of finding out which Jenn you are getting. I’m not saying you need to do this, but do your due diligence and avoid grifters whenever possible — it’s a wild, scary world we are living in!

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.

This list will live on my Substack URL and be updated as necessary. That way, you can see what I’m doing at any publication, at any time, from types of stories to general structure of stories to even volume and frequency of my content at that outlet.

This can also help you to target pitching a bit better. That makes your job easier, and mine too!

PS: I love doing podcasts! Check out my guest appearance on Media Circus Podcast with Taiisha Bradley last week, as well as the Italian Wine Podcast recently, where we discussed all things Substack. Other recent podcast appearances include the Pitchin’ and Sippin’ podcast with the incredible (and super fun!) Lexie Smith, where we chatted about everything from press dinners and events and trips to, well, sippin’! I’ve recorded a few others that should be live soon as well and I’m always open to doing more — email me at alywalansky@gmail.com.

• Travel & Leisure: Mosquitoes Love Me, and This Is the Surprising Gadget I Swear by to Get Instant Bug Bite Relief

• RetailMeNot: 65+ College Student Discounts

• Forbes.com: 30 Cocktails To Enjoy When Celebrating National Tequila Day

• Clean Plates: Is Cottage Cheese Healthy? We Asked The Experts

• Clean Plates: The Best Trader Joe’s Items for Easy, Healthy Summer Entertaining

  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.

RetailMeNot

I’m getting started working to update my Labor Day Store Hours roundup piece from last year. Please check the link and if you were a chain mentioned, please email me and tell me if your hours for that day are the same or need to be modified from last year’s info. (And if you are another chain with Labor Day store hours info, please do send! Thanks!)

Forbes

I’m rounding up great creative/unique dishes/drinks in honor of National Spritz Day, National Avocado Day, and National Oyster Day, which are all in the next few weeks. Please only pitch me when you have all the components (Try to think of it this way: Emailing me without the, say, image or quote, is the same as not emailing me at all.)

• Name of dish/drink

• where available (city, state, name of restaurant — it MUST be on a bar/restaurant menu or be a special that someone can order)

• Description (a recipe is not necessary)

• Quote about dish/drink (please remember to include who is being quoted)

• LINK to image and appropriate photo credits (even better if you include those photo credits in the file name of the photo)

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!)

Virtual (and now in-person!) consulting sessions...

Looking for a consult as you plan your next event or trip? Or just want someone to take a look at the pitches you’ve been sending and give some feedback?

I've been popping into a lot of PR team virtual meetings and some other fun stuff and making myself available to answer all sorts of questions about pitching, events, and trips from a media perspective.  I like to keep these things chill and comfortable and relaxed all by sharing perspective and learning from one another. Note: I’m also available to travel for consulting sessions as long as travel expenses are covered. We can chat!

If you are interested in setting anything up for your own team in the coming months, please email me and we'll get something on the books! This is available for entire agencies or smaller group lunch and learn type concepts. If you are a freelance publicist and want to join in with a few other freelance publicist friends and set something up, we can do that as well!

Have a great day!

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