Inside the pitch: How to land business stories on Fox Business’s Claman Countdown

Amanda Coffee is CEO of Coffee Communications and ex-Under Armour, PayPal and eBay.  

Jake Mack has spent years at the center of some of the biggest business stories on television. As the booking producer for FOX Business Network’s The Claman Countdown, he fields over a hundred pitches a day and has helped land high-profile interviews with CEOs such as Nvidia’s Jensen Huang, eBay’s Jamie Iannone and M13’s Carter Reum. In this Q&A, Mack pulls back the curtain on what makes a pitch stand out, how to prepare executives for live TV, and why timing and news value matter more than anything when pitching one of the most watched business shows in the country.

What advice do you have for PR pros pitching Fox Business?

My advice to PR pros is to really know the show you are pitching and the anchor’s voice. I know I get roughly a hundred pitches daily. I think it is very important to keep the pitches short and straight to the point with guest, news and timeline. I very often will get pitches that are not business related or guests that are just not fit for what we cover on a daily basis. I would encourage PR pros to really know the audience and the level of guests each show has on. The Claman Countdown is very CEO focused. We focus on business, finance and stock market trends. Pitching news of day is very crucial. I often get pitches for stories that are weeks old. I would say to really keep an eye on the news to see what is stale or not.

You’ve booked high-profile CEOs recently, like Jensen Huang (Nvidia), Carter Reum (M13) and Jamie Iannone (eBay). What makes for a strong CEO interview, and how can PR pros best prepare their executives for success?

Great question… A strong CEO interview really depends on the energy of the guest and importance of the news. NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang was a very big interview due to their earnings report coming out just the evening before. Everyone was waiting for their earnings to be released, and it was even bigger knowing how little media Jensen does. Liz and Jensen have developed a great relationship over the last year, and it makes me so proud to have established that not just for the show, but for Fox Business Network. It is always great when the CEO is engaged and energetic yet informing and on the news.

The Claman Countdown runs across broadcast, digital, social and podcast channels. How do you approach each platform differently, and what should PR pros know about the benefits of syndication?

I often times will remind PR pros just how much attention and eyes our interviews get. Not only do they air live on our national broadcast channel, but we also then post on the Fox Business website as well as social media. Liz will post her interviews daily on X and Facebook. What is aired live, is the same clip we generate on socials and digital.

The show covers everything from AI and macroeconomics to geopolitics, innovation and consumer behavior. Which topics or industries are you looking to highlight more this fall?

The Claman Countdown is always looking to cover news of day. AI, state of consumer, real estate, macroeconomics, tech, etc., are always great sectors we like to cover. Sometimes it is tough to say which topics we are seeking to cover, being that we talk news of day. There is so much that could happen even between now and tomorrow morning. I always look for the biggest name to talk about the hottest topic in the timeliest manner.

If we don’t hear back after a pitch, what’s the best follow-up — one email, a call, or moving on?

Great question! As we know, the news flow is endless… some days could be lighter than others however, on top of writing/producing during show prep hours, we are getting pitched quite often, which is great! It is very flattering when so many big names and companies are asking to appear on the show. I will often flag the email in my inbox and respond after the show. A follow-up email the next morning is always great and preferred by me. Sometimes it could get challenging to answer everyone and that is just the nature of the business. I try my best to answer everyone. I would say to keep all communication over email unless we set up a phone call. It can get challenging when I get the same person emailing, texting, calling and sending me LinkedIn messages all at the same time. Keep your pitches short and sweet and address the news and guest very soon in your letter to me with a suggested date.

When several outlets are chasing the same story, how does Fox aim to differentiate its coverage?

I can only speak to how The Claman Countdown approaches its coverage and I can say Liz Claman sticks to the business angle of every story. I think what makes Liz Claman different and most inviting to get interviewed by is that she likes to discuss what our guests want to talk about. What is something they feel is so important, yet no one is talking about? We want to tell their story. We have one of the largest investor audiences in the nation. What do they want to tell their investors?

Can you share an example of a pitch that was an immediate “yes” and why it stood out?

An example of a pitch that I said “yes” to right away is when there was a major acquisition happening with two major companies the next morning. I have been in talks with this company for many years and this was the perfect time to have them on. The email pitch was short, told me the story within 4 sentences and everything I needed to know. Guest and timeline were bold and highlighted, subject line was not too crowded and it showed the appropriate urgency. I think some pitches get too long almost like I am reading short story. A lot of information can be discussed over the phone if there is interest in moving forward.

Who’s your dream guest to book, and why?

What a question! Only one? I often sit down with Liz and my EP, and I create a wish list of guests. I started doing this when I first took over as booker. I like to have visions and goals to chase. I often tell Liz that I shoot for the stars. I will always pick up the phone and make the call no matter who it is. If you don’t ask, you don’t get. I dream big and when I accomplish a goal, I dream ever bigger. I cannot pick just one. Ever since I took over as Booker, I have had a dream of booking Ken Griffin, Bill Ackman, Elon Musk, Andy Jassy, Jeff Bezos, Scott Kirby, Ted Sarandos, Jamie Dimon, Larry Ellison, Tim Cook, Satya Nadella, Sundar Pichai and Mark Zuckerberg.