“Meet the Media” Series: A Conversation with Maria Korolov
By Tim Hurley, Global Managing Director
If you work in tech PR and more specifically, cybersecurity and AI, chances are more than good you have worked with Maria Korolov. An award-winning tech journalist with more than 20 years’ experience, Maria has been a prolific presence thanks to her tireless and insightful reporting across the Foundry/IDG network for outlets including CIO, CSO, Computerworld, Network World and more.
What some may not realize is that in a past life, Maria had a very different beat and focus. She ran a business news bureau in Asia for five years and reported for the Chicago Tribune, Reuters, UPI, the Associated Press and The Hollywood Reporter. In the 1990s, she was a war correspondent in the former Soviet Union and reported from a dozen war zones, including Chechnya and Afghanistan.
One could arguably say with confidence, she has seen it all.
Maria is a true professional, one who values, respects and invests in her relationships with sources and that of course includes the tech PR community – both in-house and agency PR folks alike.
She was kind enough to spend some time with the Touchdown PR team recently to share valuable insights. She joined us virtually from her perch in scenic Western Massachusetts and she was happy to point out that the last of a brutal New England winter seemed to be behind her.
In her role as a freelancer and by virtue of her deep experience and expertise, Maria has a great deal of autonomy. She both takes assignments from her editors and can suggest stories to the various outlets. Her work canvasses the enterprise technology continuum, including but not limited to AI adoption and data centers.
For her feature stories, Maria mostly seeks enterprise user sources, preferably from non-tech companies, for their ongoing stories on AI ROI, RPA lessons, and leadership challenges associated with the adoption of new technologies. Not surprisingly, Maria – and her editors – place a higher premium on data, commentary and insights from that user community, or industry analysts, consulting firms or members of academia vs. the vendor community, but she was quick to point out that vendors do often successfully gain inclusion in her stories.
With breaking news however, Maria will speak with and quote vendor sources, provided their commentary is insightful and of course, non-promotional.
For Maria, there must be validation and proof of a trend or angle for her to report on it. She cited previous substantial news coverage, analyst reports, and customer case studies as sources of that validation.
Another key to success in working with Maria –– speed matters! She values prompt responses from sources, but she also prioritizes relevance and depth, especially when the source is a senior executive at a recognizable company willing to share actionable insights.
Flexibility is also an important part of the equation with Maria. For user sources, she and her editors are willing to adjust deadlines and prioritize interviews when needed. Maria shared that when a user source provides balanced input about vendor products and services, the vendor may be named in the story, but editors reserve the right to remove those references during editing.
Maria shared that trust and curation have become critical due to the rise of AI-generated content, and she now prioritizes pitches from known contacts over unsolicited emails.
Interestingly, Maria neither expects nor wants exclusives. She noted that for her, getting an offer for one signals a weak story.
To summarize the lively session we had with Maria, here is a “Fast Five” set of tips:
1. Be Real – Don’t patronize or waste time and real estate with “I liked your article last week on RPA.” Maria will immediately hit delete when she reads these words.
2. Lead with Evidence-Backed Trends – Ensure your pitch includes clear proof of a trend, such as analyst reports, surveys, or data, rather than just a product announcement.
3. Focus on Seniority and Depth – Maria will often adjust her deadlines for senior executives from recognizable brands who can provide actionable, “balanced” insights. Think CIO, CISO, CSO, etc.
4. Keep Pitches Brief and Human – Common sense tip here but do not send a long press releases; but rather, a concise, trend-focused email.
5. Request “Inner Circle” Status – Don’t wait for the perfect story; ask to be added to Maria’s contact list to receive her specific source requests as they arise.
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