Tech Nation Media Information

Here, you can find all the essential information needed to pitch and prepare guests for interviews exploring the impacts of science and technology.

How to Book Guests

Pitching Guidelines
  • General Pitches: Email your pitches to technationmedia@gmail.com and include qualifiers for guests, story details, and organizational information
  • Author Interviews: Send us your electronic press kits. Books can be sent electronically or mailed to our address: Tech Nation Media, 6 Loraine Ct, San Francisco, California, 94118.
Please consult our “Guest Selection Criteria” to ensure the appropriateness of guests and stories.

Interview Sites

Tech Nation and BioTech Nation interviews are conducted remotely from the guest's home or office studio, ensuring high audio quality standards. An audio test will be scheduled before the interview. The best results can be achieved with a microphone and wired earphones on the guest's computer.

Guest Selection Criteria

Publicists or prospective guests should first pitch the "guests" and then the "story" they wish to share. Different productions have specific contact guidelines.
Tech Nation
Guests should meet the following criteria:
  • Strong human interest appeal.
  • Relevance to a wide audience, with national or international interest.
  • Inclusion of technology and/or science in their story.
  • Ability to sustain a compelling 20 to 30-minute interview.
  • Appropriate credentials related to the story.
  • Ability to be present in our San Francisco studios or a professional remote studio. There are associated costs ranging from $125 to $150 for remote interviews, which sponsors or publishers typically cover. Tech Nation Media absorbs costs for sessions recorded at our local studio in San Francisco.
BioTech Nation
We focus on the biotech industry’s impact on society, covering topics from science to product lifecycle. Interviews are typically held at KQED in San Francisco or during the International BIO conference each spring, lasting 7 to 25 minutes based on the content.
Essential Questions for Potential Guests
  • What is the key problem you are aiming to solve, or what product are you developing?
  • What emerging technologies or scientific breakthroughs are you leveraging?
  • What are the biggest challenges or risks associated with your project?
  • What stage are you at in the science-to-product lifecycle?
  • Can you provide the current status of your effort or project?
Essential Materials
  • A comprehensive biography of the guest(s), identifying relevant experience and education.
  • Supportive material such as books, coverage in the media, press kits, scholarly articles, or reviews.

Strategies for Booking Tech Nation Guests

  • It is crucial to provide easily verifiable credentials and a detailed biography.
  • Steer clear of pitches more suitable for trade-specific press or financial journals.
  • Focus on guests whose work and stories reflect broader societal influences rather than just product advancement. Products might occasionally receive exposure if the individual is compelling and the product uniquely impacts our lives.
  • Our interviews are designed to emphasize long-term changes and developments rather than focusing on immediate news.
  • Guests who reflect the changes in our society and/or the effect of past technologies on society are also considered.
  • We warmly welcome stories about scientists and advancements in science, including fields such as psychology.
Let us know if you have any other strategies in mind.

Distribution

Tech Nation Media is committed to producing a one-hour weekly interview program, Tech Nation (TN), that delves into various topics, including science, technology, health, biotechnology, and privacy/security.
Platforms include:
Domestic
  • Broadcast on the NPR Channel (Sirius-XM Satellite Radio) Weekly.
  • Available on NPR News & NPR One apps.
  • Broadcast across a network of domestic public radio stations.
International
  • Syndicated four times weekly across 177 countries via American Forces Radio International.
  • Accessible via multiple podcast streams, including NPR One, iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher, and Amazon Alexa.
Note: Since individual producers handle different aspects of the Tech Nation and BioTech Nation productions, please refrain from contacting producers directly for bookings. Key producers currently engaged in these initiatives include Christie Dames, Mike Fisher, Matt Gardner, Nicole Hamilton, Olga Levin, Paul Lorton, Stephanie Martin, Nola Masterson, Kevin O'Malley, Roxy Shafii, and Howard Sypher.