Help a Reporter Out, Help Yourself Out

We came across a great resource from an article in SPAN Connection, the newsletter of the Small Publishers Association of North America.

It’s an email list service titled Help a Reporter Out Pretty self explanatory, and a great concept. I registered to receive Peter Shankman’s emails three times a day listing requests from reporters who are looking for sources to complete their articles and producers looking for guests for their tv and radio shows. Each time an email comes in, I scroll through the list of requests. Each is just a short phrase. If I see a lead that one of our authors could potentially help with, I read the reporter’s full description of exactly what they are looking for. Each requests includes the reporter’s name, a paragraph of what they need, their deadline, and contact info.

We’ve been receiving the updates for a couple weeks now and have made some good connections. Ted Savas replied to a reporter who is working on an article about ghost writing. He is now working with her as a source. Today I came across a reporter who wanted stories about cigars for a piece he is working on. It just so happens, our Once a Marine author Nick Popaditch is in one of the most famous cigar photos around. I immediately replied to his request suggesting he might want to check out Once a Marine and interview Nick as a source. I heard from the reporter within the hour. Turns out his brother is a Marine and he’d like to interview our author for his piece.

This looks like it will be a great resource. I’ll keep you posted.