Help a Reporter Out

Heard of this? Help a Reporter Out http://www.helpareporter.com/ is the brainchild of Peter Shankman, an author and PR guy in NYC who got tired of going to his contact list when reporter friends were looking for sources for a story. He started it on Facebook then quickly out grew it and moved to its own site. When you sign up, you get daily (usually 3x) emails from Shankman with one to two dozen requests for stories. You find a story that you can help with and respond to the reporter. The subjects and publications range from the obscure (and a bit weird) to mainstream media.



There are currently something north of 16,000 people who have signed up to be sources. There's also a LinkedIn group.



Why should marketer's care? Well, first, if you're in the professional services world, what better way to market yourself than by being quoted on a subject that's close to your heart and where you can add value? Second, here's another great example of the melding of social networks and digital technology to meet a need.



Check it out. You may get the chance to have your fifteen minutes of fame riffing on your favorite subject.