Building your contacts book
As your media contacts book expands, the faster and easier your media work will become. So how do you find out which journalists work for which titles? How do you get their phone numbers and emails?
Starting from scratch
Begin by scanning and absorbing as much content as possible from the media outlets you're most interested in.
- Note down the name of any journalists who are writing about issues which could (however vaguely) connect to your organisation, the issues you cover or volunteering.
- Ask friends and colleagues if they have any media contacts. Ask if they can introduce you to any journalists they know.
- Go along to any events where you think journalists and reporters might be and introduce yourself.
- It's even been known for PRs to befriend journalists by finding out which pub or cafe a particular media outlet's staff usually go to.
Directory services
The best free contacts information available online:
- MediaUK : A large directory of more than 3,000 national and regional media outlets (only has general switchboard numbers)
- askCHARITY Media Directory : A free contacts directory for charities, which anyone can add to (it's a wiki). It has insider information for charities on who to approach in media outlets with your stories.
- NUJ Freelancer Directory : A directory of 1,500 freelance journalists.
- Hold The Front Page : Another searchable freelancer directory.
- Clever Communications : This is a free book for charities who want to know more about working with the media. It includes a directory with hundreds of useful resources and national media contacts for charity communicators.
There are more thorough media directories available which let you search for subject specialists but they come at a price. Annual subscriptions vary in cost from approx. £1000 to £2000 per year. They often offer charities a reduced rate.
- MediaAtlas : They offer a discounted rate for charities that appear on askCHARITY (especially for those organisations with an income below £750k).
- MediaDisk and PR Planner : Both services are produced by Romeike. (annual subscription costs approx. £3000)
- ResponseSource : They also have a directory of journalists (mostly freelance print journalists).
- Gorkana : Another contacts directory available online.
- Benn's Media Directory : A book produced annually (approx. £200 for UK directory).
- The Guild of Health Writers : They have a substantial directory of health journalists (annual subscription £200 for charities).
Before subscribing to any service it's worth asking other PRs how good and up-to-date they find the contact information in these directories. Have a look at the discussions about these services on the askCHARITY Messageboard.
Also have a look at the services which offer cuttings and coverage analysis services in Evaluating media work.
Getting requests from journalists
How do you get into journalists' contacts books? You can receive requests from journalists direct to your email inbox using these services:
- askCHARITY : You can register for free to receive requests from journalists. Great for filling your contacts book with the details of journalists and programme makers interested in charities. Also good for making contact with (hard to find) freelance journalists.
- ResponseSource : Also offer a similar requests service but it's mostly used by consumer journalists (fashion, travel etc.) You have to subscribe to the service to receive requests (costs approx. £200 per year)
- ExpertSources : A directory of experts which is marketed to the media. You can add your Chief Executive to the directory detailing their subject specialism and advertise your organisation as available for media interviews (costs approx. £30 per year)
- PressChoice : Another (less well known) online directory of experts, mostly used by consumer journalists.
More on this in the article Responding to journalists' requests.
Keeping records
Each time you collect a journalist or reporters name make sure to note down:
- which publication/ programme they work for
- which section of the paper or programme they appear in
- what subjects they writing/ reporting about
- which days of the week do they appear
Use Google (or another search engine) and do a search on that journalist's name. You may be able to find their contact details and further examples of their work.
Each time you speak to a journalist or reporter:
- find out the best time to call them and on which number
- get their email address
- ask them what subjects they cover
- ask which days they usually work
- when is their deadline and which day is best to feed them a story
- ask what kind of stories they might like from you
- give them your mobile number and tell them you're happy to help them out whenever needed
Most PRs keep their contacts information/ records in Word or Excel. Some of the directory services, such as MediaAtlas, offer an online record keeping facility. Some large organisations purchase software from companies such as Vocus to help them keep their media contact records up-to-date.
Making friends with a journalist
- Call (at a good time) and chat with them on the phone. Introduce yourself and inspire them about your organisation. Be friendly, engage in debate with them. Try not to sound like you're selling them something!
- Send a handwritten letter to a journalist suggesting a story.
- Call and ask if you can take a journalist or reporter out for a quick coffee or drink.
- Offer a journalist your mobile number and offer to help them out with contacts for their stories.
- Respond quickly to any requests from journalists. If you help them out, they're more likely to take your calls and help you out in the future.
- Invite them to come and take part in an activity connected to your organisation. Invite them to come and visit you. Journalists are always nosey and keen to peak behind the doors of places they've never been. Local journalists always jump at the chance to meet local people involved in local projects they don't know about.
Read the next article in this section.... How to sell a story to a journalist