Forums: Discussions for entrepreneurs and small business.

I was contacted a while ago by a news agency and answered some questions about startups in a tough economy.  Their photographer came out and took some pictures of the office and everything and gave us a specific date for the article to run.  The article date came and went, and I haven`t heard or seen anything.  I am wondering who to contact to find out if the article ran a different day, or is yet to run, or was scrapped altogther.  I havent` been able to get a hold of the journalist, and everyone else I talk to doesn`t seem to know anything.

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Brandon
De Novo Pittsburgh Chiropractic & Health
Treating Pittsburgh`s Athletes
www.denovopittsburgh.com

Hi Brandon,

That`s one of the most frustrating parts about publicity - Most of the time you don`t have control over the final story. It can be cut due to a breaking story, spacing, or any other editorial choice. And media members are swamped right now working with limited budgets and staffs.

Since you`ve already contacted the journalist with no response, you may want to contact the media venue directly. Try to get in touch with someone in the advertising department and ask them to check on the article for you.

Many times, a sales person, receptionist or intern will be happy to look up the article for you. If not, all you can do is continue to check online for the article and pursue other opportunities.

Hope this helps,

Melanie

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Melanie Rembrandt
CEO, Rembrandt Communications®, LLC
Visit www.rembrandtwrites.com for valuable PR tips and SEO copywriting help!
Twitter: @RembrandtWrites

Such articles don`t necessarily appear on the original date scheduled. Some feature-ish stories about my business have appeared months after the initial interview.  Publication editors sometimes need to make room - in incredibly shrinking newspapers and magazines - for the immediate news story of the day.

It is kind of odd that you haven`t been able to get a response for the writer responsible. Have you contacted the editor of the publication?

Last year I was interviewed for an article by a writer for the Associated Press. In setting up a Google Alert, for my business name I was made aware of each time the article appeared in newspapers around the country. It made it very easy to know when my business was getting media exposure.





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Jeff Fisher | Jeff Fisher LogoMotives | Tweet! Tweet!

It may sound foolish, but are you sure they were legit.  Many identity thieves have come up with inventive ways to get peoples` information.  One such scam occurred in Las Vegas.  A person posing as a mortgage broker contacted numerous people in the area and had them fill out the usual mountain of paperwork.  He then gave them his business card with his phone number to call if they had any questions.

There were only two problems.  First, no one could get through to the broker by phone.  And two, he was not a mortgage broker.  People simply believed he was a broker because he put on a good act. 

How do you know the people who contacted you were legit, especially since the phone number does not appear to be a valid number?  Also, how much personal information did you give them?



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The older we get, the more excuses we make for not chasing after our dreams. But truth is, goals are attainable at any age.

Melanie- Thanks for your input, we`ll keep an eye out online.  Also, I was able to talk to the photographer again, but she was a little fuzzy on the details (not that I had too much hope for her in the first place).

Jeff- I will keep that in mind, and have casually perused the papers since then.

nevadascul- I appreciate your concern.  The only information I gave was my name and business name.  The reporter also informed me that they got my information from a colleague who I was able to follow up with because I had a similar concern.  Also, everyone that I met with did have an appropriate looking id badge (not that that really means anything).



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Brandon
De Novo Pittsburgh Chiropractic & Health
Treating Pittsburgh`s Athletes
www.denovopittsburgh.com