A source is a source, of course, even when it's free and turning an industry upside down

Jordan Golson — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 14:43:48 -0700

When skydiving PR guy Peter Shankman started the "Help a Reporter" group on Facebook last November, he thought his project could connect a few reporters up with sources for their articles. He didn't expect his idea would garner clients like The New York Times, and challenge a long standing industry giant's spot on top.

Help a Reporter Out, or HARO for short, is a mailing list with more than 16,000 members and dozens of source requests being sent out daily. It's also a significant threat to the only other major source-finding game in town, PR Newswire's ProfNet. ProfNet, which reportedly costs upwards of $3,000 per year for potential sources, has a looming threat in HARO's free model.

The threat began to materialize in March, when Shankman turned his project from a 684-person Facebook group into a full fledged three-times-per-day mailing list that was dead-simple to sign up for -- and more importantly, free for both reporters and sources.

PRNewswire, on the other hand, charges possible sources just to offer them queries with reporters. Anywhere from $600 to $4,500 a year depending on what "channels" they wish to subscribe to. That's a significant amount of cash coming in that is now being threatened by Shankman. Why would you want to pay PRNewswire when you can get Help A Reporter for free? One PR agency sent Shankman a note saying "I did it! We are off the grid. No more pr newswire!"

PR agencies are switching because in a mere ten days after launch, he had doubled his readership, to 1,400 members. In two weeks it doubled again, to 3,100 members. The astonishing trend continued in May when readership reached 5,000 and by June, already past 10,000. Today, Shankman's "little" email list goes out to more than 16,000 readers daily. Not bad for a pet project.

A typical email starts with a few notes from Shankman about HARO, or highlights certain queries as high priority or personal anecdotes. Other times Shankman is casual, using his newsletter to share a skydiving story or his talk about "not fat but big-boned" cats, Karma and NASA. Following that are 10-25 source requests from big name sources like CNN, the Washington Post and the New York Times, and some from small blogs and local websites. One evening email looked for "small businesses switching to rail due to fuel costs" from Reuters, a question about bridesmaids from an unnamed national publication, and a request for product offerings for the American Express holiday wishlist for 2008.

It's a mix of many types of requests, but works quite well according some journalists. Jim Kukral, host of a daily podcast, posted a query for entrepreneurs and marketeers to be guests on his show. "In less than 24-hours I was bombarded with tons of high-quality and targeted proposals."

I submitted a query myself for people who had tried to activate a new iPhone 3G on launch day and had difficulties. Within an hour I had more than 30 totally on-target replies -- more than i could ever use.

For a reporter, finding good source is the difference between a successful story and a bland rehashing of current events. Having a strong network of folks to call on deadline is key to finding that perfect source and Shankman's Help a Reporter helps make that connection faster, easier, and cheaper.

Shankman tells me he heard from a source that ProfNet is so concerned salespeople have been issued talking points against him. With 14,000 "professional communicators" in its roster, ProfNet has a significant cash flow at stake, especially when your competition gives away its product for free.

Shankman says he'll never charge for his service and would never sell his mailing list -- the hour and a half per day that he spends on his mailing list results in great publicity for himself -- better than he could ever buy. Though, he does make some coin selling ads at "way over $100 CPMs" to advertisers like American Apparel.

The story sounds strikingly similar to Craigslist's start. Now Craigslist is blamed for snagging hundred's of millions of dollars worth of classified ad revenue from local newspapers and sending the industry into a tailspin. The HARO mailing list, if it continues to grow and expand, could do the same to PRNewswire by using cheap technology to undercut old media models. It wasn't the first, and it certainly won't be the last time a long standing industry giant starts wondering if the Web could threaten their revenue.

(Disclosure: I met Peter Shankman at CES in January when I made a fool of myself in front of an entire table of reporters. We're friends in real life, but he had nothing to do with the writing of this story other than being a source.)

7/23 Update: There is a follow-up article with some new information about the HARO/PR Newswire rivalry.

More news, commentary, and predictions from The Industry Standard:

Special Feature: The iPhone naysayers, one year later
Special Feature: IT vs. initiative: The Internet age comes to the battlefield
Special Feature: The Digital Home of 2013: 10 consumer technologies that will succeed, and five that will fail
Special Feature: Where are they now? The Industry Standard tracks down 10 dot-coms from the Web bubble of the late 1990s

A source is a source, of course, even when it's free and turning an industry upside down

Jordan Golson — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 14:43:48 -0700

7/23 Update: There is a follow-up article with some new information about the HARO/PR Newswire rivalry.

More news, commentary, and predictions from The Industry Standard:

Special Feature: The iPhone naysayers, one year later
Special Feature: IT vs. initiative: The Internet age comes to the battlefield
Special Feature: The Digital Home of 2013: 10 consumer technologies that will succeed, and five that will fail
Special Feature: Where are they now? The Industry Standard tracks down 10 dot-coms from the Web bubble of the late 1990s

A source is a source, of course, even when it's free and turning an industry upside down

Jordan Golson — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 14:43:48 -0700

7/23 Update: There is a follow-up article with some new information about the HARO/PR Newswire rivalry.

More news, commentary, and predictions from The Industry Standard:

Special Feature: The iPhone naysayers, one year later
Special Feature: IT vs. initiative: The Internet age comes to the battlefield
Special Feature: The Digital Home of 2013: 10 consumer technologies that will succeed, and five that will fail
Special Feature: Where are they now? The Industry Standard tracks down 10 dot-coms from the Web bubble of the late 1990s

A source is a source, of course, even when it's free and turning an industry upside down

Jordan Golson — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 14:43:48 -0700

7/23 Update: There is a follow-up article with some new information about the HARO/PR Newswire rivalry.

More news, commentary, and predictions from The Industry Standard:

Special Feature: The iPhone naysayers, one year later
Special Feature: IT vs. initiative: The Internet age comes to the battlefield
Special Feature: The Digital Home of 2013: 10 consumer technologies that will succeed, and five that will fail
Special Feature: Where are they now? The Industry Standard tracks down 10 dot-coms from the Web bubble of the late 1990s

A source is a source, of course, even when it's free and turning an industry upside down

Jordan Golson — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 14:43:48 -0700

7/23 Update: There is a follow-up article with some new information about the HARO/PR Newswire rivalry.

More news, commentary, and predictions from The Industry Standard:

Special Feature: The iPhone naysayers, one year later
Special Feature: IT vs. initiative: The Internet age comes to the battlefield
Special Feature: The Digital Home of 2013: 10 consumer technologies that will succeed, and five that will fail
Special Feature: Where are they now? The Industry Standard tracks down 10 dot-coms from the Web bubble of the late 1990s

A source is a source, of course, even when it's free and turning an industry upside down

Jordan Golson — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 14:43:48 -0700

7/23 Update: There is a follow-up article with some new information about the HARO/PR Newswire rivalry.

More news, commentary, and predictions from The Industry Standard:

Special Feature: The iPhone naysayers, one year later
Special Feature: IT vs. initiative: The Internet age comes to the battlefield
Special Feature: The Digital Home of 2013: 10 consumer technologies that will succeed, and five that will fail
Special Feature: Where are they now? The Industry Standard tracks down 10 dot-coms from the Web bubble of the late 1990s

A source is a source, of course, even when it's free and turning an industry upside down

Jordan Golson — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 14:43:48 -0700

7/23 Update: There is a follow-up article with some new information about the HARO/PR Newswire rivalry.

More news, commentary, and predictions from The Industry Standard:

Special Feature: The iPhone naysayers, one year later
Special Feature: IT vs. initiative: The Internet age comes to the battlefield
Special Feature: The Digital Home of 2013: 10 consumer technologies that will succeed, and five that will fail
Special Feature: Where are they now? The Industry Standard tracks down 10 dot-coms from the Web bubble of the late 1990s

A source is a source, of course, even when it's free and turning an industry upside down

Jordan Golson — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 14:43:48 -0700

7/23 Update: There is a follow-up article with some new information about the HARO/PR Newswire rivalry.

More news, commentary, and predictions from The Industry Standard:

Special Feature: The iPhone naysayers, one year later
Special Feature: IT vs. initiative: The Internet age comes to the battlefield
Special Feature: The Digital Home of 2013: 10 consumer technologies that will succeed, and five that will fail
Special Feature: Where are they now? The Industry Standard tracks down 10 dot-coms from the Web bubble of the late 1990s

A source is a source, of course, even when it's free and turning an industry upside down

Jordan Golson — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 14:43:48 -0700

7/23 Update: There is a follow-up article with some new information about the HARO/PR Newswire rivalry.

More news, commentary, and predictions from The Industry Standard:

Special Feature: The iPhone naysayers, one year later
Special Feature: IT vs. initiative: The Internet age comes to the battlefield
Special Feature: The Digital Home of 2013: 10 consumer technologies that will succeed, and five that will fail
Special Feature: Where are they now? The Industry Standard tracks down 10 dot-coms from the Web bubble of the late 1990s

A source is a source, of course, even when it's free and turning an industry upside down

Jordan Golson — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 14:43:48 -0700

7/23 Update: There is a follow-up article with some new information about the HARO/PR Newswire rivalry.

More news, commentary, and predictions from The Industry Standard:

Special Feature: The iPhone naysayers, one year later
Special Feature: IT vs. initiative: The Internet age comes to the battlefield
Special Feature: The Digital Home of 2013: 10 consumer technologies that will succeed, and five that will fail
Special Feature: Where are they now? The Industry Standard tracks down 10 dot-coms from the Web bubble of the late 1990s

A source is a source, of course, even when it's free and turning an industry upside down

Jordan Golson — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 14:43:48 -0700

7/23 Update: There is a follow-up article with some new information about the HARO/PR Newswire rivalry.

More news, commentary, and predictions from The Industry Standard:

Special Feature: The iPhone naysayers, one year later
Special Feature: IT vs. initiative: The Internet age comes to the battlefield
Special Feature: The Digital Home of 2013: 10 consumer technologies that will succeed, and five that will fail
Special Feature: Where are they now? The Industry Standard tracks down 10 dot-coms from the Web bubble of the late 1990s

A source is a source, of course, even when it's free and turning an industry upside down

Jordan Golson — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 14:43:48 -0700

7/23 Update: There is a follow-up article with some new information about the HARO/PR Newswire rivalry.

More news, commentary, and predictions from The Industry Standard:

Special Feature: The iPhone naysayers, one year later
Special Feature: IT vs. initiative: The Internet age comes to the battlefield
Special Feature: The Digital Home of 2013: 10 consumer technologies that will succeed, and five that will fail
Special Feature: Where are they now? The Industry Standard tracks down 10 dot-coms from the Web bubble of the late 1990s

A source is a source, of course, even when it's free and turning an industry upside down

Jordan Golson — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 14:43:48 -0700

7/23 Update: There is a follow-up article with some new information about the HARO/PR Newswire rivalry.

More news, commentary, and predictions from The Industry Standard:

Special Feature: The iPhone naysayers, one year later
Special Feature: IT vs. initiative: The Internet age comes to the battlefield
Special Feature: The Digital Home of 2013: 10 consumer technologies that will succeed, and five that will fail
Special Feature: Where are they now? The Industry Standard tracks down 10 dot-coms from the Web bubble of the late 1990s

A source is a source, of course, even when it's free and turning an industry upside down

Jordan Golson — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 14:43:48 -0700

7/23 Update: There is a follow-up article with some new information about the HARO/PR Newswire rivalry.

More news, commentary, and predictions from The Industry Standard:

Special Feature: The iPhone naysayers, one year later
Special Feature: IT vs. initiative: The Internet age comes to the battlefield
Special Feature: The Digital Home of 2013: 10 consumer technologies that will succeed, and five that will fail
Special Feature: Where are they now? The Industry Standard tracks down 10 dot-coms from the Web bubble of the late 1990s