Stories are the heart and soul of the media. Journalism is about telling stories, and good stories require sources – human contacts, the people who provide informed comment and expertise, the people who make stories interesting and informative.

For more than 30 years, SOURCES has provided a vital networking service connecting journalists with the sources they need – the experts and spokespersons without whom the media would have no stories to tell.

SOURCES works because it connects organizations who need to get their story into the media with the reporters, editors and producers who need to find knowledgeable sources.

Media coverage: the best publicity there is

Media coverage is the most valuable kind of publicity there is because it is based on the news value or information value of what you do or say, and is therefore far more credible than paid publicity like advertising.

Being in SOURCES is an indispensable element of any proactive media relations strategy. It is indispensable because it works. Hundreds of organizations, institutions, businesses, and individuals are members of SOURCES because it works for them. And thousands of journalists use SOURCES to find experts and spokesperson because it works for them.

Multiply your impact

SOURCES is an extremely powerful tool all on its own. SOURCES also complements and magnifies your other efforts to publicize yourself. If your organizations sends out news releases, being in SOURCES ensures that they reach more relevant media outlets across the country. If you have a website, your SOURCES listing is virtually guaranteed to increase your visibility in Google searches on your key issues. If your organizations holds events you want the media to cover, you can use the Sources Calendar to alert journalists.

What is SOURCES?

The heart of the SOURCES service is the SOURCES directory, the tool used by thousands of journalists, government officials, and market researchers when they need to find spokespersons, expert contacts and reliable information for their news stories or research.

The SOURCES directory is based on an INTELLIGENT SEARCH system utilizing a powerful cross-referenced database of subject headings. Each subject heading points journalists and researchers to the experts, spokespersons, and organizations best able to provide informed comment on that topic.

When you are in SOURCES, you ensure that they will find you when they are doing a story on your field. The INTELLIGENT SEARCH system is designed to ensure that searchers find your SOURCES profile when they do a Google search on your key topics even if they haven't used Sources.com as the starting point for their search.

Your SOURCES media profile is customized to give journalists exactly what they need, including:
• A concise description of your organization or yourself telling them who you are and what you do.
• The names and numbers of your media contact persons. Providing an after-hours number helps journalists working on deadline in different time zones to reach you.
• A list of the topics and areas of expertise on which you are prepared to take media calls.

Optional elements you can add to your SOURCES media profile include:
• A direct link from your SOURCES page to your own website
• Your logo, or your photo if you are an individual
• Video and audio clips that spotlight your qualities as an expert and as a speaker.

Your SOURCES membership also gives you other ways of gaining publicity, including:
• A free Web Calendar that makes it easier to draw events to journalists' attention.
• Free news release postings on the SOURCES website. Releases are seen by reporters using SOURCES and are comprehensively indexed by Google and other search engines.

SOURCES also publishes Media Names & Numbers, a comprehensive media directory listing more than 6,000 media outlets indexed by subject and location, and Parliamentary Names & Numbers, a contact directory for Canada's federal and provincial governments.

Who uses SOURCES?

If you visit the SOURCES website at www.sources.com, or if you look through the print version of the SOURCES directory, you will see the media profiles of hundreds of institutions, businesses and organizations, large and small, as well as many individuals. Look at who they are. They are members of SOURCES because it works for them. If SOURCES works for them, shouldn't you be in SOURCES too?

Among those listed, you will also see a noticeable number of public relations and marketing experts. One of the strongest testimonials to how well SOURCES works is that the media experts themselves pay to be included in SOURCES.

Journalists and researchers use SOURCES extensively because it gives them what they need. They have made the SOURCES website www.sources.com one of the top-ranked media/public relations sites in the world. Hundreds of other websites link to SOURCES. Pages on SOURCES consistently show up on the top page of Google's search results.

More than 1,000 journalists a day use the SOURCES website to find the spokespersons they need. Every time they do, each one looks at an average of five or six listings to find the most appropriate contacts to call. In addition, more than 10,000 copies of the print edition of SOURCES are in use on journalists' and freelancers' desks at this very moment.

Every time they use SOURCES, in print or online, your media profile is right there, telling them about you.

How do you get SOURCES working for you?

We'd be happy to help you design your SOURCES listing to have the greatest possible impact. Call us at 1-800-299-7990 (toll-free) or 416-964-7799 and we'll be happy to help and answer your questions. You'll also find additional information and user testimonials on the SOURCES website at www.sources.com/Profile.htm.

If you're ready to submit your profile now, simply use the Quick Listing Form on the SOURCES website at www.sources.com/QuickListing.pdf and fax it to 416-964-8763, or submit your information by E-mail to listings@sources.com.

SOURCES works. Put it to work for you!

 

More information:

Frequently asked questions about Sources

What people are saying about Sources

How Sources magnifies your Internet visibility.

Why should you be in Sources?