It doesn’t often happen that reporters are stuck for subjects to write about, but as the online world increasingly harnesses us to be equipped with magnificent tools for just about every thinkable situation it should come as no surprise that there are dedicated websites sourcing inspiration.
To find expert academics on any topic, try ExpertSources. I have tried and tested these people with much satisfaction, both on the quality of the experts (most of them are people that have PHd’s in just that obscurest of issues that you happen to wonder about on a blue Monday morning) and the swiftness of the service. All the experts signed up there are eager for press citations and have consented to answering journalist queries as fast as they can - that’s why.
Journalists themselves can of course also sign up as experts.
Same goes for a motivational speaker website called TheRightAddress, also a UK based service. It offers an impressive roster of speakers whose bios are an inspiration to read. The list contains an Olympic Gold medalist, a former EasyJet marketing director, the jungle explorer Benedict Allen, Phil Ashby, who’s marketed as a genuine hero, scores of business people and there’s even an environment professor.
You can either book a motivational speaker directly or add them to your wishlist. I checked to see if there were any writers or journalists in the directory and found only a few broadcast personalities. This is where TheRightAddress is outstanding though. It provides very helpful advice to determine what kind of speaker you actually are after. If you follow the pointers, this lands you not with a one size fits all personality but rather with a person whose life experiences make them tailored to your audience perfectly.
That is not to say that reporters with some track record to speak of shouldn’t sign up. The rewards are handsome; therightaddress charges around GBP750 to 1,000 per event and I would imagine that a sizeable portion of that goes to the speaker. No mean feat for a bit of decent work and a networking opportunity that’s healthily challenging.
1 Comment to “What To Do When You're A Reporter Wishing To Tout Your Expertise”
April 30, 2008
Those are great suggestions. Thanks! I am going to register myself at at both of those soon. I know there’s a U.S. version of the ExpertSources site, but can’t find it any more. If you do find anything like that for the U.S., could you post it for us too?
Thanks.