A reporter at a top-tier national publication is exploring how well people listen to each other in relationships and is looking for people to interview.

Do you feel that someone you are close to such as spouse, significant other, family member or close friend doesn’t listen to you? Does this drive you nuts? How have you tried to solve this problem and remain in the relationship? Have you found ways to cope with people in your life who are not listening? Has anyone ever accused you of not listening? Have you taught yourself to be a better listener?

Note: This is not a story about how kids don’t listen to their parents.

If you have funny or interesting stories to tell about this topic, please email to aceb5@aol.com and send details of your anecdote and contact information. Anyone quoted will need to be willing to use their name.

A reporter at a national publication is exploring complicated mother-daughter relationships and looking for people to interview about their personal stories.

Have you had trouble or tension in your relationship with your mother (or your daughter)? How did it start? How long did it go on? Did you ever overcome it—and how did you do that?

The reporter is looking specifically for mother-daughter pairs to interview. Anyone quoted must be willing to use her name.

If you have personal stories to tell about this topic, please email the reporter  and send details of your anecdote and contact information by the end of the day on Tuesday, April 10.

A reporter at a national publication is exploring how to break up with a romantic partner (spouse or significant other).

She’s looking for two people to interview who were once a (fairly) long-term couple but have broken up. She would like to explore how you know when it’s time to end the relationship and how you end it.

If you have personal stories to tell about this topic, please write as soon as possible to aceb5@aol.com and send details of your anecdote and contact information. Anyone quoted will need to be willing to use their name.

Her deadline is at the end of the day on Friday, March 23.

Attention experts on gossip, parents and raising children:

A reporter at a top-tier publication is writing about how to teach children not to gossip, and she needs sources to interview.

Have you taken specific steps to teach your child not to gossip?  Has your child’s school taken specific measures along these lines?

Are you an educator or school administrator who has instituted a specific program to curtail gossip?  Are you a psychologist who has researched how to prevent kids from gossiping?  

This is NOT  story is not about anti-bullying. It is specifically about gossip.  If you have interesting stories to tell about this topic, please email the reporter at aceb5@aol.com and send details of your anecdote and contact information.

Don’t reply if you don’t want your name used. Deadline for replying is noon on Wednesday, Feb. 29.

A reporter at a national publication is exploring the phenomenon of how smart people sometimes feel dumb in intimate social settings and needs sources to interview.

Have you ever clammed up in a business meeting, at a cocktail or dinner party, on jury duty, or at some other small social event—-even though you know you’re as smart (or smarter) than anyone else in the room? And is this a departure from your usual personality?

If you have funny or interesting stories to tell about this topic, please respond as soon as possible to aceb5@aol.com with details of your anecdote and contact information. Anyone quoted must be willing to use to use their name.

A columnist who writes about relationships for a top-tier media outlet (you or your PR clients will want to get into this one) wants to develop relationships with people who do research on psychology or relationships, particularly psychologists or academics.

“One of my frustrations in my column is that I don’t often hear about the research early,” the columnist says.

Respond in the comments section below and explain why you’d be a good source.

Should you pitch?

Nope. She, like other journalists, wants exclusive material. Just give what she asked for and let her decide if you’re worth pursuing.

Here are my Top 10 tweets from this past week, great for retweeting! If you missed these, follow me on Twitter.

PR Pros: When you write a press release, do you share it on social media sites? Experts disagree. http://ow.ly/8486v

15 magnets to help you capture & convert leads at your website. http://ow.ly/83XYg 

Heading To a Trade Show in 2012? 5 Tips for Getting the Most ROI Out Of Your Event: http://ow.ly/859iM

Retailers: 17 ways to use Twitter to engage your audience. [No excuse not to tweet!] http://ow.ly/83UdR

Publicity Tip: Readers LOVE year-end lists, like this one, The 50 Best Workout Songs of the Year. http://ow.ly/83RUZ 

The Essential word List for Lazy PR Writers.http://ow.ly/859s3 

5 ways to master the new Facebook timeline. http://ow.ly/86rsi 

When Business Blogging Works Too Well… | Writing On The Web by Patsi Krakoff, The Blog Squad http://bit.ly/ukgnlr

Do you have a form at your website? Add this clever tool to encourage people to promote you: http://ow.ly/85fX7

Local news outlets among Google’s most-searched terms:  http://ow.ly/85ath

Here are my Top 10 tweets from this past week, great for retweeting! If you missed these, follow me on Twitter.

25 Worst Passwords of the Year for 2011. [Is one of yous on this list?] http://ow.ly/81QNc

How to get a ton of new subscribers to your blog. http://ow.ly/7ZR3S

Should you post press releases in social media? Conflicting answers from the experts. http://ow.ly/7ZmYQ  http://ow.ly/8486v

Top 10 Marketing & PR Trends in 2012. http://ow.ly/7ZcO4

A free cheat sheet for writing blog posts that go viral, from @Copyblogger. http://ow.ly/7XSx3

How to answer a journalist’s query on HARO, Reporter Connection, PitchRate & PRLeads. http://ow.ly/7YMvB

8 secrets that writers won’t tell you. http://ow.ly/803Km

17 Fun Freebies That Build Thought Leadership. Something for everybody. http://ow.ly/7Wwxs

10 Worst Media Disasters of 2011 from @MrMediaTraining. [Can you guess #1?] http://ow.ly/81xh3

5 strategic social media tips for PR pros, from @PerkettPR [No. 4 is my favorite] http://ow.ly/81x3q

The next time you want publicity, do two things that 99 percent of the other people who want publicity fail to do.  
    
First, vow that you won’t use the “spray and pray” technique.  That is, spraying the same one-size-fits-all pitch or press release to dozens or even hundreds of journalists, and then praying they’ll call you. 
    
Second, target a short list of journalists.  And then find out all you can about them before delivering your customized pitch.  It’s easy, actually, because journalists are leaving clues EVERYWHERE online about the kinds of stories they think are important, the kinds of expert sources they’re looking for, and how to contact them. 
    
Think of it as a treasure hunt.  Do it right and you could strike gold.  Here are six places to look for those valuable nuggets, which I shared during the webinar “How to REALLY Use Publicity as an Online Marketing Channel and Zig When Everyone Else is Zagging.”
     
    
1. Find out if the journalist blogs

Some journalists blog as part of their job.  Others blog on the side because they’re passionate about a topic. 

I wrote about how I picked up all sorts of valuable clues by spending a little time reading the blog written by Deborah Kotz, senior health writer for U.S. News & World Report. 
    
I learned, for example, that she’s a penny-pincher and hates bottled water. I also learned that two years ago, she thought about her risk of staying on birth control pills until she reaches menopause, and lamented the dearth of research on the long-term use of contraceptives by women.
   
If I had spent a few hours searching for clues, I’d find a lot more than that.  But I’d NEVER find that kind of personal information in those expensive media directories.  Here’s why this kind of research is so valuable. 
    
If you sell a product or service, or promote a cause or issue, related to women’s health, Deborah already has given you dozens of valuable clues at her blog that you can tie to your pitch. Be sure to read the comments at a journalist’s blog, where the journalist often replies and leaves even more clues about topics she thinks are important.  
     
     
2. Look for journalists on Twitter
    
If a blog can provide that much information, imagine what you can learn by following the journalist on Twitter.  Here are seven places to look for reporters, editors, freelancers, broadcasters, radio talk show hosts, TV news anchors and other journalists:

JournalistTweets.com: Allows you to track what journalists are writing about you or your subject.  Includes email alerts.  Also allows you to locate journalists on Twitter by subject interest.  
    
JustTweetIt.com: Features more than 175 reporters and editors. 
    
MediaonTwitter.com: Features thousands of journalists in 11 countries by name, Twitter ID, title/beat and media outlet.  
   
Muckrack.com: Features journalists by beats (world, U.S., politics, business, technology, sports, arts, etc.) and media company. 
    
Listorious.com (U.S.):  Harry Hoover’s list of more than 250 U.S. journalists, including Rachael Maddow, George Stephanopoulos, David Gregory and Terry Moran.  
    
Listorious.com (Canada):  A list of more than two dozen Canadian journalists, compiled by Harry Hoover.

Listorious: Harry Hoover’s list of more than 300 media outlets, including top-tier outlets. 

Follow a journalist who you want to pitch.  But don’t expect journalists to follow you back.  Some aren’t interested in following other people.  They use Twitter primarily to find leads and sources for stories.  Even so, look for gold in their tweets.
     
    
3. Look for journalists on Facebook 
    
Search for journalists by name, or search for the media outlet’s Fan page.  You can also use the search box to search by job title such as “reporter,” “editor” or “freelancer.”  Journalists frequently use Facebook to issue a call for certain types of experts they need to interview, or let their friends know about the types of stories they’re working on.
     
    
4. Pan for gold at their company websites 
    
Many newspapers and magazines have online versions that include many more articles than can fit into the printed edition.  Some even have videos.  Often, you can leave comments.  One annoying feature of many of these sites, however, is that you must create an account and log in with a username and password.  But sometimes, it’s worth it.
     
     
5. Read the editor’s column
     
One of the most valuable places to pan for gold in a newspaper or magazine is in the editor’s column.  It provides valuable clues about new features and departments, new freelancers and photographers who are contributing to that issue, trends the publication is seeing, and other information the editor thinks is important. 
    
Editors often write about their personal lives, too.  One smart Publicity Hound I know responded to a column from an editor and ended up in an article in the magazine.  
    
He’s Dr. Robert Kotler, a Beverly Hills cosmetic surgeon, who was reading a copy of American Way, the in-flight magazine published by American Airlines.  In the May 1, 2009 issue, executive editor Adam Pitluk wrote about how his circle of friends has changed over the years. 
     
“I sent him a letter respectfully taking issue with some of his contentions and offering an alternative personal viewpoint,” Dr. Kotler told me.  “He does not keep long friendships.  I do.  A la my closeness with my fraternity brothers from our days at the University of Wisconsin-Madison (1960-64).”
    
Adam called Dr. Kotler and told him he appreciated the letter.
     
“When I had his ear, I said, ‘You know, l have an idea for a story regarding how patients are coming from abroad to Beverly Hills for cosmetic surgery.  Of course, they should be traveling here on American.  I’ll send you an outline of what I think might be an interesting story for your readership.’” 
    
Dr. Kotler followed up and sent statistics about Beverly Hills as a magnet for cosmetic surgery.  Not long afterward, Adam told Dr. Kotler he’d probably assign the story and a writer. 
    
“And then it happened.  An excellent writer in New York called and interviewed me and Dr. Stuart Linder, another plastic surgeon in Beverly Hills,” Dr. Kotler said.  The article, titled Vacationing for a New You, appeared in the Feb. 15, 2010 issue. 
   
Publicity in inflight magazines is a wonderful way to get in front of business travelers and others with a high disposable income. See “Special Report #29: Fly High with Publicity in the Inflight Magazines.” It includes contact information and pitching tips for more than 50 magazines.   
     
   
6. Subscribe to media leads services

Three free media leads services provide hundreds of leads online, five days a week, from print and broadcast journalists, podcasters, bloggers and others who are looking for specific types of sources. 
    
I don’t consider this “panning for gold” because thousands of other Publicity Hounds subscribe to these services, and the competition is stiff.  Even so, you’d be crazy not to subscribe. 
    
Sifting through all these leads is time-consuming, but you can delegate this task to an assistant, or a VA.  Here are the services where you can subscribe and receive your leads by email: 
     
HelpaReporter.com
     
PitchRate.com 
     
ReporterConnection.com

PRLeads.com is a similar fee-based service that sifts through the journalist queries for you and gives you only those that pertain to your area of expertise. 

Now that you know where to look, grab your pan, and go find some gold!  And when you get publicity, please share it with me.  I’m always looking for success stories for “The Publicity Hound’s tips of the Week,” my weekly ezine, and this blog.

Syndicated columnists can be valuable connections for a publicity campaign because they have such a far reach.

To find them, you can do your homework, consult media directories and search online for columnists who cover your topic.

But don’t forget about the free and fee-based services that can feed you leads several times a day on exactly what types of sources columnists and other journalists, broadcasters and bloggers are seeking.

For instance, today’s feed from Reporter Connection, includes two leads for these columnists:

• Workplace columnist Mildred Culp is seeking job-related questions from job-hunters who can’t get hired.
• Syndicated columnist Lisa McLeod wants to know: are women being hobbled by their wardrobes? She’s looking for shoes and bags that give you an edge without killing your feet, neck, knees and back. “These will be road-tested at an upcoming women’s conference, and we will include images and links to websites when we run the article. We’ll only report on the ones that worked.” Her column is printed in 10 daily newspapers, the Huffington Post, and several top business women’s sites.

If you’re not subscribing to these free leads services, including PitchRate.com and  Help a Reporter Out, start.

PR Leads, a fee-based service, is a great time-saver because it delivers only leads in your area of expertise. ProfNet, the granddaddy of leads services, is a much pricier alternative that delivers several feeds per day.

(Shutterstock photo)