Tracking Down a Source Shouldn’t Be Hard Work

At times, it can be challenging to find subject matter experts whose insight can connect a story with its audience and make a complex topic more understandable.

If you cover a local beat, you can hit the streets to get a quote.  Or you may have a network of personal contacts you trust to be well-spoken. Perhaps you prefer to reach out to your social media community.

But if you’re working on deadline or don’t want to reuse a source you’ve quoted before, services like ProfNet can help you find a source from the tens of thousands of experts, academics, and PR agents in the network.

ProfNet is available to all registered users of PR Newswire for Journalists. From the ProfNet tab at the top of the site, you can send a query, access previous queries you’ve sent, and search our experts database.  You also can sign up to receive alerts for experts available to speak on timely topics.

Fill out the ProfNet Query Form with details about the type of expert you seek. When you’re logged into PR Newswire for Journalists, your name, news organization, and email address automatically will populate into the form:

In addition to detailing the nature of expertise you’re looking for, you also will provide your deadline for responses and the types of organizations and regions your query should be sent to:

The ProfNet Inbox tab will provide access to all of your queries. You can access them at any time to re-send or turn them off:

Via the Query Preferences tab, you can set distribution preferences for all your queries. For instance, if you want to always cloak your queries, which will omit the publication name from your query and describe it in generic terms, you can make that your default preference. The same can be done with organization types and regions, saving you time and effort:

After sending a query, you also can supplement your search via the experts database on our ProfNet Connect network. Use the advanced member search to search more than 60,000 expert profiles:

In addition to sending a query or searching for an expert, you can register to receive expert alerts and roundups on breaking news. Alerts are emailed each week, based on your coverage area. Sign up to receive alerts by emailing [email protected].

If you have any questions about using ProfNet on PR Newswire for Journalists, our team is ready to help. Just email us at [email protected].

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Evelyn Tipacti is a community relations specialist at ProfNet.  She is a former broadcast journalist with years of experience behind the television camera and radio mic.