Target audience: Nonprofits, cause organizations, foundations, NGOs, social enterprises, journalists, educators, general public.

While a number of promising Web 2.0 social enterprises have launched in the past few years, SourceRise, which just soft launched in beta last week, is showing great momentum right out of the gate. SourceRise, founded by our very own Caroline Avakian (managing partner at Socialbrite), connects journalists and bloggers to sources at international NGOs and nonprofits in an effort to diversify the voices represented in the news and to increase the number of well researched, compelling development and foreign news stories in traditional media.

Last week I interviewed Caroline to find out more about SourceRise and how it’s building bridges between the media and nonprofit sources.

SourceRise is a social enterprise that directly connects journalists to sources at international NGOs and nonprofits. In a time when international news gathering budgets are shrinking at record rates, it is becoming more difficult for major news outlets to independently cover international and development news stories. Via a network of journalists and expert global NGO sources, SourceRise enables development foreign news reporting rooted in real time, accuracy, and deep context

SourceRise is a social enterprise that directly connects journalists to sources at international NGOs and nonprofits. In a time when international news gathering budgets are shrinking at record rates, it is becoming more difficult for major news outlets to independently cover international and development news stories. Via a network of journalists and expert global NGO sources, SourceRise enables development foreign news reporting rooted in real time, accuracy, and deep context.

We connect journalists and nonprofits by sending out source request emails from journalists to sources, and by facilitating digital media briefings on breaking global hot topics or humanitarian crises. SourceRise also holds media call-to-actions around global issues that aren’t getting the media coverage they deserve, by connecting journalists and bloggers to sources who can immediately provide information and context around important issues. In addition, SourceRise matches journalists, photojournalists and other media makers with NGOs able to host them in the areas of the world they want to report on.

A couple of years ago, when I actually started telling people about my budding idea that would eventually became SourceRise, colleagues would tell me, “Yeah, nice idea but aren’t there already development news sites writing about these stories?” I realized that when people free-associate on “foreign” or “development news,” there’s an underlying assumption that it should live on a separate news site, that there’s no place or desire for it in mainstream news. Interestingly, we know that’s not the case. Data shows us that people actually want more international news brought to them on the news channels and sites they’re already watching and reading. It became very apparent to me that there is a perception and language disconnect when we speak about development or foreign news. That disconnect fuels my efforts to mainstream SourceRise and change the way we view and create news.

SourceRise is different in that our focus is on development news reporting, something that other reporter/source connector sites don’t focus on. At a time when foreign news desks are shutting down due to budget constraints, our mission as a social enterprise is to solve that problem by helping journalists connect easily to vetted expert sources they can trust and quote in their pieces, which ultimately provides better, more contextualized development and foreign news coverage.

Mainstream media and NGOs have had a longstanding relationship. Journalists often reach out to NGO expert sources for access to remote parts of the world — they rely on them for quotes, to provide context to political, social and cultural issues on the ground, to give them info and statistics they can reference in their stories. Currently, we are seeing a huge shift in the international reporting landscape that has led to the shut down of many foreign bureaus of even major news outlets. This has led to many NGOs and nonprofits researching and pitching their own stories, sharing sources and analysis and even providing travel logistics, guides and housing to reporters. In short, without the help of NGOs, many foreign news stories would never be told. SourceRise is the result and the logical next step to advancing this mutually beneficial relationship.

A recent survey by MPO Research Group found that American media are missing the mark when it comes to providing international coverage to the public. When MPO asked respondents what they think about the coverage of international news, over half said there should be more of it and just over a quarter think it’s fine just as it is, indicating that there’s a lot of room for improvement from our media outlets.

The bottom line is, we look at the Internet and think we have this wide view of the world, when in fact we’re not really as connected as we think we are. In the 1970s US global news was about 35-45% of the mainstream media we consumed. Now, it’s about 12-15%. Development and foreign news have been relegated to “special” news sites. You have to go searching for that news, because you’re not really going to find much of it on the sites you’re likely already reading. So, we’ve slowly adapted to that shift through the years. I think that’s really problematic on many levels. The real problems of the world we need to solve are global in scale, that require global conversations to get to global solutions. We’re nowhere near that right now.

SourceRise is currently in beta and a social good startup to keep an eye on!

• Sign up on the SourceRise website

• Nonprofits/NGOs can sign up directly here

• Journalists and bloggers can sign up directly here

• Follow SourceRise founder Caroline Avakian on Twitter

• Follow SourceRise on Twitter

• Fan SourceRise on Facebook

The post SourceRise: Connecting nonprofits/NGOs to journalists appeared first on Socialbrite.

Guest post by Cherie Louise Turner
Vivanista

Events benefit from media coverage. And seeing a story about your hard efforts or seeing photos of your fundraising event receiving coverage in social media and traditional media is satisfying and exciting.

Getting good media coverage is a challenge. But It can become much more rewarding, for you and your chosen media outlets, if you develop good relationships with their editors. Having been on the editorial side of the equation for more than a decade, I have dealt with a huge variety of approaches from those seeking my attention. Here are my top five dos and don’ts to creating great relationships with editors.

DO follow these steps

1. Know the publication
   It’s amazing how few people follow this simple rule. Consider: why would an editor be interested in working with someone who doesn’t take the time to know what her publication is about? It’s both a matter or respect as well as efficiency: if you know the publication, you’ll know what type of story about your event to pitch. A well thought-out and appropriate story idea is far more likely to be of interest to an editor.
 
2. Be mindful of an editor’s lack of time
   Editors are often on deadline or juggling multiple projects; they’re busy just like everyone else, and it’s easy to catch them at a stressful time. So be efficient in your dealings. Yes, your event is important; it may be your top priority. But it’s only one of dozens of other things the editor is dealing with. Be mindful of her side of the situation, too.
 
3. Know what you’re looking for
   There are three basic ways events get coverage: a calendar listing, post-event coverage/a story about the event itself, a story about someone or something linked to the event. Know what you’re looking for before you call or e-mail a publication. If you’re looking for story coverage, present some compelling storylines to follow. What’s inspiring, unique or newsworthy about your event? Give an editor something to work with, and you’re more likely to get in the publication.
4. Be politely persistent
   It’s a good idea to make sure your materials reach the right person. Start the process by sending your materials via e-mail. If you haven’t
   What’s inspiring, unique or newsworthy about your event? Give an editor something to work with.

   received some sort of response within a couple of days, a polite follow-up e-mail is completely appropriate. E-mail gets lost or sometimes accidentally passed over; it’s OK to just ensure that yours actually got seen. If that second attempt doesn’t get a response, phone the editor. If you’re still not getting any response, make one last attempt and then move on. Editors are always looking for content; if you know they’ve seen your materials and they’re not responding to you, it’s safe to assume they’re not interested. Put your efforts into finding another outlet that is.

 
5. Get materials in on or before deadlines
   This applies both to your original press releases as well as any requested materials. Know when a publication starts planning its issues; know that some magazines plan months in advance. Time your submissions accordingly. If you are working with an editor who’s interested in covering your event, make sure she has everything she requests when she requests it. If you show yourself to be a reliable resource, you’ll be top on that editor’s list of people to work with again.

DON’T make these mistakes

1. Don’t insist that your event or story idea is perfect for the publication
   That’s the editor’s job; she knows her publication and decides what will work and what won’t. Offer the information, and share what you honestly believe will be of interest to the readers (and not just serve to be self-promotional). If there’s still no interest, move on.
2. Don’t pull rank
   If you’re unhappy with a decision or something that ran in the publication, talk to the editor you dealt with. Do not go over her head. There’s no faster way to ensure that you’ll never be called on by that media person again than if you undermine her authority or go bothering her boss about something you should be calling on her to handle.
 
3. Don’t pitch the same story to everyone
   If you have a great story idea, send it to the publication you think it would fit best. There are multiple ways your event could be talked about; find a unique angle for each publication you approach — focus your efforts. No editor wants to see the same story you pitched her in someone else’s publication. The same can be said of photo submissions; send different images from your event to different publications. Everyone likes exclusives!
 
4. Don’t ask to approve a story
   I know it’s tough because this is your big moment to shine and you want to make sure that everything is exactly how you think it should be, but the fact is, the story isn’t yours, it belongs to the publication. Go ahead and offer to check facts or make yourself available to answer questions, but in the end, you have to trust the abilities and talents of the editors and writers working on your piece. They’re the professionals, let them do their job.
 
5. Don’t flip out over an error
   It happens — mistakes occasionally slip through. Be sure of this: the editor responsible for the mistake feels worse about it than you. It’s the biggest fear in publishing, getting something wrong. Knowing that, your best approach is to put it past you and move forward. Let the editor know the mistake occurred and what she can do to amend the situation. If it’s online, it can be corrected. If it’s in print, a correction in the next issue can run. Also, if you want error-free copies of the print version — for archiving purposes or to send to sponsors, friends, etc. — some publications may be able to correct the original digital file and create a PDF for you of your story that you can print out.

What about you?  Do you have any stories to share about working with the media in relationship to a charitable event? Let us know in the Comments section below!

Chérie Turner is a freelance writer and editor who writes on a number of subjects, including the visual arts in the Bay Area as well as philanthropic topics. She also serves as editor-in-chief of the SF–based society/philanthropic lifestyle publication, the Nob Hill Gazette. Away from words, she is an avid runner. This article originally appeared at Vivanista.

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