The Amazing Shrinking Media Directories

October 28, 2008

Just as Balihoo is advertising’s best friend, Cision is PR’s best friend. Cision, the company formerly known as Bacon’s Information, publishes newspaper and magazine directories that contain information for every newspaper and magazine in North America. The directories contain contact information and profiles on editors and reporters, which PR pros often use to help determine media targets for pitching.

I recently ordered my 2009 directories and quickly noticed the smaller physical size when compared to my 2006 editions. By an unscientific eyeball-estimate, the directories have narrowed by about 17 percent, which is clearly reflective of the shrinking media landscape with disappearing newsrooms and folding magazines. UPDATE: However, as Cision SVP and Publisher Ruth McFarland points out, the books have only shed about 100 pages since 2006 because — despite fewer magazines and smaller newspaper editorial staffs — Cision continues to add more reporter details in response to industry requests. (Thanks, Ruth!) By the way, kudos on your social media monitoring news.

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Comments

8 Responses to “The Amazing Shrinking Media Directories”

  1. Rick Liebling on October 28th, 2008 8:12 am

    Todd,

    Those Bacon’s books were indespensible - five years ago. I’m guessing you were being somewhat sarcastic in this post. No knock on Cision, but things move way too fast for hardcover books like this, that’s why they offer an online version.

    I’ve found that many of the media members I want to speak to I can reach easier via Twitter, Facebook, their blog, etc.

  2. Todd And on October 28th, 2008 10:35 am

    Hey Rick,

    Nope, no sarcasm intended… just a quick observation rather than a discussion on pitching methods. I rarely use the books, which is why I only purchase them every three years. When I worked agency-side, I used MediaMap or other real-time online services. On the corporate side now, I have close relationships with all my target media and only use the books for the occasional special pitching initiative. Like you, I frequently turn to Twitter, Facebook, blogs and podcasts for reaching out to key targets too.

    Thanks for stopping by. Have a good one.

    Todd

  3. Ruth McFarland on October 28th, 2008 12:29 pm

    Hi Todd,

    There is actually only about 100 pages difference between the 2006 and the 2009 editions. While the newsrooms are disappearing, and so are many magazines, Cision has continued to add more and more information on editorial contacts as has been requested by the PR marketplace.

    But as the two gentlemen above mentioned, using CisionPoint online is the best tool.

    Thanks for noticing!

    Ruth McFarland
    SVP & Publisher
    Cision

  4. Ruth McFarland on October 28th, 2008 12:33 pm

    100 pages is approximately a 3% reduction.

  5. toddand on October 28th, 2008 2:12 pm

    Thanks, Ruth. So I was way off on my 17 percent eyeball estimate! :-) Still, when I compare the two side-by-side, there is almost a 600-page difference in sizes between the 2006 and 2009 edition. Is that from using a different paper weight perhaps?

    I’m a big fan of Cision and all that you provide PR folks, so keep up the great work. And thanks for visiting my blog!

    Todd

  6. Barbra Sundquist on October 30th, 2008 2:00 pm

    Hi Todd,

    I’d like to compliment you on the photo that you included with this post. That little bit of extra effort - taking an original photo, rather than using a stock photo - really makes a difference.

    Barbra

  7. toddand on October 30th, 2008 4:08 pm

    Thanks, Barbra! Appreciate the compliment.

  8. Adam Singer on October 30th, 2008 6:39 pm

    Anyone who buys the books is wasting an insane amount of paper, they have it all in an updated database.

    Oh, right now I get it - their database doesn’t work with Firefox. Yes, I would rather have paper than work with IE too… ; )

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