Newswise Users Commentary

“There are many factors that go into the media coverage of our national Airline Quality Rating news conference at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C., every April. The attendance at this year’s Airline Quality Rating event was the most we’ve had in a number of years, with about 10 TV cameras at the news conference, compared to just one or two the previous year. We also had a handful of reporters attend. We were extremely pleased with the turnout. It is a pleasure working with you and the Newswise staff. They are most helpful!

—Joe Kleinsasser, Wichita State University

“Release on cellphones and radiation exposure gains major news coverage.

—Environmental Health Trust

“Seven years later I still am getting coverage for a story on contaminated makeup counters that I pitched in 2004. At the time we had more than 100 hits around the globe, in places I never could have reached without spending weeks with directories, web searches and emails. Newswise enabled me to reach reporters and outlets I could only dream about: CNN and 20/20 covered the story, as did major women’s publications and health magazines and websites, radio in California and the Jerusalem Post, to name a very few. Does Newswise pay off? Well it did amazingly so with that story. Happily, it has with virtually every other article I have submitted as well — maybe not as long and maybe not as dramatically, but Newswise still has opened doors and saved me a great deal of time. Thanks (again)! I love your service.

—Pat Quigley, Rowan University

“Newswise is one of my absolute favorite vehicles for getting media attention. It is so user-friendly to enter (and edit) stuff; you all are incredibly helpful; the format of Newswise looks professional; and it clearly has a wider audience (and more respect) than other vehicles. We get lots of re-prints from our articles, and when people/reporters contact us for more info, they're generally more discerning, and we get good coverage from that.

—Terry Goodrich, Baylor University

“I think the response we received to a story on Iran's ancient history being digitized proves the importance and value of Newswise to me as a public information officer. This is the kind of story that would otherwise be hard to place, would require multiple phone calls and may miss the mark in the old-fashioned ways we used to do things. Using Newswise, I was able to reach the target media instantly and gain some nice national media placements as well as placements on key websites and blogs. The story landed 25 placements, something that pleased me and the researchers.

I find news releases easy to post on Newswise. Connecting the releases with related video and images is also extremely easy. Additionally, their representatives always answer the phone if I have a question and are eager to help. I feel Newswise is a part of our news office team. I have quit bothering with keeping mailing lists up to date as a result of Newswise, and this has helped me concentrate on looking for news and preparing releases.

—Bill Harms, University of Chicago

“While we are continually amazed at the worldwide pick-up of our stories thanks in large part to the reach and respect for Newswise, The easy access, patient and incredibly helpful customer support we receive from Newswise staff is the real hallmark of Internet-based service in today's fast-paced, communication world.

—Jeannie Jones Manzer, South Dakota State University

“With media outlets downsizing and journalists covering multiple beats, we are all vying for the attention of a significantly smaller audience. As an independent public relations professional, I rely on the knowledge that when a medical/health writer sees the Newswise name, they know the content they’re receiving will be relevant and timely. In addition, I know I will be reaching the journalists most likely to be interested in the information my clients have to offer.

—Leni Kass, RealTime Communications

“We received quite a number of Newswise Wire follow-up calls. Most lead to stories by reporters. The wire aggregated the stories into one email, and reporters appreciate this organization. A significant portion of response from reporters came from Newswise via the ATS meeting wire. That was a huge outreach. “When we sent out the wire, within 2 hours we received 6 calls, including NPR and New York Times,” said Brian Kell, ATS Communications and Marketing Director. “All were interested in about six stories. Mostly the inquiries by reporters via Newswise came from the non-trade press. We have continual relationship with the trade press, and they cover us constantly, but Newswise helps us reach beyond these."

"I like the Newswise wire. We know that we get calls from reporters right after the wires are distributed.”

“Journalists are happy with the ATS stories and like the consolidation into a simple, easy to manage node,” said Savoie. “Furthermore they are on an embargo-protected site. It helps that I know that journalists subscribing to Newswise have explicitly agreed to abide by embargo policies. Newswise also helped me identify the media in my email and respond quickly because the subject header said, ‘Newswise media follow-up’.” Second, they generated a massive volume of stories across many media outlets. “Our society officers and members were thrilled,” Savoie added, “especially with the big name media placements.”

Finally, the “outcomes were all positive, nothing negative,” said Savoie.

—Keely Savoie, American Thoracic Society (ATS)

“In terms of media response to the "No Soap" posting, we got an email from a senior research editor at REDBOOK who was interested in interviewing John Cmar, M.D., who was quoted in the posting. We expect the brief on hand washing effectiveness to be published in the January 2010 issue.

Also, O Magazine called one of my colleagues, Helene King, in response to a story she posted on Newswise about our PSA reminding people to wash their hands this cold and flu season. She pointed them in the direction of the "No Soap" story, and information from that release is also expected to be included in the O Magazine article.

Those were our biggest hits, but the story was also picked up by Asian News Network (ANI) and subsequently republished on over a dozen Web sites in India. The Medical News Today Web site also picked it up from Newswise, giving it added visibility and causing five other domestic Web sites to republish it, including Reliableplant.com, the site of a plant operations industry magazine. Informed, a Cuban Web site, even translated it into Spanish after seeing it on Medical News Today. Finally, several blogs picked up our "No Soap" Newswise release, including Momstyle News, which led other "mommy blogs" to run the story as well. In total, at least 29 sources either republished the "No Soap" story in its entirety or made mention of the Harris Interactive poll results about adult hand washing behavior that we posted on Newswise.

—Holly Hosler, LifeBridge Health

“I find Newswise especially helpful in reaching bloggers, who are difficult to find, often too numerous to pitch individually and whose contact information is rarely made public. One recent story about a business professor who studies fantasy football was featured in 10 or 12 blogs about fantasy sports, none of which I even knew existed. Another example was a blogger for MSNBC.com who saw one of my stories on Newswise and called me to ask follow-up questions, which led to a placement there. It also started a relationship that has led to more placements at MSNBC.com.

—Tom Snee, University of Iowa

“Love the idea that now I can find the title via google!!! All in one place!! Nice move!

—Janet Vasquez, Business School of Happiness

“As a PR/communications professional it is reassuring to work with an organization like Newswise. You folks are great! You take the burden of developing distribution lists off my desk. Plus, I can’t thank you enough for ‘holding my hand’ in getting out some of my releases this past year. Your customer service is personable and efficient, providing just the support I need.

—Phyllis Edelman, Genetics Society of America

“We love NEWSWISE!

—University of Maryland, Baltimore

“You guys make it so easy!! I love contributing stories to Newswise! I also appreciate the easy access to reports and real time hits.

—Melody Walker, Washington University in St. Louis

“Newswise is one-stop shopping for learning about the latest science/health news coming out of educational institutions, professional associations, think tanks and businesses. I read Newswise every morning to learn about what the latest findings were in all the health fields. I always got ideas on how I could tie psychology with other breaking news and see how each organization was presenting their findings. Newswise has kept up with the changing technology by encouraging its clients to use multimedia to convey their research findings or feature experts

—Pam Willenz, Communications Professional and former Manager of Public Affairs for American Psychological Association

“I want to thank you for the phenomenal job Newswise provided to my law firm. We received results immediately on the story we posted on your wire. We were contacted by several reporters for interviews that very day and numerous sources on the Internet simply pasted our Newswise release (which your staff helped me to craft to obtain the best results) on their sites. Within just a few days our story was a top the Google search engine results for anyone who searched for topics relating to our case. And we didn’t have to pay a dime to Google. And sure enough, a couple weeks after our story ran, I received a call from a New York attorney who saw it online and wanted to partner with us on other matters. You guys have a terrific service. Fast, efficient, reasonably priced and it works beyond expectations. Bravo Newswise.

—Steven Berk, Newswise Contributor

“Pressure Point Inc. is extremely impressed with the responses it has received with publishing its press releases this year through Newswise News Services. In fact, our first release in May 2012 reached as far as China, which culminated with our company signing a 10-year export agreement in October 2012 for distribution of our medical device in mainland China in 2014. Our working relationship with Thomas Canalichio of the Newswise staff has been an asset to our company. We look forward to using Newswise News Services in the future. Joseph DiLustro, Chairman & CEO.

—Joe DiLustro, Newswise Contributor