July 15, 2011
How to use Google and LinkedIn for Traditional Media Research
I’ve refined my process for researching individual reporters for media lists and briefing documents to the point that I almost never need to scroll all the way down a page or look at multiple pages of results. I use Nyhus’ media contact database a bit for this but prefer to start with Google and LinkedIn. With this post, I hope to share my best practices and open up comments to those who also use online searching extensively for traditional media research.
These are roughly the steps I go in when researching a specific journalist:
1. http://news.google.com/ search: [author:“author name”]; e.g., [author:“curt woodward”]
This will tell you a lot of useful information in one search: what publication(s) the journalist is currently working for, how frequently he or she writes, and trends in beats. You can also find specific stories if you need them for a briefing document.
Make sure to use the author parameter only in Google News. If you type it into the Google.com home page search box or the top bar of Google Chrome, you’ll get no or few search results.
2. LinkedIn People search: [“author name”]; e.g., [“curt woodward”
If I can’t find someone through an author search or if I need to quickly find a bio, I go to LinkedIn. If I can find someone there, his or her profile will likely accurately list current employer and if he or she is even still a journalist. Additionally, some journalists share their personal websites, blogs, Twitter profiles, and beat information on their LinkedIn profiles, which you can use to find either contact information or pitching preferences. I always put the name in quotes for my first search, and often combine it with the name of the last employer or keyword I know of. Even if someone is no longer with the New York Times, those three words are likely on his or her profile.
3. Media contact database search by author or publication name
When looking up individual reporters and publications, I like to use our media contact database service as a final stop to fill in contact information I can’t find, usually phone number. However, if I can’t find someone through LinkedIn or a Google News author search, this is my next step.
4. Different combinations of a more general Google.com search
In case a journalist doesn’t have a LinkedIn profile and his or her publication is only available in PDF version online or the publication is not considered a news source by Google or media contact databases, playing around in Google.com will work, always with the journalist’s name included. See “How to search names” section below.
Once I nail down some search terms, I do a site-specific search. This would look like [“curt woodward” site:xconomy.com]
Additional search tips:
Date range and geographic location for Google News and Google.com:
This is particularly useful for finding recent coverage for briefing documents or building a media list around geography. You can also use the date range function to see if a journalist covered a specific event.
How to search names:
- Start with [“full name”]; e.g., [“curt woodward”].
- If too broad: [“full name” company or industry]; e.g., [“curt woodward” Xconomy] or [“curt woodward” technology]
- If too narrow: [full name]; e.g., [curt woodward]
- Consider changing your name search to accommodate common full names and nicknames; e.g., [curtis woodward] instead of [curt woodward].
- You can treat most online search boxes like Google, combining names with terms and putting phrases in quotes that you want to search for as exact phrases.
Any questions or tips? Let Nyhus and I know in the comments.