Making the Case

Key Messages and Data • Making the Case Resources • Media Activity • Speeches and Addresses • Books and Reports •

Matt Conn's "Must-Have" Websites

Make-my-job-easier sites:

DOW JONES INTERACTIVE: Check for national, regional, and local news clips online. Great way to track your coverage. Check with your campus library to see if they are subscribed, then it would be a "free" service for you! www.djinteractive.com.

THE GRAMMAR LADY: When is it okay to end a sentence with a prepositional phrase? What’s the latest rule on comma usage? Find out here--www.grammarlady.com.

PR-FORUM LISTSERV: A place to find hundreds of other PR professionals to ask questions, seek advice, discuss PR issues in the news, or just shoot the breeze. E-mail to prforum@listserv.iupui.edu, type---subscribe prforum---in text area.

INTERNET-PR LISTSERV: A listserv that deals with just the issue of PR & the Internet. Email to join-i-pr@list.mmgco.com, type---subscribe---in subject line.

NEED CLIP ART?: Clip art search engines can be found at members.aol.com/stevenkl/webtool.htm or at www.clipart.com. Microsoft also has a good collection at http://cgl.microsoft.com/clipgallerylive/

NEED FORMS AND OTHER STUFF TO RUN THE OFFICE BETTER?: Run your office like the big guys do. Lots of useful stuff here. www.online-pr.com.

FIND EDITORIAL CALENDARS: See what the magazines have planned for the coming months. www.edcals.com.

GET IMPORTANT STUFF WHILE ON THE ROAD: On the road? Sick at home? eFax lets your staff fax you stuff (bluelines, designs, memos, etc.) right onto your computer through e-mail. Free. www.efax.com

FIND OUT WHAT SPECIAL DAY: Have a publication that lists holidays, special days, or do you want these unique days part of your publication but can’t find out where to get the information? Try here: http://www.earthcalendar.net/

Get-my-news-and-feature-stories-out-to-the-masses sites:

PROFNET (via Media Insider): Take advantage of the free Profnet briefs to get your story out. www.mediainsider.com/www_library_frames.html.

PRNEWSWIRE: One of the largest and best-known press release networks around. Costs money. www.prnewswire.com.

NEWSWISE: Business, feature and science press releases are distributed to a large group of reporters and editors who specialize in these fields. Costs money. www.newswise.com.

THE PRESS RELEASE NETWORK: Another vehicle to get your message out there. Costs money. www.pressreleasenetwork.com.

PRESS ACCESS.COM: A fabulous site full of great information, resources, and more. However, it is expensive! Try the free stuff though! www.pressaccess.com.

Help-me-with-my-marketing sites:

AGORA: Bob Topor’s excellent site for college marketing. www.marketinged.com.

Help-me-in-my-career sites:

FAST COMPANY MAGAZINE: A must for the college PR Pro when they have to think like a businessperson. www.fastcompany.com.

THE CHRONICLE OF HIGHER EDUCATION: A must for the college PR Pro when they have to think like an academician. www.chronicle.com.

CASE CURRENTS: A must for the college PR Pro who thinks, period. www.case.org.

GET A JOB—OR ADVERTISE ONE: Several good sites to choose from. www.chronicle.com; www.case.org; and www.higheredjobs.com.

Try these other sites on for size—you may find one you like:

PRSA: The Public Relations Society of America. www.prsa.org.
US National PR Network: www.usprnet.com.
www.prweb.com
www.prplace.com
www.crayon.net—create your own newspaper
www.newsbureau.com/tracking
www.reporter.umd.edu
www.uwire.com—College news site
www.websidestory.com—list of links for web site tracking, etc.
www.newslibrary.infi.net—news tracking site
www.yep.com—cool search engine