We here at Greenbang feel the need to put the PR types out there on notice: we are a professional news organisation and, as such, do not jump through the hoops that public relations people like to hold up.

So just to clarify, if you are a PR and would like to work with us, here are our  guidelines:

• If it’s not news, we’re not interested. In other words, if it’s not an item you’re likely to find in, say, The Economist or Wired, it’s not an item you’ll see going up on Greenbang either.
• If it’s something that doesn’t pass the ‘so-what?’ test, ask yourself – why would anyone else really care about this? Even if your client is paying you to hand this out, please don’t just spam us with rubbish that no one cares about. You won’t win favours with this approach any more – it’s very old-school.
• Journalism is getting tougher because of all the flakey content out there. We’re trying to stop that – and we’d be  grateful if you could help us to work on this. Take the time to think of what our audience would like – not your client, and you’ll have no complaints from us.
• If you don’t want us to print something, don’t tell us about it. That means no embargoed releases: once the information is in our hands, we’re running with it, if we believe it’s newsworthy and we want to publish it.
• We don’t do freebies, so don’t ask us to. You want us to host your latest downloadable PDF report or corporate video? We’ll be happy to … and there’s value in that for us and the audience too… as a paid advertisement, which is what it is. Otherwise, don’t waste your time and ours with silly requests. We’re trying to run a business.
• Don’t expect us to pat your client on the back for making its business cleaner, kinder or more efficient. That’s their job and it’s not rocket science. Try to innovate or talk intelligently to the business world, and we’ll welcome you with open arms.

We’re a news business and our mission is to provide our readers with valuable, interesting and cutting-edge information about innovations for the future. We don’t want “paradigm-shift-related” articles.

We’re sure all PR professionals will get that – but we’re just being on the safe side.

Many thanks for your cooperation…and…have a nice day.

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