I am writing this from the Brooklyn Heights Public Library, where I am retina-deep in a book called Bacon’s Magazine Directory (unfortunate name, I know). The book — which, incidentally, is so insanely heavy that just carrying it from the reference desk to my seat was all it took for me to give myself permission to skip the gym for another day (or year) — is full of “comprehensive and accurate media directories available in North America.”
The recipe? Your nearest reference library; Bacon’s (thankfully not the deadly variety); a laptop; a reliable and easy-to-navigate database system (I use Filemaker Pro); headphones to drown out the person next to you who won’t stop clearing his throat and blowing his nose; and several hours of data entry fun. Tip: This can take a while … You might need to throw it in the oven a few times before it’s just right.
The result? A comprehensive and targeted directory of members of the media, there for all your pitching needs.
This media meal goes perfect with your best-cooked press release. So if your company is about to launch a new vegan bag, or if your public access show is going to feature an interview with a mover and shaker in AR, or if you are going to be hosting a speaker series focused around environmentalism (the meat of the matter), then this recipe is just what the mainstream ordered.
Of course, if you feel like a fancier and less time-consuming meal (and if you just can’t palate the idea of data entry), you can instead opt to become a member of the online-based and all-inclusive Cision — the company that owns and publishes Bacon’s. But you’d better have a mighty appetite, because that will run you about $3,000 a year.
Mangia.
H/T to Maya Gottfried for her helpful PR advice.