How do you know when your issue or organization has been mentioned in the media? Reporters don't always contact you for information, especially if they can find what they're seeking on your website. You can subscribe to and read publications in your field, and the Internet makes it quite a bit easier to search for coverage.

Search engines are a good place to start, but they only index about 16% of the web at best. Many online news sources, such as the San Jose Mercury News, offer excellent online archives of back articles, but searching individual publications is rather time-consuming, and there's no way you can monitor every publication for coverage. Luckily, there are several clipping and tracking services available.

HandsNet offers WebClipper, an online tracking service, and other online communications tools.

Excites' News Tracker is a free, online news clipping service.

Internet News Bureau lists several clipping/tracking services on its website.

This article describes the limitations of online clipping services.

Now that we've learned where to find media, how to contact them, what to send them, and how to send it to them, let's find out how to gain and keep the attention of the media.