Finding UK Experts and Spokespeople

by Rachel Newcombe

So, you've scored a commission from a UK publication -- congratulations! But whilst you're already familiar with interviewees in your own country, it's not always the case with foreign experts, so how do you go about finding suitable people to speak to in the UK? With many magazine, newspaper and online assignments requiring you to find experts and spokespeople to interview, it's crucial to know where to look and how to find people, especially if you're on a tight deadline.

Though the task has been trickier in the past, thanks to the Internet, these days it's generally much easier to find willing volunteers, as there's better access to a wealth of experts in all fields. As well as press offices and contact details being featured on most websites of companies and organisations, there are even sites where lists of experts are available to search, or queries can be sent directly to a multitude of PR's, which saves valuable time. Some of these sites cover particular category areas, such as travel or technology, focus on specific organisations, such as charities, or offer an all-in-one approach with the opportunity to contact all manner of people.

To fast-track your search for an expert or spokesperson, here's a selection of some of the best websites and sources worth checking out.

Response Source. Response Source is a useful tool for journalists to directly contact relevant PR's for information or requests for case studies. It's free to use, via a simple form on their website, and you can specify how you want to receive responses (by phone, email or fax). Plus, it's easy and straightforward and can produce results very quickly. "Overseas journalists especially like the way it solves the time difference problem," says Vanessa McGreevy from Response Source, "as they can tell PR's how and when to reply."

Some of the consumer topic areas available include children and teenagers, men's interest, home and garden, motoring, women's interest, environment and nature, entertainment and arts, health, sport and leisure and hobbies. There are also professional categories listed, which may be relevant if you're writing for a trade or specialist publication, and these include travel, fashion, transport, education, public sector, media and farming and animals.

"Most of our users get the results they need within hours, so it's particularly good for last minute quotes and facts to finish something urgent. Even if our PR recipients can't help with their own clients, they will often know who you should speak ton instead," says Vanessa.

Ask Charity. The UK has a whole host of varying charities and most are willing to help out with a comment or put you in touch with one of their experts, if only you ask. Discovering which charities exist and getting in touch with them has been made even easier since the launch of Ask Charity, which is operated by the Voluntary Action Media Unit. As well as browsing through their directory, which covers a helpful A to Z of key topic areas featuring everything from animals and pets, to education, human rights, mental health and youth, you can post a question direct through their Answer Service.

The Answer Service is very similar in format to Response Source, allowing you to request the type of charities you want the message to go to, your deadline for replies and what you'd like to know. It's also completely free to use.

ExpertSources. As the name aptly suggests, Expert Sources is a website dedicated to providing experts, specialists and spokespeople for the media. You need to register as a journalist first, but the process is quick and you soon have access to a growing directory of people covering all manner of topics.

Rather than picking a designated category area, like some other sites, on ExpertSources you type in your own keywords. They can be as general or specific as you like, but the more detailed your query, the better the results you're likely to gain. When you've entered your search query, full contact details of each expert are provided, along with exact information about their specialities and media experience.

Steve Best, from ExpertSources, says, "As we all know, the Internet is a fabulous tool. But for professional people it is far too cumbersome. Instead of wading through 1,564,322 possible matches on a Google search, Expertsources points anyone in the media in the right direction within a few seconds."

Universities. Most universities produce media lists of academics willing to speak to journalists about certain topics and specialities of interest. Sometimes the guides are produced in hard copy and can be requested from the Public Relations office, whilst other establishments prefer to keep details of the lists in a searchable database format online (for example, the University of Bristol or the Open University). Either way, the academics listed can usually be contacted by phone or email and can be a useful source for both topical and academic input.

A simple Google search should help you find UK universities and using terms like, "experts"+"media" should instantly bring up links to the appropriate online media guides for each institution.

Travel Experts. If you're working on a travel feature or news report and need to get in touch with travel experts or spokespeople in the UK, then the Journalist Alert service run by TravMedia is worth checking out. Launched in 2005, it allows journalists to send details of their needs to over 850 travel PR's working for both large and small travel companies. Once you've registered on the site as a journalist, the Alert service is free to use and easy to complete.

IT and Technology Experts. If you're after IT or technology experts, then Tech Response Source, the technology arm of Response Source, is the place to go. It's free for journalists to use and you can ask for PR agencies, user groups, industry organisations, event organisers, professional institutions or associations to get in contact with you.

PunditPal. At the time of writing, this hasn't yet launched, but PunditPal is another online database of experts willing to talk to the media. As well as big organisations, such as the Department of Trade and Industry, it also has experts from a wide range of charities, universities and other companies offering media spokespeople. Again, it's free for journalists to use and creating and sending a query is simple and straightforward.

Once you've found your perfect interviewee and gained the crucial quotes you need, you can get on with the important task of writing up your feature!

More Information:

Response Source

http://www.responsesource.com

Ask Charity

http://askcharity.org.uk/

Expert Sources

http://www.expertsources.co.uk/

University of Bristol

http://www.bris.ac.uk/media/experts/

Open University

http://www3.open.ac.uk/experts/index.shtm

TravMedia

http://www.travmedia.com

Tech Response Source

http://sourcewire.com/trs/

PunditPal

http://www.punditpal.com

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