From the Editor: A Note About Gathering News

I learned a valuable lesson in recently.

I received a news release from a member company announcing it had earned a distinction from a manufacturer. I put the news in the Shortliner. When companies received the newsletter and saw the announcement, a handful sent emails that said, “Hey, we received that distinction too, for the last 10 years, in fact.”

I published that second round of announcements, which led to a second round of responses from companies who were disappointed that they hadn’t been included.

Here’s what I took away from that series of events: First, I need to do a little homework when I get a news release. Next, I need to remind members how information gets into the newsletter. Much of it comes from you.

The Association continuously searches for stories relevant to members. We track legislation, subscribe to digital publications, scour news sites, and receive electronic notices when something is published that contains a designated phrase or company name.

That said, when member companies hire someone, promote someone or receive an award, the information is rarely picked up by news services. In those cases, we know because you tell us. And, we are thrilled you do.

With only a handful of exceptions, every news release members send to the Association is posted on our web site and broadcast through Twitter.

We select from that group the news we also will include in the Shortliner. Those stories are published depending upon how much space we have, how recent the news is, and whether we think it passes an editorial test of being useful or interesting to readers.

Having more news from members than we can use is a happy problem. Please tell us what’s happening where you are.  S