After HARO’s Demise, Are There Alternatives and Will You Tell Me?
Yes. And yes.
After HARO’s Demise, Are There Alternatives and Will You Tell Me?
Yes. And yes.
Since Cision’s acquisition and subsequent changes to Help A Reporter Out (HARO) in early 2024, many journalists and sources have been seeking alternatives. Here are several reputable HARO-like and better resources that connect journalists with sources and vice versa.
HARO Background
Once, an online resource known as 'Help A Reporter Out' or HARO for short was invaluable for both the press and the public relations industry. Reporters on deadline could post requests for interviews with specific types of experts. Public Relations (PR) professionals could match their clients with those expert requests, securing coverage in the earned media space. It was a 'win-win'; everyone got what they needed. Until they didn’t.
HARO was shut down by its owner, Cision, in December 2024, though the option remains on Cision client menus. Cision attempted to rebrand HARO as Connectively, but the effort was so clumsy that no one could find, let alone use, the site. However, Featured.com acquired HARO from Cision, having passed on Connectively.com. The old HARO is back—under new ownership (Featured.com)—with a renewed focus on its original purpose. Emails from the revitalized service began on April 22, 2025. If you have not yet received an email from Featured.com, you are not alone. However, the website is user-friendly and explains in easy-to-understand language what to do and how to do it.
1. Qwoted
- Website: https://www.qwoted.com)
- How It Works: Free for journalists to post inquiries; sources and PR pros can respond to relevant queries. Strong in business, finance, and trade topics, it offers numerous features beneficial to PR professionals, many of which are free. Here are some highlights:
- Read Receipts: Say goodbye to pitching into “black holes.” The network immediately notifies you when your pitch has been read by the media or when your source’s profile has been viewed.
- Pitch Intelligence: Quickly identify priority media requests that have less competition using Qwoted’s live reporter engagement and network activity data.
- Topical Alerts: The matching technology alerts you to real-time media opportunities specific to your sources’ expertise.
- Expert Profiles: Create a free expert profile for your thought leaders and let the media come to you with targeted opportunities.
- Events & Awards: Qwoted aggregates public data related to industry events and awards, alleviating the need for manual research across multiple sites.
2. SourceBottle
- Website: https://www.sourcebottle.com)
- Origin: Australia-based but widely used internationally.
- Use: Journalists post “call outs”; sources and PRs subscribe to topic alerts and respond. The site resembles the old HARO in look, feel, and content. It provides ways to find experts, podcast guests, giveaways, speakers, article contributors, and case studies. Subscribing as a source or finding sources is straightforward. According to their site, SourceBottle is "now a global publicity platform designed to disrupt the traditional media relations model and ensure everyone has free access to media leads to tell their story."
3. Help a B2B Writer
- Website: https://www.helpab2bwriter.com)
- Focus: Caters mainly to B2B (business-to-business) and SaaS writers but is also useful for expert quotes.
- How It Works: Businesses and experts answer questions; responses may be featured in articles or media placements. Share your knowledge and get featured with various content formats. You can also request quotes, articles, and generate content ideas for your website, or answer questions related to your expertise. There are numerous possibilities with both free and paid options available, with greater benefits tied to premium subscriptions (this is true for all the platforms mentioned).
6. Help a Reporter (HAR)
- Website: (https://www.helpareporter.com)
- Note: This is NOT the original HARO but a new platform with a similar premise. It even has a similar appearance.
7. JournoLink
- Website: https://www.journolink.com)
- How It Works: Journalists post requests, and businesses and PR professionals can reply. According to their website, JournoLink is the quickest and easiest way to get your business in the press. This user-friendly PR software enables businesses to communicate with large audiences like never before. It can also create press releases to share stories and news, then distribute them to your contacts and JournoLink's database of journalists, bloggers, publishers, influencers, and broadcasters—all within a few clicks.
8. Twitter/X and LinkedIn
- Tips: Many journalists post callouts using hashtags like #JournoRequest or #PRRequest.
For academic or scientific angles, https://www.sciline.org/experts/) and https://www.expertfile.com/) connect media to experts.
About Harold Nicoll
Harold Nicoll is a Texas branded tornado of wit, strategy, and creativity — part Public Relations powerhouse, powerhouse, part art director and creative strategist. He is also part mascot wrangler. Whether it’s wrangling SwampButt Underwear alligators into post-apocalyptic football formations or shaping Fortune 500 crisis comms strategies with precision, you operate with one foot in satire and the other in serious business.
Harold blends marketing muscle with a pitch-perfect sense of timing, never afraid to push a visual joke to absurd brilliance — or to spell-check "Houston" three times in a row if that's what it takes to get it right.
Call it Lone Star Logic meets Madison Avenue Mischief.
Harold Nicoll, APR is a veteran public relations, marketing communications, content marketing and public affairs expert. He started his career at Hill & Knowlton Public Relations followed by 23 years at The Dow Chemical Company and another 3 years as director of marketing at TIC Gums. He was vice president of marketing for TDECU and responsible for the sponsorship of TDECU Stadium at his alma mater, The University of Houston. He owns SwampButt Underwear (https://swampbutt.com). He is married to Marla Nicoll for the past 37 years. Harold was president of the Brazosport Symphony Orchestra, president of the Brazosport Rotary Club, treasurer of the Brazoria County Boys & Girls Club. He is currently the chair of the Marketing-Public Relations Committee and member of the Executive Committee at the Brazosport Center for the Arts & Sciences. Harold has won numerous awards for public relations and advertising. He graduated from the University of Houston with a B.A. in Political Science and an M.A. in Strategic Public Relations from The George Washington University.