New player arrives at the crossroads of PR and journalism

Founder of NewsBasis working to differentiate his service from HARO and Profnet

When something new is announced, it’s human nature to try immediately to compare it to something that already exists, to help people classify it in their minds. When you tell journalists and PR pros you’re creating a service that will help them connect with each other for stories and research, you’re playing to an even tougher crowd.

That’s why Darryl Siry, founder of NewsBasis, has his work cut out for him.

“My job is going to be to make sure people understand what the broader aspect will be. The best way to do that is to let people use it and find out what it can do for them,” Siry said.

One of the biggest differences between NewsBasis and other journalist-PR networks is that users will have access to a sidebar tab on news stories that alerts a reader to a footnote from a source. That means when a reporter researching a subject finds an article, he or she also may find a note from other sources offering a different point of view or additional facts.