DENVER (April 26, 2021)
Vetted, a public relations technology startup that connects journalists to verified experts, announced today they emerged from six months in “beta” with now more than 100 users from top-tier industries and media outlets.
A free source-gathering tool for journalists, Vetted serves as an online directory of pre-verified experts and thought leaders. Journalists use Vetted’s search-and-book feature to locate sources based on keyword, location, and demographics, and send interview requests without getting pitched.
“Vetted was designed to make pitching obsolete,” said Vetted co-founder and CEO Jon Amar, who also operates his own public relations consultancy, onword. “These days, public relations professionals like myself outnumber journalists six to one as part of the $64 billion-dollar global PR industry. It’s kind of sad, and it creates an environment where journalists are overwhelmed by pitches on a daily basis. With Vetted, we wanted to automate media relations, which is one of the most highly requested services I offer as a PR firm owner, and make it easier than ever for journalists to book diverse, high-quality sources for their stories.”
To join Vetted, experts must be approved by Vetted’s Compliance Team, who verifies their work experience, online presence, and reliability. Vetted currently features experts from Lockheed Martin, SAP, LendingTree, American Society of Interior Designers, American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Direct Relief, and more.
Vetted’s innovative performance-based model only charges experts when their connection with a journalist results in inclusion in a published article. There is no subscription fee; and, experts get discovered and interviewed for free. Vetted’s media placement fee ranges from $350 to $600 depending on the size and reputation of the media outlet in which experts are quoted. Only 1,000 experts are accepted onto the Vetted platform.
Vetted is currently used by journalists at ABC News, Bloomberg, CNN International, The Economist, Forbes, USA Today, and many other top tier media outlets.
“We value quality over quantity and we’ve integrated that directly into our core product,” said Vetted co-founder and CTO Matthew Kaliara. “Unlike existing media relations services, such as HARO or ProfNet, we only allow a total of 1,000 sources on the platform at any given time. For sources, this means passive connections that are extremely relevant and, for journalists, it’s a more convenient way to book an interview without going through an agency. We believe we created the industry’s first-ever passive public relations platform.”
Vetted is a member of the Online News Association, the world’s largest digital journalism association and, as a member of Pledge 1%, they donate one percent of their fees to pro-journalism and fact-checking nonprofit organizations.
The company has not raised any outside funds to date. Their Board of Advisors includes Andrew Graham, the president of the Public Relations Society of America’s New York chapter.
To learn more about how Vetted works: https://joinvetted.com/how-it-works.
About Vetted
Founded in 2020, Vetted is the world’s first performance-based, passive public relations platform. Vetted’s online directory connects verified journalists to pre-vetted experts and thought leaders through a no-pitch, subscription-free platform. It is free for journalists, and experts only pay when they get quoted. Learn more at https://joinvetted.com
