News Releases
Publishing property news ‘no charge’
08/02/2008
The internet and the print media are traditionally the most popular places for the publication of property news. On a daily basis, property companies and groups, real estate agents, developers and other service providers churn out press releases via their public relations people. Most of these find their way onto mailing lists to the editors and newsrooms of the country’s mainstream press.
“Property24 is no exception when it comes to receiving quantities of press releases every day,” says Property24 MD Richard Gahagan.”We publish up to twelve property articles daily, and the portal is constantly in need of material to feed its hungry readers. Our property news articles are also frequently published on the portal’s sister websites News24, 24.com and Fin24, and over 200,000 of these articles are read each month.”
So how does the portal choose what to publish and what to reject?
“Four independent journalists write weekly articles for Property24, based on their experiences of what’s happening in the property industry,” says Gahagan. For the rest, the portal relies on what comes in via news feeds, news agencies and press releases.
Contrary to the belief of many, Property24 does not charge or receive payment for the publication of news articles. If the material supplied is of value to the portal readers, it is used without favour. If the content is essentially advertising copy, it can only be published after extensive sub-editing. Articles that are date-specific such as property launches and auctions are published in time for the date of the event, and other material goes into a publishing queue to await its turn.
The daily selection of articles is done based on presenting a variety of topics. The morning deadline requires three news articles, a top component for Property24 and a Special Focus component for News24, and the topics range from new properties on the market to current trends in the industry and spotlights on specific suburbs, with their average prices over the past couple of years.
“A common complaint is that many of the articles published quote people with a ‘vested interest’ in the sale of property, such as the principals of real estate groups,” says portal Editor Tracey Sandilands. “This may be true, but we believe that although industry leaders mostly tend to be upbeat when speaking about their business, they are after all working in the market place and should know what’s happening in the business better than anyone else.”
Sandilands says that the options Property24 has are either to dump the press release material, which will result in the public never being exposed to the claims and opinions expressed, or to publish it and allow the users to make up their own minds.
Occasionally, a reader might see these articles as attempts to promote the property industry. This is not necessarily so, says Gahagan.
“There are articles published daily where less ‘upbeat’ facts are highlighted, as well as many articles that give valuable advice on, for example, how to avoid falling into the 'voetstoots' trap, how to perform a property inspection or checking that your home is fully insured for the correct value,” he says.
“Amazingly, when a financial guru predicts whether the economy is in for an upturn, the public believes him. When a property guru predicts that the market in a specific area might actually be in line for a bit of a boost as a result of some or other trend, he’s accused of trying to persuade people to buy property. I wonder why the difference in perception exists?”
Meanwhile, the 230,000 browsers who click open the articles on Property24 each month increases constantly – a sure indication that by and large readers seem to value the information provided, and the feedback that comes in regularly supports this fact.
Comment On This Article
Comments
No comments available.
Comment On This Article
