Coffee Break: SBJ seeks input from businesses

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As a businessperson, you want to get your name out. |ret||ret||tab|

As journalists, we want to report the news.|ret||ret||tab|

We can work together to meet both our objectives.|ret||ret||tab|

The very best way to get your name and company before the business community is to appear in the Springfield Business Journal. |ret||ret||tab|

If you have news of interest to the business community, if changes are occurring at your company, if you are a new startup or have recently relocated, there is a place for you in SBJ.|ret||ret||tab|

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Get our attention|ret||ret||tab|

If you want to get your name and news out to the public, we have to know about it.|ret||ret||tab|

At SBJ we offer a form, the Request for Coverage, that you can fill out and send to us. However, the form is not necessary. You can type up the relevant information and send it to us via e-mail or fax anytime. |ret||ret||tab|

Making a request for coverage lets us know what's going on with you, but it is no guarantee of coverage: it's up to our editors to determine if the information deserves coverage, and if so, where in the paper it will be covered. Coverage is judged by news value, not by how much it would help a particular business.|ret||ret||tab|

You can save yourself, and us, time by targeting specific types of information as follows:|ret||ret||tab|

New businesses or recently relocated ones are covered in a column called Open for Business. It includes the business's name, manager or owner, location, services, products and operating hours. Send Open for Business information to Eric Olson at eolson@sbj.net or fax him at 417-831-5478.|ret||ret||tab|

Construction projects under way are featured in our From the Ground Up feature, which lists the owner, contractor, architect, description of the project, etc. Eric Olson also handles this feature.|ret||ret||tab|

If your company has hired new personnel or announced promotions, let us know about it for People in the News. Submissions for this feature, which runs on Page 4 of each issue, should include the name of the company, the individual hired or promoted, their title and new job responsibilities or duties, their experience in the field and, if they are a fairly recent college graduate, their degree and when they graduated. |ret||ret||tab|

Awards & Achievements is similar to People in the News, but it is reserved for honors, certifications earned and other accomplishments. It's printed on a space-available basis and items are published in the order received. This information can be sent to Maria Hoover at mhoover@sbj.net or fax her at 417-831-5478. Maria is also the Inside Business editor, so all information related to our special sections should likewise go to her.|ret||ret||tab|

The Business Spotlight, one of our most-read features, is a focused profile of a local business. This feature is open to any business in good standing that has been in existence for at least one year. We are always looking for new, and unusual, businesses to profile, and as part of our growing regional focus, we are especially interested in longstanding businesses outside the city of Springfield. Business Spotlight suggestions may be sent to Clarissa French at cfrench@sbj.net or fax me at 417-831-5478. I am also the contact for all news story ideas.|ret||ret||tab|

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Advertising and editorial|ret||ret||tab|

Something that all businesses should be aware of when promoting themselves is that what works for advertising does not work for editorial coverage. We aren't interested in carefully worded PR fluff. We want facts. Our job is to disseminate accurate information, not hyperbole. |ret||ret||tab|

Another vital issue to keep in mind is the division between editorial and advertising. Editorial coverage in SBJ is absolutely not for sale to anyone at any price. This is a matter of basic ethics: It is unethical to provide editorial coverage in exchange for advertising. Whether you advertise in the Business Journal has no impact whatsoever on whether you receive editorial coverage. |ret||ret||tab|

Whatever your news is we look forward to hearing from you.|ret||ret||tab|

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