Established as one of the world's first Internet-based resources for reporters in 1993, ProfNet (www.profnet.com) today enables reporters to query 4000 colleges, universities, corporations and other organizations in North America and Europe. ProfNet relays queries from more than 100 reporters daily to its international network of public relations officers and also offers reporters a database with more than 10 000 expert profiles created and maintained by public relations officers.
"We're delighted to offer reporters outside of Africa the opportunity to connect with sources from a rapidly expanding number of African institutions," said Karen Dyke, who is managing the ProfNet service in Africa. "Similarly, we're pleased to offer reporters in Africa a means for more efficiently link with experts in Africa and in other world regions."
Among South African institutions that reporters may now query via ProfNet, are the University of Cape Town, Stellenbosch University, Rhodes University and the University of the Witwatersrand, Dyke noted.
As the first African institution to join the network in the mid-1990s, Rhodes University has played a pivotal role in ProfNet's development through the "Highway Africa" conference hosted annually by its Department of Journalism and Media Studies. "African reporters now have a way to reach beyond their traditional sources for expert commentary," noted Guy Berger, head of the Rhodes University Department of Journalism and Media Studies. "The fact that ProfNet verifies the expert's credentials is key. The system puts them in touch with experts in their own countries as well as opens the door to accessing top minds around the world."
The University of Cape Town also is assisting by hosting two interns this summer from Colgate University in the US. Working with ProfNet staff and UCT's public relations department, the students will assist in registering and profiling African public relations professionals and experts. Colgate is jointly funding the internships with ProfNet as an extension of its study-abroad programs.
In cooperation with the World Free Press Institute, ProfNet will offer African reporters and news organizations convenient links to experts in free press issues, newspaper management, economic reporting, investigative reporting, and creating successful newspapers in emerging democracies. The institute has conducted professional development workshops for 400 reporters in Africa with the assistance of grants from the United Nations, the Ford Foundation, and the Eurasia Foundation, said Clayton Haswell, WFPI president.
Free to reporters and to participating colleges and universities in Africa, ProfNet is supported by annual fees from corporations and PR agencies, which participate fully in the online interaction with reporters.
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