Guest post by DeAnndra R. Bunch.

I know that many of us take to Google, Bing, and YouTube to gather information or to find out how to do something whether it is for personal or professional necessity. These online search platforms are great tools for learning something new quickly, easily, and, dare I say it, for free.

I cannot tell you how many times a day I search Google for news, research, how to do something tech-related (Excel still puzzles me sometimes), and general information (read: how many stars does this restaurant have on Yelp).

I agree that you can probably “bing” or “google” almost anything these days and receive accurate related search results. Of course there are exceptions, one of which is media listings.

Last week a colleague at The Workshop posed a question to me via Twitter:

@cre8vebunch tells us why you can’t Google your media list bit.ly/ZYASaR

— The Workshop (@npcommunicator) March 19, 2013

My responding tweets:

@npcommunicator building your media list via Google is not only time-consuming, but the majority of those listings are inaccurate +

— DeAnndra Bunch(@CRE8VEbunch) March 19, 2013

@npcommunicator you may grab a few outlets who have an updated staff list, but do they also list contact information & beats? Probably not.

— DeAnndra Bunch(@CRE8VEbunch) March 19, 2013

@npcommunicator And, if you are googling media outlets you are surely missing out on new media. You’re likely to only think of daily metro

— DeAnndra Bunch(@CRE8VEbunch) March 19, 2013

@npcommunicator which is not sufficient w/ the rise of new media & decline of traditional. You need more than a story in a daily metro

— DeAnndra Bunch(@CRE8VEbunch) March 19, 2013

Believe it or not, we get this question all the time. So much so that about 2 years ago we made a video to answer this FAQ, which I posted for you below.

Media Guide FAQ #2 – Why do I need the media guide? from Community Media Workshop on Vimeo.

Our media guide Getting On Air, Online & Into Print is a comprehensive guide to Chicagoland media. With the exception of the Chicago Tribune (and only within the last year) the majority of media listed in our media guide do not update their staff contact information thoroughly and regularly on their website. So, even relying on an outlet’s website can be ineffective. Our research process is extensive. It takes us an entire summer every year to produce a new media guide, which still requires continual updating all year long. We have already done the research for you to save you time, trust us.

And, being a media guide subscriber automatically increases your professional network. You can call me or any one of our talented staff  members for media relations, social media, and communications advice anytime. That alone is worth a subscription to the guide.