Profnets of the Week

by admin ~ March 13, 2009

It’s time again to take a look at some of the strange and interesting queries from Profnet, a service that sends us journalist queries and calls for sources dozens of times throughout the day. Enjoy!

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TOYS/TODAY: Banning Barbie Dolls — Junior Scholastic Magazine
West Virginia legislator Jeff Eldridge has proposed a bill to ban Barbie dolls, saying they are a bad influence on girls. I am looking for teachers, parents, psychologists, toy manufacturers or sellers to comment on this question: Should Barbie dolls be banned? My readers are middle- and high-school students; if you could keep your language simple and direct, I’d very much appreciate it. Contact: XXXXXXXXX

HEALTH/TODAY: Exotic Diseases May be on the Rise — New York Daily News
The recession may be responsible for a rise in diseases such as dengue fever and malaria, according to an MSNBC story. I would like to speak with infectious disease experts, public health authorities and other medical experts to find out more about this and whether it is indeed a real trend
that is expected to continue. Contact: XXXXXXXXX

MANAGEMENT: Catching Workers in a Lie - Freelancer
For one of my columns on a news Web site, I am looking for any hiring manager or HR professionals who’s using lie-detection techniques to weed out job applicants. These would be techniques a hiring manager uses themselves when they interview an individual. Maybe they got training in this. I’m also looking for other processes, technology used to do this. Contact: XXXXXXXXX

INTERNET: Networking Etiquette and Strategies — Hartford Courant (CT)
It seems like every third e-mail you get is from someone suggesting you join a new social network, or perhaps wanting to be your friend on Facebook. This is all fine for college kids who have time to spare, but now that middle-aged folks with jobs and families are getting pulled in, it’s more daunting for them to take the time necessary to update networks, corresponding with friends and colleagues from the last 30 years. But with the economy, especially, it seems vital to tap into these networks. I would like to talk to people and experts about how to sort through these requests (from Facebook, MySpace, LinkedIn, Digg, Reunion, etc.) about which to join, which not to. How rude is it if you ignore people “friending” you on Facebook? Are people overwhelmed with all the invitations they get? Are bosses telling them they should join Twitter, etc., because it’s good for business? How do you winnow through the requests, or do you join them all and have 500 friends? I’m looking for networking experts, as well as ordinary people dealing with this. Contact: XXXXXXXXX