Help a Reporter Out (HARO) is a free media-relations service that connects journalists with expert sources through a thrice-daily email newsletter of reporter queries that sources answer to earn media coverage.
HARO distributes email newsletters of source requests — short queries from journalists, bloggers, and producers — sorted by topic such as business, tech, and lifestyle. Sources, typically founders, publicists, and subject-matter experts, reply with concise pitches, and journalists select responses to quote in their stories. The service is free for journalists and sources alike, funded by newsletter sponsors, and is widely used as a public-relations and SEO link-building tactic.
Peter Shankman founded HARO in 2008 as a Facebook group that grew into a widely used mailing list. Vocus acquired it in 2010 and merged into media-intelligence company Cision in 2014. Cision rebranded the service as Connectively during 2024, then shut that platform down on December 9, 2024, to focus on its core CisionOne product.
On April 15, 2025, Cision sold the HARO brand to Featured.com, a query-based expert-content platform backed by investors including Great North Ventures. Featured.com relaunched HARO in its original format, resuming thrice-daily emails on April 22, 2025, and added verification measures such as AI-content detection, LinkedIn validation, and community reporting, plus free HARO Journalist Profiles for reporters.
HARO is an inbound channel — journalists post needs and sources respond — in contrast to outbound databases like 📝Journalist Hunt and 📝Press Hunt, which sell searchable journalist contact lists. Its zero cost makes it a low-risk entry point for earned media, though high responder volume rewards pitches that are fast, specific, and credentialed.