What can we say but thanks.

Our decision to perform a media stunt calling attention to our wildfowl reserve problems was great - if only we could find the media. A strange problem as the media is perceived to be everywhere just thirsting for a story. Unfortunately, we found it is just not that simple when you go looking for them. We spent a lot of time getting hold of just a few journalists names and could find no simple method of getting coverage at all. Even friends we knew who had received media coverage did not seem to know how it had occurred.  To have found your company was a tremendous relief.

Your  kind attention in professionally and carefully picking out the aims of our rambling and complicated story and converting these into abridged media soundbites was invaluable and the power and timing of your news wire system has been amazing.

As you know, the stunt failed to go the first time but the press still got the story, resulting in coverage right across national papers including the Times, Observer and many others that we have been told about but did not see.  Regional television, radio and papers covered the story in depth as well as many other specialist magazines.  The Government departments were also hauled out by the press and had to make comments.

The second newswire went out some months later on less than 24 hrs notice due to continual turbulent winter sea conditions affecting our amphibious crossing. Nevertheless BBC TV, Meridian TV and Kent Radio scrambled to provide film and radio coverage of the actual event which was amazing and further rounds of major newspaper and local and regional coverage also resulted. Even two weeks after the event, we are receiving calls for interviews from entirely different circles of magazines etc, a bit like ripples spreading outwards on a pond. Local radio continues to follow the situation, our web site is getting lots of hits and we have, as you advised, now collected a hot list of TV and journalist contacts that  can be notified in advance of another news wire, should we need to take further action.

We are not yet through our problems with the government departments but they have now twice been hit and hauled out to comment by the media and are now very keen to get rid of us in any way possible - 'talking at last'! One MEP has been in contact over the issue and I have been invited to stand for parliament for a 'green' political group (neither unfortunately of much interest!).

We did wonder why some small far away local papers were on your circulation list but to our surprise, some did run the story. This resulted in  unexpected ripple effects that brought letters of support from hundreds of miles away, one very genuine offer by a pensioner to go on hunger strike for us and a journalist from a major newspaper in the north that had picked up the story only in his local paper.

Publication has also been in America. We now see that any of these chance contacts could turn out to have major beneficial consequences, so we take back what we thought!

Thanks again for being part of the team in every way.

Doug Hilton
Buckland Lake South Wildfowl Reserve
Cliffe, Kent UK