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HARO

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HARO (Help a Reporter Out) is a free email service matching journalists with expert sources, sending up to three query digests per weekday to 800,000-plus registered sources, operated by Featured and funded by newsletter advertising.

ABOUT HARO

The HARO name has changed hands repeatedly, which is why older articles describe it as "Connectively" and quote a subscription price. Peter Shankman launched it in 2008; Vocus acquired it in 2010 and Cision inherited it through the 2014 merger. Cision rebranded HARO as Connectively in 2024 and permanently shut that platform down in December of that year. Featured.com acquired HARO in April 2025 and restored the original free email model with anti-spam and AI-content detection added. The practical consequence for anyone citing HARO: there is no paid tier. It is free for journalists and sources alike, and the money comes from advertising in the newsletter. Any article quoting a 19 USD monthly HARO plan is quoting Connectively pricing for a service that no longer exists.

OVERVIEW

Who is it for?
Founders, consultants and subject-matter experts chasing editorial mentions, and journalists who need expert quotes on deadline.
Problem
Earning a mention on an established publication normally means cold outreach to writers who did not ask for it.
Solution
HARO emails registered sources up to three digests of live journalist queries each weekday; experts reply to the ones they can genuinely answer and get quoted, usually with a link. Journalists submit queries through the same service. It is free on both sides, funded by newsletter advertising rather than subscriptions.
What makes it unique
The inbound direction - the journalist has already asked the question, so a relevant reply is wanted rather than intercepted - at 800,000-plus sources and no cost to either side.

KEY FEATURES

  • Up to three journalist query digests per weekday, Monday to Friday
  • Free for both journalists and sources, funded by newsletter advertising
  • Query submission for journalists seeking sources
  • Direct journalist-to-source email contact
  • AI-generated content detection on responses
  • Masked email addresses and community reporting
  • Lifetime bans for policy violations
  • Journalist directory and customisable journalist profiles
  • 800,000-plus registered sources and 75,000-plus journalists and bloggers

COMPANY

Founded
2008
Founders
Peter Shankman
Publicly traded
No

Where ZPlatform covers HARO

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Sources

  1. HARO homepage - Homepage · checked Sep 5, 2026
  2. About Help a Reporter Out - history, scale and cost - About page · checked Sep 5, 2026

This profile answers what is HARO?. For is it good? see any ZPlatform review. For which tool should I choose? see the relevant best-of ranking.