Guide to Linux Journal for PR Professionals

This document exists because we want to make sure everyone gets our best answers to common questions--not because we want you to read the FAQ instead of asking questions. If you do have questions about Linux Journal, please contact Jill Franklin, Executive Editor at <ljeditor@linuxjournal.com>.

We do encourage you to read A Letter to Public Relations People by Dan Gillmor.

Please send comments on this document to Jill Franklin, Executive Editor: <ljeditor@linuxjournal.com>.

Can I send you a press release?

Yes. Plain text, please. We don't pay attention to non-Linux operating systems, so if you represent several clients and can set up your system to mail us only the releases that apply to your Linux clients, we'd appreciate it.

Can I call you to see if you got my press release?

In general, that's not a good idea.

I see that your editorial calendar has a theme issue about an area we work with. How do we get a mention?

In general, we work with contributed articles, not staff-written articles. We encourage you to propose a contributed article.

Who's writing your upcoming feature on that editorial calendar topic?

The topics listed in the editorial calendar are general issue themes, not staff-written articles.

Will you run a contributed article from our company?

Maybe. Please see the Author's Guide for advice on good article topics and sending a query letter.

How do I get Linux Journal to review a product? How do I get a product in the New Products section?

To have a product considered for review, please send e-mail to New Products<newprod@linuxjournal.com> with the following information:

1. URL for the product page
2. Dates the product will be available for review
3. E-mail and phone contact information for the person at your company who is responsible for the product review

To submit a product for consideration in the New Products section, please send the product announcement to <newproducts@linuxjournal.com>. Please include a URL for a product photo or screen shot.

I have a great idea! I'll build my marketing campaign around a review in your publication!

We highly discourage vendors from depending on Linux Journal reviews or other editorial for their marketing plans. The date that a review runs is not as predictable as a marketing project should be, because the amount of space that we have available varies from month to month. We also work with freelancers for reviews, and we can't guarantee that we won't have to bounce a review back to the author for more work or even reject it entirely.

If you're looking to work with Linux Journal on a promotion that must happen on a certain date, the company does have a whole other department that does that kind of thing and your ad rep would be the right person to talk to.