We have implemented a centralized system for press release distribution
using phpList. I have created mailing lists for most geographies to send
press releases in the native language. If I do not get the release in
the native language, I send the english one.
The process of sending out press releases is very simple, and the
distribution can be scheduled in advance. This means that we can send
press releases not only for TDF/LibreOffice announcements but also for
local announcements, provided I get the text one day before the release
date.
At the moment, I am targeting the LibreOffice 5.0 announcement on August
4 (to be confirmed). I will have all mailing lists in place and double
checked by August 4. If you have the address of a journalist to be
included in the distribution list, you can send it to me by email for
inclusion in the mailing list.
At the moment, we have mailing lists for the following geographies (for
a total of over 13,000 email addresses):
EUROPE: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Catalunya, Croatia, Czech Republic,
Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Holland, Hungary, Ireland,
Italy, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Slovakia,
Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, UK
AMERICA: Argentina, Brasil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Mexico,
Panama, Puertorico, Santo Domingo, US, Venezuela
ASIA PACIFIC: Australia, Bangladesh, China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia,
Japan, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Myanmar, New Zealand, Pakistan,
Philippines, Singapore, South Corea, Taiwan, Thailand, Vietnam
MIDDLE EAST: Egypt, Iran, Israel, Lebanon, Oman, Saudi Arabia, United
Arab Emirates
AFRICA: Algeria, Cameroon, Ghana, Morocco, Nigeria, Senegal, South
Africa, Sierra Leone, Tunisia, Uganda
Before, the distribution was a manual job, and of course it could be
managed only for special announcements
like major releases.
After the announcement of LibreOffice 5.0, I will switch to maintenance
mode, as the objective will be to improve the quality of the mailing
lists with the addition of selected journalists, and the replacement of
deprecated addresses with new ones.
I will also try to add information to each record, in order to make it
easier to target press releases to the right journalists.
I will present the system at LibreOffice Conference in Aarhus.
Of course, in the meantime I am happy to answer any kind of question on
the subject. Best, Italo