IWantMedia.com, another favorite site of journalists and editors, is celebrating its fifth anniversary this week with a redesign and some new features. The Web site’s founder, Patrick Phillips, came up with the idea for the site while working in the public relations department at Hearst. Part of his job was writing speeches for Frank Bennack, Hearst’s former CEO.
“I used the Web all the time to get information about the press, so I knew a site that aggregated all the free information about media would be a good idea,” he said. He started it in his home and remains the site’s only employee. “As soon as I launched, I got an offer for advertising from The Onion — and I turned it down!” he told me ruefully. Current advertisers include The Wall Street Journal and the merchant bank Veronis Suhler Stevenson, which specializes in buying and selling publications. Mr. Phillips said the site is in the black.
Besides a new design, the Web site will now feature a column by Michael Wolf, who is director of the global media and entertainment practice at McKinsey & Company. But what might interest visitors the most is the site’s new relationship with Craigslist. There are listings of positions for writers, designers and publicists at publications, television stations, film companies and Web sites throughout the country. Soon the site will include free listings for jobs from around the world.
