Handling Brand Mentions in News and Blogs
Being written about by a local paper, a trade title or a respected blog can bring more customers in a week than months of social posting, and getting it wrong can stick around in search results for years.
News and blogs work differently from reviews and forums: someone else controls the words, there is usually an editor, and there are accepted ways to ask for changes. This guide covers how to read a news or blog mention properly, check every fact about you, ask for corrections through the right channel, respond when a journalist asks for comment, and share good coverage without breaching copyright.
How news and blog mentions differ
On a review site or a forum, you can usually reply directly underneath what was said. In news and on most blogs, you cannot. The writer and their editor decide what appears, and a comment section, if there is one, is read by far fewer people than the article itself. Your influence comes through private contact, accuracy and relationships rather than public replies.
It also helps to know what sort of piece you are looking at, because each has different expectations.
| Type of piece | Who controls it | What you can reasonably ask for |
|---|---|---|
| News report | Reporter and news editor. | Correction of factual errors; your comment added if you were not asked. |
| Feature or interview | Writer and features editor. | Correction of facts and misquotes; not changes to tone or emphasis. |
| Opinion column or review | Columnist or critic. | Correction of facts only. Opinions are theirs to hold. |
| Reprinted press release | The publication, working from someone's release. | Corrections, often quickly, as they did not write it themselves. |
| Independent blog | The blogger alone. | Anything politely; they owe you nothing but many are happy to fix mistakes. |
| Sponsored or advertorial content | The advertiser, within the publisher's rules. | If it is about you and you did not pay, raise it with the publisher. |
The fix, step by step
Step 1
Work out what kind of piece it is
Open the article from the Brand Mention Monitor alert and identify whether it is a news report, a feature, an opinion column, a reprinted press release, an independent blog post or sponsored content. Look for bylines, section names and labels such as comment, opinion or sponsored. Note who wrote it and which publication it belongs to. This decides who you contact, what you can reasonably ask for and how quickly you need to act.
Step 2
Check every fact that concerns you
Go through the piece line by line and check anything about your business against your own records: the business name and spelling, location, prices, dates, figures, the names and job titles of staff, and any quotes attributed to you. Separate factual statements from opinions. A wrong opening date is a fact that can be corrected. A reviewer finding your food bland is an opinion that cannot, however much you disagree with it.
Step 3
Save a dated copy of the page
Before contacting anyone, save a copy of the page as it stands today, with a full-page screenshot showing the date and the address, and optionally a copy in a public web archive. Articles are often updated quietly, and you may later need to show what the original said, whether for a correction request, a complaint to a regulator or simply your own records of coverage. Store the copy with a note of how you found it.
Step 4
Ask for corrections through the right person
For a factual error, email the writer first, politely, listing each error, the correct fact and evidence where you have it. If there is no reply within a few working days, contact the editor, or a readers' editor if the publication has one. For a blog, contact the author directly. Keep the request to facts. Asking for changes to tone, headlines or opinions usually fails and can make the writer less willing to fix the genuine mistakes.
Step 5
Answer requests for comment before the deadline
If a journalist contacts you for comment before publishing, reply before their stated deadline, even if only to say you will respond by a specific time. Ask what the story is about and what points they want you to address. Give a short, factual written statement you would be happy to see printed in full. Silence usually appears in the article as the company did not respond, which reads worse than almost any reasonable reply.
Step 6
Share the coverage without copying it
When coverage is positive, share it by linking to the original article with a sentence or a short quote of your own choosing, rather than copying the full text or a screenshot of the whole page onto your website or social channels. Articles and their photographs are protected by copyright. A link sends readers to the publisher, which also makes the writer more likely to cover you again. Thank the writer when you share it.
Step 7
Keep in touch with the writer
Add the writer to a simple press contact list with their name, publication, the subjects they cover and the date of the piece. Follow their work, and when you later have genuinely relevant news or can help with a subject they write about, contact them briefly. Do not send them every press release you write. A writer who has covered you once and found you helpful and accurate is the most likely person to cover you again.
Corrections, complaints and press regulators
Most corrections are resolved with a polite email, and most writers and editors want their work to be accurate. If that fails, UK publications have formal routes, depending on who regulates them.
- IPSO. Most national and regional newspapers and many magazines are members of the Independent Press Standards Organisation and follow the Editors' Code of Practice. Clause 1 requires significant inaccuracies to be corrected promptly and with due prominence, and Clause 2 covers a fair opportunity to reply to significant inaccuracies. IPSO usually expects you to raise the complaint with the publication first, and it has time limits, so check its current rules and act promptly.
- IMPRESS. Some independent and local news publishers are regulated by IMPRESS, which has its own standards code and complaints process.
- Broadcasters. The BBC has its own complaints process, and Ofcom deals with complaints about broadcast programmes more generally.
- Unregulated sites and blogs. Many online publications and all personal blogs sit outside any press regulator. Here, a polite request is your main tool.
Check a publication's footer or "about" page for which regulator, if any, it has joined.
A correction request that gets actioned
A fictional example: a regional news site reports that a family-run dental practice, Wexcombe Dental, is "closing its Market Street branch". In fact it is moving to a larger building on the same street.
Subject: Correction request: Wexcombe Dental article, 14 May
Hi Sam,
Thanks for covering the changes at Wexcombe Dental.
There is one factual error I would be grateful if you
could correct:
The article says we are closing our Market Street
branch. We are moving it to 42 Market Street, a larger
building a few doors along, and it reopens on 2 June.
The planning notice and our patient letter are
attached.
Some patients have already called worried they need to
find a new dentist, so a correction would really help.
Happy to provide a comment or photo of the new building
if useful.
Best wishes,
Alex Morgan, Practice Manager
01234 567890It names the article and date, states the error and the correct fact in plain words, supplies evidence, explains why it matters to readers, and offers something helpful. It does not complain about the reporter or ask for the whole article to be rewritten.
When a journalist asks you for comment
A request for comment usually means the story is going ahead, with or without you. Your statement is your chance to make sure your side appears accurately.
- Get the details. Ask what the story is about, what specific claims or questions they want you to respond to, and the deadline.
- Answer in writing where you can. A written statement reduces the risk of being misquoted, and you can check it before sending.
- Keep it short and quotable. Two to four sentences that address the point directly. Anything you send may be printed.
- Stick to facts you can support. Do not speculate or blame individuals.
- Be careful with terms. Phrases like "off the record" and "on background" mean different things to different people. If you use them, agree what they mean before you say anything, or simply do not say anything you would not want printed.
- Protect personal data. If the story involves a customer or employee, do not share their details, even to defend the business.
Sharing coverage: copyright, cuttings and logos
Good coverage is worth showing off, but the article belongs to the publisher.
- Link, do not copy. A headline, a short extract and a link is the safest way to feature coverage on your website or in a newsletter. Copying the full article, or a photo from it, onto your own site generally needs the publisher's permission.
- Press cuttings inside the business. Copying and circulating newspaper content, including digital copies, for business use in the UK is commonly covered by licences from the NLA (the Newspaper Licensing Agency). Check whether you need one before building a regular cuttings service.
- "As featured in" logos. Publication logos are trade marks. Using them to suggest endorsement you do not have is risky; if you do use them, make sure each links to real coverage, and consider asking the publisher.
- Reprints. If you want to use an article in printed marketing, ask the publisher; many offer reprint permission.
Whether the article links to you is a separate question. Many news sites have a policy of not linking to businesses they mention, or mark external links nofollow. If you want to ask, see reclaiming unlinked mentions for how to judge whether a request is reasonable.
Independent blogs and syndicated copies
Independent bloggers
Bloggers are not journalists bound by a code, and many write about businesses as a hobby. A friendly note of thanks for a positive post, or a gentle message about a mistake, usually gets a better response than anything formal. If a blogger criticises you, the approach in responding to negative mentions applies: check the facts, reply once, and move details to a private conversation.
Syndicated and copied articles
Regional news groups often publish the same story across several local titles, and press releases get reprinted on many small sites. If a correction is made on the original, the copies may not change. List every copy the monitor finds and send a short correction request to each publisher of any copy that still ranks or gets traffic, referring to the corrected original.
Old articles that still rank
An outdated article, such as one about a problem that was resolved years ago, may still appear when people search your name. Publishers rarely remove accurate old articles, but some will add an update or a note at the top if circumstances have changed. Ask politely, with evidence of what has changed. Where that does not work, the lasting fix is to earn newer coverage that better reflects the business today, which is what fixing coverage gaps covers.
1. Can I make a newspaper remove an article about my business?
Rarely. Publishers do not normally remove accurate articles, even if the business would prefer they disappeared. You can ask for factual errors to be corrected, for your comment to be added, or for an update note if circumstances have changed. For publications regulated by IPSO or IMPRESS, there is a formal complaints route if a significant inaccuracy is not corrected. Removal is usually only a realistic outcome for serious legal problems, where you should take professional advice first.
2. How do I get a correction published?
Email the writer with the article title and date, the exact error, the correct fact and your evidence. Keep it polite and factual. If you hear nothing within a few working days, contact the editor or readers' editor. For publications that are members of IPSO, the Editors' Code requires significant inaccuracies to be corrected promptly and with due prominence, and you can complain to IPSO if the publication does not deal with it, subject to its time limits.
3. Should I respond when a journalist asks for comment?
Almost always, yes. The story will usually run whether or not you reply, and silence tends to appear as a line saying the business did not respond, which readers often interpret badly. Reply before the deadline, ask what points they want addressed, and give a short written statement you would be happy to see printed in full. If you genuinely cannot comment, for example for legal reasons, say so briefly rather than ignoring the request.
4. Can I put a newspaper article about my business on my website?
You can link to it and quote a short extract, with credit to the publication. Copying the full article, or photographs from it, onto your own site usually needs the publisher's permission because the content is protected by copyright. Many publishers will grant permission or sell reprint rights if you ask. A link is simpler, keeps you on the right side of the rules, and sends readers to the source, which also pleases the journalist who wrote it.
5. What is the difference between IPSO and IMPRESS?
Both are independent press regulators in the UK, and publishers choose whether to join one. IPSO regulates most national and regional newspapers and many magazines, using the Editors' Code of Practice. IMPRESS regulates a number of independent and local news publishers under its own standards code. Many online publications and all personal blogs are not members of either. Check a publication's website, usually in the footer or about page, to see which regulator applies, if any.
6. A blogger got facts about my business wrong. What should I do?
Contact them directly and politely, point out the specific error and give the correct information, with a link or evidence if you have one. Most bloggers want to be accurate and will fix a genuine mistake quickly. Do not demand changes to their opinions or threaten them. If the blog has a comments section, a short factual comment can help readers in the meantime, but a corrected post is always better than a public exchange underneath it.
7. Why did a news article mention my business but not link to it?
Many news sites have editorial policies that limit links to businesses, to avoid appearing to endorse them or to keep readers on their own pages. Others link only to official sources such as councils or regulators. It is not usually a judgement about you. If the article is positive and a link would genuinely help readers, a single polite request is reasonable, but accept a no gracefully, because the relationship with the writer matters more than one link.
The Brand Mention Monitor tracks mentions of your brand across news, blogs, forums, social, podcasts and video, including ones without a link, and scores their sentiment so articles that need a correction or a thank-you are found quickly.
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