A Technical.ly Philly reader sent a photo our way of SEPTA transit agency maps with a prominent station’s name renamed to reflect a nearby hospital chain, suggesting a possible sponsorship deal. Then our editor Zack Seward reported it out and we shared the item as an interesting possibility — SEPTA appropriately demurred from comment.
Then the name change was actually announced a week later.
It was a genuine scoop with region-wide interest. Like other markets, in Philadelphia, residents take SEPTA and their transit system seriously. Our relevance to the story was the healthcare giant being the sponsor and it fitting into the city life our core coverage intersects with.
I gave a quick census of how various regional media referenced us and, on the whole, I actually think most did a fairly responsible job. I think that’s a far cry from even just a few years ago.
- NBC 10 added some of their own reporting and still gave us a good link and referenced us in their on air TV reporting.
- Philly.com gave a strong link, but the Inquirer just listed us as the original source ( good) without a link (lame).
- Newsworks gave a strong link.
- The Philadelphia Business Journal linked to us appropriately.
- CBS referenced us as first reporting it, but chose not to link to the actual first report.
- Philly Weekly gave a very thorough sourcing.
- Curbed was on it early and referenced us when it was confirmed.
- Philebrity did well.
