Women and people of color are grossly underrepresented as experts quoted in the media. Southern California-based software platform, Rolli, has launched a newsgathering tool to help journalists quickly find new, vetted, diverse voices and perspectives for their reporting.

The Problem:

Less than 13% of all guest appearances on the most influential Sunday morning shows in 2020 were women of color, according to a review by the Women’s Media Center.

68% of all guest appearances on the shows reviewed were men, 53% were white men, according to the Women Media Center.

Traditional public relations is expensive, favoring those with more access to capital.

How Rolli Changes That:

Rolli’s 7-step expert vetting process ignores access to capital and “spin” in favor of deep expertise.

Affordable subscriptions to the platform allows any thought-leader or organization with strong credentials to be discovered by journalists across all formats and markets.

Purpose-built search engine with custom news filters supercharges journalists’ contact lists and allows them to quickly compare qualified experts across many communities and languages.

Rolli launched during the pandemic and has already helped journalists at over 300 local, national, and digital news outlets reduce time spent on finding credible sources while maintaining the highest journalistic reporting standards.

Founder Quote:

“During my time as a Senior Producer at CNN en Espanol, I saw how diverse voices and perspectives enriched our news coverage, but too often experts and guests being pitched to us by PR reflected wealthier clients and corporations– and not the diversity that reflects our communities. Rolli provides those diverse thought-leaders with the benefits of deep media connections without the prohibitive PR price tag,” says Nick Toso, Founder and CEO of Rolli.

News Source: EIN News