Bob Tourtellotte, west coast media correspondent for Reuters                   Story and photos: George McQuade

Don't bother inviting Reuters to a red carpet event because the wire service has neither the time nor manpower to cover such a gala.

That was one nugget uncovered at the Entertainment Publicists Professional Society event held Sept. 21 in Hollywood.

Of course, if a PR pro can guarantee some quality face time with someone like Mel Gibson, Reuters will show up, said Bob Tourtellotte, its west coast media correspondent.

If a publicist is not sure whether Reuters is worth a pitch, he or she should send an email to its catch-all mailbox, [email protected], Tourtellotte suggested.

Robert Dean, of Celebrity Service International, is the anti-Reuters.

"We publish the Celebrity Bulletin, which comes out daily and informs the news media and entertainment industry about celebrities coming to town, what special events they're attending, and contact information to get a hold of them," explained Dean.

Luaine Lee, writer for McClatchy-Tribune News Service; Lori Streifler, editor, City News Service, and Tourtellotte.

Likewise, there is Caroline Fox, publisher of Entertainment News Calendar, a "wire service for the entertainment media that lists events such as a celebrity going to court or a premiere, and who the press contact is."

There also is a story interview opportunity area.

"If an entertainment publicist is planning an event, and you want to know what your event competition will be that day, call us and well be glad to let you know what's happening, so you can stay away from conflicting with big premieres on the same night," she said.

Lori Streifler, editor, City News Service, said: "There is not really a bad time for sending us news, we're serving so many broadcast clients, who are constantly on the air. We're serving editors and writers all night long as stories are breaking, getting on the radio and TV, so my deadlines are constant."

CNS has a "Daily Budget" that lists news events and another called "Entertainment Budget" for celebrity stuff.

The basic listing of event time, contact and address is free, but if publicists want guaranteed placement and a lengthier listing, there is a fee.

CNS Video is another service, which is shot and packaged for distribution to local TV news stations.

Producers and directors are more interesting than stars, in the view of Luaine Lee, a writer for McClatchy-Tribune News Service and Scripps Howard News Service.

Lee offered this advice to publicists tracking articles of clients: "Google doesn't have everything, so I recommend Lexis-Nexis, Alta-Vista and NewsLibrary.com to track your article clippings."

Another tip: don't call Lee after 6:00 p.m. because that's family time.

Each panelist prefers email pitches, and Streifler spoke for the group: "No attachments please, we just delete them, because of the virus scare." Cut and paste the text of your news release in the body of the email.