Pressland Wants to Be the Yelp of Media

The Internet often acts as a sounding board for opinions on just about everything. Open review platforms, such as Yelp and Rate My Professor, give people anonymity (or not if they choose) to share their experiences and rate anything from where you got your haircut to last night’s dinner entrée. Now, freelance writers can sound off on their experiences with editors, thanks to Jeff Koyen’s Pressland.

Launched in October, Pressland is a free, open review platform for the journalism industry. It works like Yelp and allows writers to comment on editors or publications and share their experiences with other writers.

Jeff Koyen, Pressland creator

Koyen, who is currently the editor-in-chief of Van Winkle’s, has been on both sides of the pen as an editor and freelancer for more than 20 years. He said Pressland is important for the industry because it provides accountability and gives writers insider knowledge into any listed publication. Pressland’s anonymous feature also allows writers a “safe zone” to share experiences honestly without any fear.

Currently, Pressland features more than 15,000 news outlets and editors. Reviews can include contact information, pay rates, personal comments and other useful information, and reviewers have the option of using a five star rating system.

While some editors might be nervous about the platform’s release, Koyen said, “If it scares you, you should examine (yourself)” and added the board is a “balance of positive and negative comments.”

Koyen said he intentionally didn’t include a down-voting mechanism because he wanted to avoid complaints that aren’t constructive.

“While the star rating system is zero to five—and there’s certainly an implied quality to having, say, just one star—I could’ve included up and down voting. But I didn’t because that encourages more aggressive sniping, in my opinion. I’d like the reviews and ratings to be more thoughtful than a simple thumbs-up/thumbs-down,” he said.

Koyen said as the platform grows they may reach out to users on Twitter who have recently written for a publication and ask them to review the company or editor they worked with. Additionally, editors who have been reviewed can contact Pressland and give official contact information and even respond to reviews.

The platform is still in beta testing, but Koyen and his team are adding new users every day. Koyen said he plans to add a feature that will allow editors to rate freelance writers as well.

For more information, visit press.land.