False marketing from company "Research media"

Would you be flattered if you did get a mail from a journalist in the process of editing next years "International Innovation Report" where he said he wanted to do a glossy two page presentation of your research project? I was flattered first time I did get such a mail, but for some reason it was not followed up.

Yesterday I did get a similar mail from Joe Howes at Research Media. However now I happen to know from colleagues that the company RESEARCH MEDIA that sends these mails operates in the following way: After contacts have been established and a plan for the article and the dissemination has been discussed, work started etc, they disclose that they need a sum in the order of 2000 Euro to continue.

That is why I this time asked in my response to their mail: "Before any further discussions on this can you please clarify the financial plan for this. Am I right in assuming you want to send a bill for this? In that case I am not interested. If you are doing a true journalistic work I am interested." I am now waiting for the response. See their mail and my response on this link.

Does anyone else out there have experience from this? The Swedish Research Council FÒRMAS, which in the mail is mentioned as a contributor to this report, did on its homepage distance itself from such initatives some time ago, but I cannot find it. Anyone remember that link?



Added: 19 nov:  I have got help from FORMAS to find the old link:

This is the link where the Swedish Research Council (VR) distanced itself from such journals more than a year ago.Vetenskapsrådet tar avstånd från tidskrifter med tvivelaktiga affärsmetoder

FORMAS had a similar note by the same time and have just today published a new version:  Vi tar avstånd från tidskrifter med tvivelaktiga affärsmetoder

Thanks to FORMAS for help!