A while ago we posted on how Facebook‘s newfangled “graph search” setup could help PR pros and marketers more effectively push their clients’ content to the general public and conduct market research. But here’s something we never thought about: what if graph search could double as a media contact database?

We recently spoke to Peter Axtman of Sunshine Sachs to learn how he used graph search to score a big PR win for a client with a very specific target audience.

Axtman was working to promote a client called Playground Sessions, an instructional app-maker that is “like Rosetta Stone for piano”. Axtman told us that, though the client had received some “mainstream tech coverage“, he “wanted to talk to niche piano publications” that might appeal more explicitly to the client’s target audience — people interested in learning to play piano or improve their form without in-person training.

So he turned to graph search with surprising (and encouraging) results.

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It was every sports journalist’s dream story: Promising college senior, Heisman trophy runner-up and near-certain first round NFL draft pick Manti Te’o suffers the deaths of his grandmother and his beautiful, supportive girlfriend within 24 hours–just before dominating the field in his team’s upset victory and continuing his streak as one of the nation’s most promising college football players. His heartbreaking tale of grief and victory quickly spreads beyond the world of sports.

One problem, though: it wasn’t true.

Deadspin broke the astonishing story yesterday as a web of complex lies promoted by some of our most respected publications began to unravel and the damage control campaign began.

A summary for those who haven’t been following: Manti Te’o is a gifted football player and devout Mormon from Hawaii who claimed, via his Twitter feed and various public statements, to have developed a relationship with a woman known as Lennay Kekua who he supp0sedly met after a 2009 game between Stanford and his team, Notre Dame. She had a Twitter account with which Te’o frequently interacted, expressing his love and encouraging his fans to follow her sister (both fake accounts were later deleted).

Then came the news that, right after the (real) death of Manti’s beloved grandmother last September, Kekua passed away from leukemia approximately a month after suffering a serious car accident. Manti doesn’t attend her funeral because she had insisted that he not miss a game. South Bend Tribune fleshed out the story through interviews with Te’o before Sports Illustrated, ESPN, CBS, the New York Post, The Associated Press and pretty much everybody else in the media world reported on it. Someone set up a charity in Kekua’s name. Manti Te’o was an American classic: the tragic hero.

And then things began to fall apart.

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This is a strange time for the car industry.

As the public emerges from a crippling recession and attempts to shake off what has been a tough decade for most Americans, even those with jobs have tired of commuting to and from work in the same cars they drove 10 years ago. Just take a look at our highways–they’re filled with vehicles just as weary and worn out as the American public.

Thankfully, that may be changing–Mercedes-Benz is banking on the fact that the public believes the worst to be behind us. The upscale auto brand plans to connect with a new generation of customers by advertising its more affordable CLA to 30 -and 40-somethings during Super Bowl XLVII.

Only brands with something to prove even entertain the thought of advertising during the Super Bowl–and most of the 100-million plus Americans watching the game will even be in the market for a new high-end car–but Mercedes-Benz clearly believes its gamble will pay off.

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Matt Bean has been named managing editor of Sports Illustrated’s website, SI.com. Bean comes to SI from Rodale, where he most recently served  as vice president, digital product development. Bean will succeed Paul Fichtenbaum, who was named editorial director of Time Inc.’s Sports Group. (FishbowlNY)

Anna Baird has been named CFO of SAY Media. Formerly a partner at Connor Group, Baird brings two decades of solid tech-focused financial leadership to her new post. Before joining Connor Group, she was senior vice president at McAfee, working with the CEO and CFO on global strategy and infrastructure and organizational alignment. Prior to her time at McAfee, Baird was an integral part of the leadership team at KPMG in Silicon Valley for more than 17 years, most recently as global lead partner working with several technology companies including Symantec, Oracle and Intuit. (Release)

Monique Hanson has been named NPR’s chief development officer. Beginning in October, Hanson will oversee major and planned giving, and foundation grants. She’ll work with the NPR Foundation, which holds most of Joan Kroc’s $230 million endowment. Hanson has spent the last several years raising money for the YMCA. (Poynter.org)

Tim “Romeo” Herbster has been named vice president of Special Programming Projects at Clear Channel Media and Entertainment. Herbster is the host of the nationally syndicated show “Saturday Night Online” and will continue to host the show in conjunction with his new position. At his new post, Herbster will manage large-scale national projects, working closely with Darren Davis, Executive Vice President of National Programming Platforms, on advertiser integration programs. He will also develop on-air and digital music programming and content. Herbster will relocate to New York City from Philadelphia, where he most recently served as Program Director for WIOQ (Q102) and Online Program Director for the Clear Channel Media and Entertainment cluster in Philadelphia. (Release)

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