Is It Newsworthy?

With hundreds of news releases and ideas crossing an editor’s desk, what makes yours more newsworthy? Editors look for timely, significant and interesting stories that are close to home.

1. Make your story new and fresh. Use words like new, first and only to convey the timeliness and significance of your story.
2. Find interesting angles to your story. The local news media has probably done plenty of stories on breast cancer, so make yours different. Was one of your patients among the first to use a new technology? Did a patient’s mother have the same type of cancer and how did treatment differ?
3. Different media find different stories appealing. Target your pitch to the medium you want to reach.
   Print. Health care news in the print media has become more specialized, with coverage divided into business, science, general health news and other sections. Study the papers in your market to see how they handle coverage, and target your message to the appropriate editors. For example, announcements on quality ratings may fall under business, while new technology may appear in the science section. Photos ops and graphics that support your story will help.
   
   Television. Television is visual, but it’s also more personal. Compelling patient stories can benefit from visual support. Identify video opportunities for your story, such as rehab sessions or a patient getting back on the golf course after surgery.
   
   Radio. Radio programs offer opportunities for more in-depth and uncut interviews, as well as event promotion. Look for hot health topics and timely health information you can pitch to your local news/talk stations. Music radio programs often provide PSA time for announcements of local events, such as health fairs, flu shot clinics, and walk/runs that raise money and awareness.
   
   New Media. Become your own source of news. Consumers are turning off the TV and skipping the paper, but they’re still hungry for news. Put stories from your publications on your Web site and provide links to reliable health care sources. Update often. Start a blog when big news breaks, and provide a link to your site from banner ads placed on other Web sites.
   

For more information, e-mail Lori A. Bruss, MEd, CHES, executive vice president, or call (866) 549-6848.