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A talk given by myself and Paula Spreitzer at the 2007 NHPCO conference.
Citation preview
Working With the Media:
How to Reach the Widest Audience
Possible
Christian Sinclair, MDPaula Spreitzer
Kansas City Hospice & Palliative Care
Overview
• Introduction• From the Journalists’ Perspective• Practical Tips for Interviews• Success Stories
What are the benefits?
• Public education for hospice• Increased exposure for your
hospice and palliative medicine program
• Highlighting staff and volunteers who do good work
• Bringing meaning and purpose to a patient
What are the risks?
• Possible errors in communicating information to the public
• Appearing uninformed or unprofessional
• Time and money to work with media
What is news?
• Consider:– Timeliness– Proximity– Conflict– Prominence – Unusual-ness– Reach – Recurrence
Journalists’ Constraints
• Work time• Print space/air time• Resources• News flow
Types of Coverage
• News• Features• Editorials• Calendar listings
Inverted Pyramid
Examples
Media Outlets
Newspapers
• Large dailies vs. small weeklies• Words, details, photos• Press releases, tip sheets, columns• Editors• Beat reporters• Short deadlines
Magazines
• Consumer, business, association• Words, details, photos• Press releases, tip sheets• Editors• Free-lance writers• Longer deadlines
Radio
• Interview programs• Sound• Pitch letters, PSAs, press releases• Producers• News directors• Public affairs directors• Deadlines vary
Television
• Producers• Assignment editors• Health reporters• Deadlines vary, usually short
•News vs. interview formats •Visuals, sound•Press releases, pitch letters
Internet
• Often driven by other media• Words, details, photos, video, sound• Blogs• E-newsletters• Deadline is now
www.pallimed.org
Practical Tips - Overview
• Know your audience• Avoid technical words• Make the story about somebody• Important facts first• HIPAA – Release form
Practical Tips - Overview
• Do not argue• Never say “No comment”• Don’t exaggerate• Tell the truth
Practical Tips for Interviews
• Television - Appearance– Nonverbal communication– No stripes, blue/navy is a safe choice– Avoid flashy jewelry– Think props– Lights are HOT!!!!– Makeup (not just for women)– Look at the interviewer
Practical Tips for Interviews
• Broadcast– Watch for gestures– Avoid fidgeting– Control verbal ticks– Tape yourself to learn for next time
Practical Tips for Interviews
• In General– Printed information– Know when to STOP!– Be conversational but not
condescending– Advance notice of questions– “Good question”
Practical Tips - Other
• Call in to radio shows• Always be looking for topics
Europe wrestles with child euthanasia
Practical Tips – Writing Op-Ed Pieces
• Have a clear message – controversy is good
• Show how topic affects readers• Explain scope• Describe problem• Describe your solution• End with call to action or
reinforce your message
Practical Tips – Writing Op-Ed Pieces
• Find a topic• Read the paper often• Think broadly
• Respond quickly• Ask for input from your agency• Enlist a ghost writer
From Letters, The Kansas City Star, 7/4/05
Terri Schiavo case Right on, Leonard Pitts Jr. (6/28, Opinion, “Governor adds insult to
injury”). And peace be to Michael Schiavo. This has been a mess of unbelievable proportions and an invasion into the life and death of a private citizen. It causes me concern for my basic freedoms as we seem to slip from “the land of the free and the home of the brave.” Our brave are dying far from home while the politicians toil over one man’s right to make decisions for his critically/chronically ill wife. Shame on Jeb Bush, shame on George W. Bush, shame on the Republicans!
Beverly Kemper, RNJohnson County Nursing Center
Olathe
Professional Journals
• Think about the different tiers• Regional versus national• Another form of media
– Letters to the editor– Original articles– Correspondence
Bibliography
• AAP Communications Handbook (membership required)
– www.aap.org/moc/pressroom/handbook/
htm
• The Television Interview (inactive)– www.bremmercommunications.com/T
he_Television_Interview.htm