Recently, the LCWA healthcare team participated in a
luncheon hosted by the Publicity Club of
Chicago entitled, “Rx for Healthcare Media,” where some of Chicago’s
leading healthcare journalists discussed how to stand out in Chicago’s
competitive healthcare market and gave PR pros insights into working with
journalists during the COVID-19 pandemic. The panel included Scott Becker, publisher of
Becker's Healthcare; Katharin
Czink, Medical Watch producer at WGN-TV; Lauren Petty, health reporter
at NBC; and Kristen Schorsch, reporter
at WBEZ.
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Photo courtesy of
photographer Will Byington |
To kick off the program, each panelist introduced themselves
and offered some pitching tips for healthcare stories, including:
- Think real people with human interest angles and
patient-focused features (with the exception of Becker’s Healthcare, whose core
focus is providers).
- Personalize pitches and talk to reporters like people. A personal
approach is the most effective way to go about placing stories.
- Keep all mediums – such as digital and audio – in mind when
pitching an NPR affiliate. Think characters and scenes to take people to
places.
- Make sure your pitch is understandable for the audience.
Simplify press releases into layman’s terms and avoid using jargon or acronyms
with no explanations.
- Above all, journalists are looking for experts they trust to
provide perspective.
The Impact of COVID-19 on Pitches
The media landscape has shifted significantly since
the COVID-19 outbreak, and the news cycle is now coronavirus 24/7. With the new
normal of a singular focused news cycle, the pandemic is challenging the way we
engage in media relations – especially for a number of our clients who are
medical associations. During this time, it’s important to be careful in how you
tell your story – and evaluate whether this is the right time to be telling it
at all.
While NBC and WGN are solely focused on COVID-19, with 4-5
reporters tied to the virus at once, both Petty and Czink stressed that other pitches
are still welcome, but to keep in
mind these stories will be pushed to a later date, depending on when the
pandemic passes the news cycle.
Yet, with all the negative news coverage daily, there are
still positive stories to tell. From the healthcare workers on the frontlines
to the local distilleries making hand sanitizers to colleges using 3D printing
to create face shields. These are the encouraging, hopeful stories that people
need to hear at this time.
The partnership between the healthcare industry and
journalism has never been more important, and we will continue to work with our
clients to arm the public with the information they may need to navigate the
uncharted waters of this pandemic.