Media Outreach for Beginners

Garrett Adams MDLinda Lieb, MBAEd Weisbart MD

Building relationships Editorial board meetings

Op-edsLetter-to-editor

They need you, and you need

themJust regular folks, but extra busy

Timing is everything.

Keep your eye on the prize and

have fun!

Understand the media

Create the Opportunity and Enjoy It!

Enjoy Building Your Relationships

Be friendly. Attract with honey.

Be helpful and available.

Keep a media contact list handy

Focus on Local Newspapers

Editorial Board Meetings

Basics• What are

they?• Why request

one?• Timing is

key!

Prepare

• Be a sleuth• Request the

meeting• Prepare,

prepare, prepare

Act• At the meeting• Follow-up• Results

Editorial Board Meetings Get Results

• Paper dropped the “infeasible” language• PNHP-STL Op Ed

printed

Make Your Mother ProudWrite a Letter or Op Ed

• Legitimizes the author• Useful with policy makers

Make Your Mother ProudWrite a Letter or Op Ed

Inspire Yourself

• Write about what you care about

• Read your local papers and jump in

Let PNHP Inspire You

• Quote of the Day (Don McCanne)

• Promote PNHP research

“Medicare changes

equal healthcare

food stamps”

Imagine Your Patients Reading It

Make plain sense

• Active short paragraphs

• Know your paper’s word-count limits

• Headline with the author name and word count.

• 15 word tagline about the author

Don’t be dry

• Be a little controversial

• Use a little humor and irony

• Name drop• Ghost write for

someone well known locally

Know your audience

• Assume they know nothing about your topic

• Think about what you read… and then ignore that.

Push to Get Published

• Op-Ed Editor• Query of interest

first• No attachments• Obvious contact info• Call after one week,

early in week, early in day…

Who and how • One news outlet at a time.

• Disclose if doing more.

Be faithful

• Timely topic• Fresh perspective on a

local or regional issue• If national, find local

concern

Increase your odds

Keep the Dialogue AliveLetters

to the editor• Timely

response to their articles

• Comment on other letters

• 2-3 cycles

On-line forums

• Keep to the high ground

• Speak as a physician, establish credibility

Build a team

• Assigned newspapers

• Rotate comments to live within the paper’s timing rules

Each Step Leads to the Next

Next MOSP meeting: Expected 40; got 120

people.

“Groups that focus only on op-eds

do themselves a disservice. Letters are very well read,

reflect the community.”

Marjorie PrichardOp-ed page editor for the Boston Globe since 1987

Past president of the National Association of Opinion Page Editors.

Use Your Resources• Making the News, Jason Salzman,

2003• Mark Almberg, PNHP National,

Communications Director

Media Outreach for Beginners

Garrett Adams MDLinda Lieb, MBAEd Weisbart MD

Building relationships Editorial board meetings

Op-edsLetter-to-editor