Baltimore Sun
501 N. Calvert St.,
Baltimore, Md. 21202
410/332-6000
For this top market newspaper that reaches approximately 826,000 people in the Baltimore area, the reporters that cover healthcare topics prefer a bare-bones PR approach. Don't try to dazzle then with elaborate media kits and PR freebies like books and tapes, "let the story sell itself," say the editors.
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Daily Health News - Here, editors are interested in the latest medical developments and research. Reported with a hard-news focus, health information appears on the front page and in the metro section. |
Assistant Managing Editor, Rebecca Corbett, Phone: 410/332-6610, Fax: 610/752-6049 Reporters: Jonathon Bor, ext. 6191 and Diana Sugg, ext. 6141 |
Weekday mornings are best. |
Corbett prefers faxes. |
Reporters who write about daily health issues need to know what the "news" hook is within the first sentence of queries. If there's no new health information to report don't bother submitting anything to this section. Keep highly technical medical jargon to a minimum; it slows the reporter down. Right now the hot health areas for this section are developments in key disease areas like diabetes and behavioral trends. Corbett's PR pet peeves are too many PR calls and pitches for new prescription drugs. |
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Health Features - Every Tuesday, the Sun publishes a "Health" page. The news in this weekly section focuses on consumer-oriented advice and tips. Next month, the health page will be found in the Sunday edition. |
Senior Editor Lynn Metford Phone: 410/332-6717 Fax: 410/752-6049 |
Anytime before 6:30 p.m. on weekdays. |
Mail and faxes are better than anything else. |
News in this section is service-oriented. The hot areas are alternative healthcare, vision and dental information. Metford needs two weeks to a month of lead time to develop story ideas. What gets under her skin: Too many phone calls and non-substantive corporate pitches where there's no real change in the status quo of the company. |