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Like most reporters, Rhonda Rowland, CNN medical correspondent, says she is still trying to figure out what comprises her coverage since Sept. 11. Before that day, some of the
major stories for 2001 were a rash of shark attacks on the east coast and stem cell research. Afterwards, all was quiet on the health front until anthrax broke out. Three months
later, however, Rowland and her colleagues were back to seeing items like Greta Van Susteren's eye job and botox cosmetic injections playing a major role in the news.
Ultimately, Rowland's (who recently appeared at PRSA Healthcare Academy's conference on the challenges of healthcare PR) choices about coverage play a major role in what
becomes news in the healthcare arena. CNN's coverage runs in 212 countries, with over 1 billion potential viewers.
Content/Contacts
The CNN health team wants to hear about everything from stem cell research to the health effects of stay-at-home fatherhood to new treatments and medications. When medical
correspondents tell the story on-air, they want a strong character to use as a vehicle: In a recent story on Alzheimer's, for example, Rowland used an adorably perky 70+-year-old
woman who still enjoys a good ski trip and was undergoing a surgical procedure to treat her illness. The procedure had only been used twice before, so it was newsworthy in and of
itself - but the lovable character made the piece all the more compelling. "We're in a really exciting time in medicine," Rowland says. "There are so many fascinating things that
cross our desk."
Contact Rowland at [email protected].
Pitch Tips
Rowland prefers to receive pitches via email. And don't make uneducated phone calls. "When someone calls and says, 'I'd like to know if such-and-such would be of interest to
you,' I think, 'Well, you haven't done your homework.'"
Items that make your story more likely to receive a warm reception: a strong news peg; a great character or patient; a celebrity who suffers from the health problem; a pre-
packaged story including credible research and sources for Rowland and team to interview; reliable sources (medical journals, universities); a few weeks' notice on stories like
FDA approvals of drugs.
Rowland also shares an insider tip: "We don't really pay attention to VNRs." It's simply too time-consuming to check out a tape for newsworthiness. Once a story is in the
works, however, the team does use b-roll.
Comments
CNN runs a half-hour program every Saturday at 2:30 p.m. titled "Your Health." The program is a great venue for stories that require more time. "Something that we give two
minutes during the week we can make four or four and a half minutes" on the show, Rowland says.
Rowland and the other medical correspondents also write up stories that don't make it to the air for the network's Web site.
Finally, Rowland reminds PR pros that there have been major changes at CNN of late, meaning just because she likes a story doesn't necessarily mean it will make it to air: "It
used to be I could just do it. Now I have to go sell it to one of the shows."
In The Pipeline
In an election year, you can be sure the medical correspondents will be looking for compelling ways to tell stories about policy issues - again, the human interest angle is a
powerful component. Other issues that Rowland finds particularly interesting include cloning and stem cell research, breakthrough technologies and treatments - "anything on the
cutting edge" - the cost of health insurance, in vitro fertilization ("People aren't getting the message that IVF technology is not available to everyone," Rowland says),
potential cures for diseases like Parkinson's and Alzheimer's.