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The Wall Street Journal's online version launched its Health Industry Edition this month, covering the business of healthcare with information from Dow Jones Newswires, the
print Journal and daily information on healthcare news at other media outlets. But Michael Waldholz, a veteran journalist who has been covering healthcare for about five years,
adds unique content that readers will find only on the Web site with his weekly "Waldholz on Health" column.
The new column will cover the news of the week in the healthcare industry, with Waldholz's perspective on what it will mean. "It's not so much an opinion piece, but it's
definitely stepping out a lot more than I would in the kind of journalism I've done for 22 years."
The online version of The Journal draws more than 625,000 subscribers, and the reader demographics resemble those of the print publication: middle-aged, upper middle class
business folks looking for a sophisticated take on the news.
Content/Contacts
The target audience is healthcare professionals, including consultants and providers, and so far Waldholz has been focusing on the pharmaceutical industry.
"In the first column, I looked at why the pharmaceutical industry's earnings may grow at a slower pace, not just this year, but in the next few years. I gave my take on it,
based on reporting." The next two columns followed the same theme with a look at drug companies' problems producing growth and new pressures exerted through Medicaid issues.
Waldholz will break out of the pharmaceutical mold, however, to cover whatever's in the news in a particular week.
Contact Waldholz at [email protected] or call him at the New York bureau at 212/274-7910.
Pitch Tips
"I read all my email," Waldholz promises. But he says PR professionals who know him well or have worked with him in the past may continue to call.
A word of advice on voice mail messages, however: Waldholz hates rambling messages and prefers a three or four sentence synopsis on your news. And like all reporters, he
cautions against calling without first acquainting yourself with his writing. "It's really a pain when someone calls me and doesn't know my work at all. As a journalist, you
appreciate someone who understands your coverage, and for me, that's a very sophisticated pitch. An account person making phone calls is probably going to be treated like the
telemarketer who calls me during dinner."
Comments
Deadlines are up in the air for Waldholz, as he's also writing a bi-weekly column for The Personal Journal. He advises PR pros not to call after 2 p.m. "Who knows if I'm
writing that day?"
He also emphasizes that the subject matter of any pitch should be timely and sophisticated. He'll be reporting what's in the news to the savvy WSJ.com user, and readers of the
Healthcare Industry Edition will be particularly well-versed in healthcare topics as they work within the industry.
"The editors are hoping to bring together the news in one easy site, and my column and other features to come will give readers a sense of real time in the business."
In The Pipeline
All topics in the future will be geared at the health industry reader, and most will be based on the news of the week, so Waldholz can't be specific about what's coming up in
the next few columns. Right now, he says, "the continuous big news is the cost of prescription drugs, especially the cost to the elderly."
Other topics which Waldholz would like to see in future columns: managed care, medical practices, drug-resistant antibiotics and other subjects impacting the business of
healthcare.