A recent survey conducted by D S Simon Productions Inc in March
-- immediately after the completion of February sweeps (and before
the SARS scare) -- found that 23% of healthcare reporters would
choose to cover a story on breakthrough medical technologies.
Health reporters also noted heart-related stories as good topics,
citing interest in heart disease and heart attack prevention as
possible angles. The survey also found:
- 93% of health reporters would choose to use a local doctor when
it comes to covering stories that appeal to them - 93% of respondents say they prefer to receive pitches via
e-mail - 93% of health reporters preferred receiving a hard copy of the
story to pulling it off a network feed, such as Fox News Edge or
CBS Newspath.
...And Tactics
The war and post-war implications present PR executives with an
opportunity to place sidebar stories on how the fighting has
impacted people's health. "The fact that so many PR firms have been
scared off by the war works to the advantage of PR people who are
willing to get a good story together," says Douglas Simon,
president & CEO of D S Simon Productions. "You open yourself to
all sort of stories, psychological issues, high blood pressure,
stress and sleep deprivation." He adds that any health-care pitch
requires three essentials elements: hard data; a patient who can
humanize the numbers and a medical expert who can put things into
context.