28 West 23rd Street
New York, NY 10010
Editor's note: To get on the women's health radar screen, PR pros can't afford to pass up this national consumer publication (circulation: 1 million) that targets women (age 30-55) with a wide range of health, fitness and nutrition information. The editors were refreshingly approachable, but stressed limiting the pitches to one-page (then providing more follow-up upon request). The popular healthy lifestyle magazine is always interested in healthcare centers of excellence for women, teaching institutions that do a lot of women-focused research and leading physicians that specialize in women's surgical procedures and general healthcare services.
(Deadline for copy is four to five months for features and three to four months for hard news.)
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| General Health: The overall editorial aim of this magazine is to encourage its readers to take charge and be proactive about leading a healthy lifestyle. Recent issues have highlighted the "10 Best HMOs for Women," the ins and outs of plastic surgery and remedies for the cold and flu. | Senior Editor: Dana Points, Phone: 212/366-8960, Fax: 212/627-3833 | Monday through Friday is good, but around the 10th of each month (closing), it's hectic for the editorial staff. | Points prefers snail mail and faxes. But keep in mind that faxes don't get read the same day they are sent and please don't call to say "Did you get my fax?" If the information is time-sensitive phonecalls are welcome only after the PR information has been sent. | Right now, key coverage areas for Points are alternative and mental health. She's particularly interested in health information that has practical "do-it-yourself" applications via preventive health tips. She oversees news on new products and the latest medical research. What gets under her craw? Huge media kits and PR folks who read from a prepared script. |
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Quick Reads
The regular departments focus on fun lifestyle tips, new health trends, and nutrition/fitness advice. Key health-related departments include: "Healthscope," "Pulse: Mind/Body," "Fitness News," "AH Advocate," "Nutrition Update," "His Health" and "Voices". |
Fitness/Health Editor: Karen Cicero, Phone: 212/366-8997, Fax: 212/627-3833 | Monday through Friday is good, but around the 10th of each month (closing), it's hectic for the editorial staff. | Faxing is better than anything else; followed up by a very quick phone call to gauge interest and reporter needs. Emails do not work for Cicero, she rarely has time to check them. |
Cicero covers the nutrition departments, "Healthscope" and "His Health." She's particularly interested in getting information on cure-it-yourself remedies, symptom-finder medical advice, useful health Web sites, as well as the latest surveys and trends.
Although most of her departments provide straight service-oriented advice, she like to mix it up and report on offbeat stuff like "what the top healthcare professionals eat at industry meetings" and "stethoscope slang" (laymen's terms for technical medical words). What nags her are constant PR phone calls on pitches that she has not had a chance to review. |