Media Relations

Press releases: They may be quaint. Some even say they’re obsolete, done in by technology and Twitter. Don’t believe the naysayers. You still have to get the message out for your clients, especially when you have some great news to share. And if and when trouble comes up, it’s best to stay on top of the story and shape the narrative. But knowing when this is the right vehicle for that is crucial.

Transparency just might be the buzzword of the decade. You wouldn’t know it, though, if you had to decipher a hospital bill or translate the mumbo jumbo of a health-insurance policy. Ahead of PRNEWS’ Top Women in Healthcare Communications awards luncheon next week in NYC, we asked several awards finalists to discuss the tricky subject of getting closer to clarity in healthcare communications.

Digital technology has changed nearly every aspect of media. There are fewer major media outlets, though niche publications and online news sites have grown. And PR pros now greatly outnumber content creators (formerly known as writers, editors or reporters). What does all this mean for those PR pros engaged in media relations? A trio of senior PR professionals addressed this question during a recent PRNEWS webinar. A summary of their ideas follows.

Communicators take pride in the messages they craft. They consider their work important. For Dr. Jennifer Mieres, a cardiologist and the keynote speaker at PRNEWS’ Top Women in Healthcare Communications awards luncheon later this month, communicating health information to the public is vital. Her goal is to ensure people have a sound understanding of their role in preventing disease. From there, they can become empowered partners in their healthcare, she says.

If you want to capture the attention of Baltimore Sun investigative reporter Doug Donovan as he navigates hundreds of emails daily, you’d better keep the topic relevant to the areas he covers—and try to make him laugh!  A funny subject line is pretty much a guarantee that he will open your message. Donovan shared with PRNEWS some tips for success with reaching a busy reporter with your pitch, and examples of some subject lines that actually won his click.

We rarely cover live events in this publication. PRNEWS senior content manager Sophie Maerowitz gave us a reason to make an exception. She attended a PRSA session featuring former Hearst executive Joanna Coles, who offered so many interesting tips and tactics that we had to share them with you. Here are some gems from the sharp yet blunt mind of Coles.

There are few areas more talked about than healthcare. Just look at the recent presidential debates. So, you might think healthcare communicators have it easy. The truth is they need to deal with life and death issues as well as explaining the high cost of healthcare. And what about all that medical mumbo jumbo? Ahead of next month’s PRNEWS Top Women in Healthcare Communications awards, we asked several finalists and honorees about communicating some of the industry’s pain points.

We all face two big challenges: a flood of information at our fingertips, and less and less time to make any sense of it. So if your online newsroom isn’t visually appealing, easy to quickly navigate and useful, it’s likely you won’t reach the audience and media you’re targeting. Here are some quick tips from experts to ensure your brand newsroom isn’t costing you any opportunities.

Putting Facebook’s problems with inconsistent messaging aside, the “platform vs. publisher” debate has considerable relevance for PR pros, whose success in Media Relations largely depends on building out some variation of a PESO strategy that involves a traditional ad spend, an earned media component, solid SEO and robust owned content delivery channels. Communicators are in a position to become influencers of Facebook’s policy, not just through their partnerships with marketing and ad spends, but by treating the ubiquitous social network as a “publication” and not a “platform.” Here’s why.

On July 16 PRNEWS will honor some of the best female communicators in healthcare during its Top Women in Healthcare Communications awards luncheon. NY’s Yale Club will be the venue. Ahead of that gala event, we asked a trio of healthcare communicators, who also will help us present the awards, about how to break through the noise of the internet and maintain the human touch.