Tools for working with the press

This section provides information for patient groups on working with the media. It contains advice on what makes a good story, and how to deal with journalists. There are also sample media materials you can download or print out.

Information for the media should be:

• Relevant
  Information should be selected because it is interesting to the media
• Clearly presented
  The messages you convey should be clear and easily to understand. COPD is a topic that most people have very little knowledge on, so do not assume that people know what you are talking or writing about.
• Consistent
  Ensure you are consistent when dealing with the media. This is particularly important when you are quoting statistics (such as the number of people in your country who have COPD)
• Distributed to the right person
  If the information is news, it should go to the news editor, if it is features, it should go to the features editor
• Distributed as widely as possible
  There are many different types of media. Newspapers, radio stations, television, magazines, specialist media (including nursing and medical), and the internet. Make sure your press list has all the appropriate categories in it

Making news

The burden of many diseases, such as COPD and allergic rhinitis have not been widely covered by the media in many countries in Europe. This is most probably because the media has had limited exposure to information about them and their negative impact on health. The challenge, therefore, is gaining the right kind of media coverage that has the right impact on each of your target audiences.

What makes good news?

• The following can be used to interest the media in your country
• The launch of a new disease patient website specific to your country
• The launch of a new drug or therapy for the disease
• The launch of new local guidelines or initiatives advising on the management and prevention of the disease
• An interesting new study or survey being published in a reputable journal. The media are usually extremely interested in compelling health economics data or disease statistics
• Local or international medical conference with information relevant to your country on the disease
• Human interest stories and patient case histories

Working with the media

Providing the right information to the right person is crucial when you are working with the media. A large part of developing a good working relationship with a journalist is finding out what sort of information they want and the format they prefer it in. Timing is crucial for journalists and knowing what their deadlines are is also important.

Journalists receive hundreds of press releases every day. If you are a reliable source of information, journalists will come to you each time they are writing a story on or related to the disease.

Useful media tips

Each job in journalism is individual. Newspapers and magazines all like to cover stories in different ways. This is because they are all preparing news for slightly different types of readers. It is very important to find out as much as possible about individual journalists and the jobs they are doing.

Treat each journalist as an individual

• Find out whether they prefer to receive information by fax, email or post
• Find out what sort of information they want - extensive background or key facts?
• Find out what their copy deadline is and help them meet it
• Find out whether they are interested in any particular diseases or therapeutic areas
• Check what sorts of stories they write (news, political, health, human interest) and ensure the information you provide them with is relevant
• Read their articles, so you know the topics that interest them

Using the website in media relations

• Ensure journalists are informed about your website address. Put the address on all press information, press releases and statements
• Create a media page on your local disease patients' website. Post all media information on this for the media to access
  

Follow-up with journalists

Make sure you take time to follow-up after you have issued media information.

• Be prepared to spend time talking to the journalist even if there is no immediate reward
• Try to become their best information source on the disease
• If a journalist is planning to use your information, find out when it will be published
• Monitor and obtain articles on the disease

Media interviews

It is vital to prepare in advance if you are being interviewed by the media.

Preparation

• Before the interview, ask the reporter to define the story. Is it a local, a national or an international story?
• Find out why the reporter has approached you. Do they intend to interview anyone else?
• Find out what their deadline is
• Arrange a finishing time for the interview. If you do not have a finishing time the reporter may have time to raise questions that you do not want to discuss
• Provide the journalist with background information on the spokesperson. This can be in the form of a biography, which should emphasise the experience they have in the disease
• Provide an agenda to your spokesperson. This will ensure that you use the interview to communicate your key points
• Ask when and where the interview will be published or broadcast
  

During the interview

• Be in a calm and positive frame of mind before an interview
• Speak with energy and use simple language – avoiding medical and scientific jargon
• Do not respond to questions when you do not know the answer – offer to check out the information and get back to the reporter
• Cite examples. Particularly for non-medical publications, try to relate your subject to the average man or woman in the street

Dealing with media enquiries

• You need to be ready to respond promptly when the media contact you for information
• Up-to-date information on the disease should be readily available to issue to the media
• Named staff only should deal with media enquires
• Keep a record of all media enquires, taking caller’s full name, job title, publication / television / radio station details, telephone number and email address
• Use the opportunity to direct media to your local disease website
• Switchboard operators need to be allocated a media spokesperson and told where to direct media enquires

Sample media materials

It is helpful if you have background information on the disase available to journalists. This should include general information on the condition as well as interesting statistics. Journalists use this background information to provide facts and figures for their story.

Here are some examples of background information on COPD. You may want to translate these into your local language.

• COPD Backgrounder
• COPD Statistics sheet
• COPD Statistic sheet
  

If you are planning a campaign to raise the profile of the disease in your country, it is worth thinking about publishing a document or report which contains the news.