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F. Media Opportunities

The ways in which a hospital can get coverage or exposure for a particular story or topic are numerous. It's important to know which opportunities will best serve a particular topic.

Item	Purpose	Process/Responsibilities	Possible Tools
News or feature stories	To inform, entertain and communicate newsworthy information to audiences.	PR person may suggest story idea ("pitch"). PR person provides interview sources and background information. Reporter interviews sources and writes/films/records story.	Press release Pitch letter Pitch call Media kit Fact sheet Backgrounder Bio
Community or business calendar items	To inform audiences about events available for attendance. Must be open to the public or available for registration.	PR person sends press release about event or item to calendar editor two to four weeks before event. Expect from one sentence to two paragraphs in length.	Press release Media advisory
News briefs	To communicate less significant, yet newsworthy information, such as recent awards, staff additions and promotions, and new equipment depending on the size, scope and cost.	PR person sends a press release. Media organization uses release and any background material to write or air a small announcement. Unless there are questions, reporters are unlikely to conduct interviews for small news briefs.	Press release Media advisory
Editorials	To persuade readers about an issue or controversy.	Editorial writers/editors consider timely topics of controversy. PR people may suggest topics to the editorial board. Editorial boards may also request a presentation. This is an opportunity to demonstrate the hospital's view on a topic. Be prepared to defend the hospital's position, as well as understand the opposition's viewpoint.	Pitch letter Pitch call Backgrounder Media kit Talking points for people presenting to editorial board
Op-eds or bylined articles	To communicate an opinion or position or to inform using an expert author. Allows for more control of the message.	PR person suggests topic to editorial page editor or section editor. PR person and author (administrator, doctor, expert) draft article. Editor may accept or reject and edit if necessary. Accepted article will run with author name and possibly photo.	Pitch letter Pitch call Draft article Article outline
Letters to the editor	To respond to an article that appeared in the paper. To voice a similar or dissimilar view. To inform editorial staff of a necessary correction.	PR person drafts letter in response to an article that appeared in the paper. Editor selects which letters to publish. Letters are typically 50-300 words in length. Refer to the publication for exact requirements.	Draft letter (expect it to be published as is) Pitch call
Public service announcements (PSAs)	To communicate cause- or issue-related information to audiences. Only TV and radio stations provide this community service. Do not expect or request PSA coverage from newspapers. PSAs are free to non-profits.	Vary depending on media organization. PR person may write script or provide tape/film. Reporter may read script or develop PSA from background information.	PSA script Pitch letter Pitch call
Guest appearances	To discuss a topic of interest in a talk show setting on TV or radio.	PR person writes a letter to the show's producer (not the host) at least one month before desired date. Producer will book guest or reject the suggestion.	Pitch letter Pitch call Press release Bio Talking points