April is OT Month
Tips on Reaching the Media With
Information About Occupational Therapy
Media coverage can vastly increase a community's
knowledge of and participation in any event. The
suggestions offered here are intended to help you
organize your media efforts. They are geared to
showcasing occupational therapy events that reflect the
profession's stake in the health and well-being of
individuals and the community.
Develop a Media
List
Focus on the consumer topics that correspond to your
event or issue, such as health, family, children,
education, aging, or consumer safety. Make a list or
database of the following: daily and weekly newspapers,
newspaper supplements, and special sections or columns
that cover those topics; radio stations; television
stations including local cable channels; and Web-based
community news sites. The media list should include
contact names, addresses, phone and fax numbers, and
e-mail addresses of the editors, radio division
directors, television news and program producers, and
the reporters and columnists you have targeted. You can
also place event information in community calendars
published in newspaper special sections. Calendars have
strict deadlines and limitations on the number of words
you can include.
Identify an Occupational
Therapy Spokesperson
Choose someone who can speak authoritatively on
pertinent issues, is comfortable with the media, and is
able to be at the event (and available for possible
telephone interviews before and after the event). It is
good to have a back-up spokesperson. Delivering on the
interview is important to developing good media
relationships for future issues and activities. A person
of prominence in the community will increase the media
who attend your event.
Develop a Press Kit
Include a press release with the name of a local
contact and spokesperson; educational or background
information on the event and the health issues impacted
by the event, for example, articles from OT
Practice or other professional publications;
relevant
Tips for Living; a bio
of your spokesperson with a photograph if one is
available; and background information on the
occupational therapy organization sponsoring the event
(such as your state or district occupational therapy
association or local school of occupational therapy).
Include previously published articles that highlight
occupational therapy contributions to the community and
any other information that will help convey your
message.
Tailor Materials to Local Community Concerns
Relate the information to topical events and any
previous awareness actions that were taken in your
community or issues that were publicly raised. Including
a local angle will increase your likelihood of getting
coverage or air time. Personalize media outreach
materials with the name of your state occupational
therapy organization and the name of a knowledgeable
contact person available and willing to talk to
reporters.
Contact the Media
Telephone or e-mail the editors and reporters on your
list. (If this is a long list, it's a good idea to
prioritize the contacts, creating an "A list"
and a "B list". Give priority to reporters
with whom you already have a relationship and those who
you think will be most interested in the subject
matter.) Give the date, place, time, and participants in
the event. As succinctly as possible, touch on the major
points of the event, including why the issue is
important to the reporter's readers or audience. Offer
the reporter a chance to do an interview with your
spokesperson prior to the event to get a feel for the
issues. Tell the reporter that you will send information
and then do it right away.
Send out Press Kits to
Reporters Requesting Information
Include a cover letter to introduce yourself or your
organization as a resource on occupational therapy and
"pitch" your event as an event that they will
definitely want to cover. Personalize mailings by
addressing materials to individuals rather than
departments. If a reporter requests information, always
ask about their deadline.
Time Your Mailings
Calendar sections, weekly publications, and newspaper
special sections often fill available space well in
advance, while city editors make final decisions about
which events to cover the day before or day of the
event, depending on breaking news.
Follow Up Mailings With
Phone Calls
Ask if the material was received, reiterate major
points of the event and health issues, and ask if you
can provide any additional information that would get
them to come to your event and get your story published
or broadcast. Request that they e-mail their finished
story or send you a "tear sheet" (the page
containing the published article) if they cover the
event or issue.
Set Up a Press Table at the
Event
Have a clipboard with a sign-in sheet so that you can
keep track of who attends. Have press kits and your
business cards available. Make sure your spokesperson is
available to speak with members of the press. Try to
have someone at the table at all times to direct the
press and coordinate press interviews with the
spokesperson and other event participants.
Evaluate Your
Effectiveness
Which reporters came to your event and which did not?
Sometimes it's just a matter of timing. If other news
pulls media attention away from the event, follow up
afterwards with reporters who seemed interested when you
first pitched to them. Ask them to do a story on the
issues around which your event was based, and then set
up experts for them to interview. Monitor which
materials you provided were printed or adapted, and
which were not selected. Analyze the reasons information
was or wasn't utilized so that you can adapt your
approach the next time you pitch occupational therapy
issues to the media.
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