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Monthly Luncheon
Report
(Wednesday,
March
14, 2007 PCC Monthly Luncheon)
Panelists Offer Prescription for
Success in Pitching Healthcare News
MODERATOR
Allison Scherer
Director, Communications
American Academy of
Dermatology
PANELISTS
Bob Ray
WMAQ TV Medical Producer
Kaarin Tisue
Associate Metro Editor,
Chicago Tribune
Katharin Czink
WGN TV Medical Producer
PROGRAM SUMMARY
Allison Scherer
(from left), Bob Ray, Kaarin Tisue,
Katharin Czink (Photo by Ted Lacey)
By Sue Masaracchia-Roberts
With more newsrooms using generalists to cover a broad range of topics, Chicago
still maintains a core of professionals dedicated to reporting on healthcare. During
the March meeting of the Publicity Club of Chicago, PCC showcased some of these
professionals, including Katharin Czink from WGN-TV, Bob Ray from WMAQ-TV, and Kaarin
Tisue from the Chicago Tribune.
Serving as panel moderator was American Academy of Dermatology communications
director Allison Scherer, who focused the discussion on the best strategies to undertake
so that PR professionals can generate newsworthy health stories.
Bob Ray, WMAQ-TV Health Unit Producer
For nearly 20 years, Bob Ray has served as health producer at Chicago’s Channel
5 and, during that time, has worked with a variety of reporters including Dr. Barry
Kaufman, Joan Esposito, Marion Brooks and – most recently – Nesita Kwan.
To be of interest to Ray, stories must contain a “local angle, be timely, convince
us that they are great ideas, and have an emotional connection. It’s best if you
can supply patients who can tell the story, especially if there is a Gee, Whiz!
/surprise or shock aspect to ensure people will listen.” He prefers finding out
about trends rather than merely traditional medical stories.Despite the bias toward
positive outcomes, not all stories are positive. Ray wants to tell the public about
what does not work as well as what does – like when they reported the FDA warning
about iboprophen, or stories on colonics, “Which doctors showed really did nothing
beneficial for patients.”
Ray also wants to know what will be a trend. “We do what’s been around a while,
with statistics or a new angle attached to it. He likes to work with someone “who’s
delivered the goods in the past. I have no time to socialize – and I have my own
circle of friends. I like to work with someone whose helped us, whose shown I can
trust them,” like most of the PR people in the medical centers in town.
“Know the story, not just the pitch,” he said. Be prepared to know statistics,
“why it is important for us to cover the story.” Supply the expert physicians and
patients who can relate the problems. “Make sure you can cross all the Ts and dot
all the Is; then I’ll do business with you!”
VNRs are not used at WMAQ, nor are sound bites. Seldom do they use satellite
feeds, as they lack the closeness the station likes to provide. B-roll also is seldom
used due to a perception that the production quality is lacking. Celebrities do
not influence the station either.
“We tend to shy away from things that smell of commercialism” said Ray. “In fact,
sometimes we’ll do a story without using a product name.”
“When we contract with a hospital and/or doctor to do a story, we tell them we
want to be the first – to tell the story before the other stations do it,” said
Ray. Most of the time, he explained, when something is done in Chicago for the first
time, there is a press conference to discuss it.
Regarding surveys and polls, it depends on who is doing it. If it is a trend
story, it could be a good leaping off point to become a feature.
Not a fan of e-mail, he prefers to receive ideas via hard copy. “I like some
paper to scribble on,” said Ray, however he did provide an e-mail address: bob.ray@nbcuni.com
Katharin Czink, WGN-TV Medical Watch Producer
As producer of WGN-TV’s “Medical Watch” segment for more than five years, Katharin
Czink has focused on innovative technologies, cutting edge therapies, the latest
surgical procedures and promising medicines. Chicago-area experts are frequently
spotlighted, including physicians, scientists and other healthcare professionals
and patients. A perfect fit for this position, Czink came from the Radiological
Society of North America (RSNA) and from serving as a medical writer and editorial
team member at the Chicago Institute of Neurosurgery and Neuroresearch.
Like most producers, Czink is overwhelmed by press releases, faxes and pitches.
She loves and welcomes human interest stories with high emotion and a local angle.
As an example of a compelling story, she spoke of a double lung transplant where
doctors had to fly out of town to the East coast to secure new organs during a freak
storm and power outage taking place on the East coast. The patient was running out
of time and the lung would only be viable for a certain period of time. Obtaining
the lung, they had to then fly back to Chicago – all while timing was critical –
returning during a blizzard.
She also likes “good old fashioned solid news you can use.” She prefers to receive
something to read prior to getting pitched by phone. E-mail or fax her, providing
her with “a heads up so I can prepare and give the idea some thought,” said Czink.
She can be reached at kczink@tribune.com.
When Cardinal George had bladder cancer, she explained, they used that event
to explain what bladder cancer means, what the surgery is like and what the after-effects
could be.
As she is often working on that night’s show from the moment she arrives at work,
she tends to call on people who have come through in the past for resources and
information. “If you come through, I’ll call you first time and again. I need you
to understand the visuals, along with the experts and patients we need to round
out the story. That assistance is invaluable!”
As for exclusives, she said they used to hold a hard line about covering stories
first, however that policy has softened. “We would like to be first, but if by covering
a story we are helping more people, we will consider doing it.”
Surveys can provide ideas for stories they may cover later with an appropriate
angle. The integrity of the study or survey is dependent on the way the study is
built, the number of respondents and the integrity of the study.
WGN-TV prefers to shoot their own footage and use localized stories. “Mayo Clinic
or Duke may pick up a great medical story, but we need to find a health professional
here to localize it.” WGN does not like to use B-roll or satellite feed.
Kaarin Tisue, Chicago Tribune Associate Editor for Metropolitan News
Having joined the Chicago Tribune as an associate editor for Tempo, Kaarin Tisue
served as a science editor for seven years before assuming the responsibility of
managing the seven science reporters on staff two years ago. Among the areas these
reporters cover are healthcare, medical research, the environment, astronomy, physics,
religion, and the city’s science museums and zoos. The stories they cover appear
on newspaper front pages as well as in local sections, in addition to in sections
like Business, features, Tempo and Q. As a result, she prefers having a balance
in the stories she runs.
“There is a lot of noise out there,” said Tisue. She likes to work with people
who “can pick out the trends to bring a story to the front page rather than whiplash
readers around. I want stories with staying power that affect people’s lives.”
She is even interested in stories that affect even a few people, especially those
that are compelling; those that show people making changes in their lives.
“I rely on the expertise of reporters,” said Tisue, advising PR professionals
to “Make relationships with them, not me. They are the experts on the subjects we
cover. Each has specialties and are more sympathetic,” like Judy Perez, who deals
with cancer and Jeremy Manier who covers HIV.
“Weigh in on SARS, the bird flu, etc., to help us tell you what you need to know!
We have a responsibility to do that,” she added, “to report on the big news and
trends.”
As far as exclusives, she explained that when studies come out locally, they
may accept an exclusive depending on the merit of the story. If the story is a good
one, “We are glad to have the story period. However, we don’t like it when others
get exclusives.”
Many reporters may develop close press relationships. Tisue advises PR professionals
to “show a general understanding of and fit into what we do. Than you can become
friends with reporters. Understand the Tribune and have something that fits, then
I’ll work with you.”
As for surveys, they can act as tip sheets but normally are not stories by themselves.
However, given a complete package, she is more likely to jump on a story.
“Newspapers are in the hardest situation due to the time frames when stories
are embargoed. We want to be the first on feature stories or we’ll seem stale.”
Since Tisue saves e-mails to read when she has the time that is the best way
to reach her. If she likes a story pitch, she “may shovel it directly to a reporter
if I like the story.” Contact her at ktisue@tribune.com.
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