Local media offers a great opportunity for your LHD and your community partners to generate media coverage. Your work has a natural news hook because it directly affects the communities you serve. Additionally, many public health stories carry human-interest angles that are ready-made for local news placements. Below are a few tips that can help you generate local media coverage of your LHD's activities.
- Know your media. Read, watch, or listen to the media outlets you wish to target ahead of time. Note which reporters are likely to cover your issue. Make sure your issue fits with the reporter's "beat." If you are not sure of which reporters cover your issue, contact the assignment editor. At large newspapers, there are assignment editors for different sections of the paper (e.g., Health, Metro, Business, etc.).
- Help your newspapers localize stories about public health. Provide them with background on your organization's efforts and, if appropriate, make someone within your group, or a member of the community served by your organization, available as an expert on public health issues. For example, when news of the flu vaccine shortage hit, NACCHO sent out an announcement offering executive director Pat Libbey as an expert to speak to the media (See example in Template Section).
- Reach out to local television and radio reporters (see Connecting with Local Radio and TV Outlets). Again, offer to assist broadcast coverage of your issues by providing background information, experts, or community members who illustrate local public health.
- Arrange general information meetings with reporters that cover beats related to your LHD's work. Brief them on upcoming activities and relevant issues, such as an upcoming flu season. Stay in contact with reporters, updating them on scheduled events and your LHD's achievements.
- Try to place an op-ed (see Writing an Opinion Editorial) or monthly column in your local daily or neighborhood papers.
- If local citizens play a feature role in your work, make sure to emphasize their roles to local newspapers and television and radio news programs.
- Consider using alternative media to access hard-to-reach populations. Pursue placements in foreign language newspapers and distribute brochures and leaflets in community centers, churches, and hospitals—wherever people with an interest in your story gather.
- Remember that your LHD's newsletter or Web site—and those of other local community organizations—is a media outlet, too. Community organizations, neighborhood associations, and parents' groups often publish newsletters for their members. Use these outlets to raise awareness of your local efforts.
- Investigate regional or state e-mail mailing lists that commonly discuss issues related to your work and include your Web site URL. Post your Web site, information about your LHD's achievements, and upcoming events to the on-line forums you identify.
