Learning from a failed effort

All news, like all politics, is local. I forgot that in the early months of Walking with Jane’s effort against carcinoid/NETs. Despite years of work in journalism, I thought if we could put together a single, compelling package of stories from a central source that newspapers across the country would snap those stories up and use them.

That effort begins with each of us.

Those stories are still in our press kit. They have found their way into maybe three regional publications and inspired one or two other newspapers to do a bit more with carcinoid/NETs than they might otherwise have done. But for the most part the hundreds of hours of effort fell on deaf ears.

Local effort will always bear more fruit

I should have known better. As a high school journalism adviser, I constantly reminded my students that people wanted to know about the people in our school community–that barring we landed an interview with the president of the United States, our readers would not be likely to read something about someone whose life held little meaning for them and who did not have local roots.

All news, like all politics, is local.

Go through your local newspaper and you will realize they largely subscribe to the same idea. The headlines on page one of my local paper start with a campaign to recall our mayor, a story on the improvement in city schools, and a meeting between our House rep. and local business owners. The only non-local story on that page is the US attorney general’s resignation, which got a headline and 60 words.

National awareness builds from local awareness

If we are going to reach a national audience, the effort has to begin with local stories–lots of them–bubbling up from the local level. I can interview a Fall River patient about their experience with carcinoid or NET cancer, but there is no audience for that story in North Texas or St. Paul or Spokane beyond others who are fighting the same disease. Any effort I make to get that published outside my immediate area is going to be a waste of both time and effort.

I should have known better.

And my pitching your story from here is likely to meet the same fate. If we want local news organizations to pay attention, requests or suggestions for stories need to be made at the local level. Modern media organizations exist to make money–not to distribute news and information. Unless something can be shown to have profit potential in the local market, it just is not going to fly.

What you know–and need to know

And that’s where patients and caregivers come in. You know your local media better than anyone else does. You know your disease better than anyone in your local area–or know who the local media can talk with who has the expertise you lack about the disease and how it works. You can also get that information by looking at the Carcinoid Cancer Foundation’s list of doctors with expertise in carcinoid/NETs.

…the effort has to begin with local stories…

Media outlets are beginning to plan late October and early November feature story and package ideas as we speak. Reporters are working on their  breast cancer awareness stories for October right now. If we want stories on carcinoid/NETs, we need to be pitching them to assignment editors and news directors in the next few weeks. If we wait until November to ask for stories about NET Cancer Awareness Day, it will be too late.

Beginning the effort

The effort to get our stories onto the news agenda begins with contacting the editor of the local newspaper and/or the news directors of all the local television and radio stations. We can also reach out to the program directors of local radio stations that do not have a strong news presence. There are two ways to do this–and either will work well.

You know your local media better than anyone else does.

The first is simply to call the person on the phone. If you know a particular reporter, calling them is the easiest way to go. You already have a relationship with them–even if it is a different context. And if they are not the right person to do the story–they are a sports reporter, say–they can direct you to who is. But before you get on the phone with anyone, know what it is you want to say. You want to underline that this is not your normal cancer, what kinds of symptoms you have, and how those symptoms restrict the way you live your life. You may also want to mention how difficult it is to find a local doctor with knowledge of NETs–or how far you have to travel to get treatment.

The basic press release

The second approach is to either mail or email the person a press release or letter. Again, describe the disease and what it is like to deal with it in your context. Include all the same things I’ve talked about for the phone call, as well as a phone number the person can contact you at. Also, make sure you include the NET Cancer Day hook. News people love to be able to hook a local story to a national or international event.

…know what it is you want to say.

Regardless of the method you choose, contact as many different local media outlets as you can, including your local cable outreach folks. They won’t all jump on the story. If you can get one local newspaper, radio station and television station to do a story, you’ll have accomplished a lot. And don’t be disappointed if you only get one outlet total to bite.

Making the effort pay off

Next, prepare yourself for the interview. For the most part, you are just going to tell your story. But if you can help the reporter out with connections to your primary care doctor, oncologist, or someone in the region with expertise, they will see that as a plus.

…contact as many different local media outlets as you can…

After the interview, make sure you send thank you notes to everyone involved. Then make follow-up calls when something newsworthy arises–a new treatment, for example, or a trial of a new therapy that is starting up in your area or that you will be involved in. If you take good care of your local media folks, they will take good care of you down the line. Remember that every article or story we manage to get in front of people’s eyes builds awareness of the disease–and will increase the likelihood of donations.

We need to change the numbers where our disease is concerned. That effort begins with each of us.

(Editor’s Note: This is the fourth of a series of pieces that will approach the problem of carcinoid/NETs not as a medical problem but as a marketing problem. If we are going to increase funding for the disease, we have to think of it as something other than a medical issue. We need to make it a human issue for the general public. In my next post, I’ll provide a model press release for the kind of NET Cancer Day-based interview I’ve suggested above.)