Hospitals and News Media Relations

In the concluding part of the article, G D Kunders suggests some useful tips to hospital CEOs on developing an abiding media relations programme.

Every hospital, regardless of its size and location, and whether or not it has a public relations department, should have a written media relations policy that establishes a protocol for working with news media and for releasing information. Among other things, the official policy should specifically state who speaks for the hospital – the chief executive officer or the public relations officer or any other – and in their absence as during after hours and holidays, who may be called to make a statement to the press. The higher ranked the spokesperson in the hierarchy the better. The policy should be made known to all staff so that everyone knows to whom reporters and their calls should be directed.

Initial steps in establishing and maintaining good media relations

• Develop a press kit of complete background materials of the hospital for use by the media.
• Develop a list of important media houses and reporters and establish a rapport with them.
• Provide to the press names, designations and telephone numbers of official spokesperson(s).
• Cultivate reporters who handle hospital news; encourage PR Officer to visit them periodically.
• Place positive and proactive stories about the hospital in the media as opposed to reactive ones over which the hospital has little control.
• Seize every opportunity to be positively in the news for the hospital.
• Make every effort for hospital CEO to be industry spokesman and be a close ally of the media by responding to their calls thereby putting the hospital in the news.
• Learn to say things in a newsworthy way which the media will readily quote.
• Develop a consummate disaster plan clearly delineating how to handle news media during a disaster. Give copies to media houses.

Basic guidelines for dealing with news media

Be honest. Do not make untruthful statements or plant stories in the media that are not true in order to make the hospital look good. One lie or misleading statement might destroy the media’s confidence in the hospital and the credibility of its spokesperson.

Be accurate. Figures, statements, names, time, etc. given to the press should be absolutely correct and conform to the official policy. Do not bluff when you don’t have the facts.

Be concise and professional. Space and time in newspapers and on the air are always at a premium and competition for them is fierce. Chances of stories, etc. being accepted are good when they are prepared professionally and in good journalistic style. Otherwise they will be pruned, rewritten or rejected outright.

Be appreciative. A thank-you note or telephone call to the editor who published the hospital’s story is always appreciated. “Just called to say what an incredibly fine job you did on the story.”

A Primer for hospital CEOs

• Understand that it never pays to be uncooperative with the press and that any decision to avoid answering questions may have deleterious effects on the hospital.
• Have respect for the journalist and understand his need. That need is to have a news story that his editor will judge to be worth using – a story that many readers will find interesting. Also respect the reporter’s time and the fact that he is working on deadlines. A reporter’s deadline is not yours.
• If your hospital wants to influence the outcome of an impending story, calls from reporters should be answered immediately. Failure to respond to their calls is tantamount to giving up an opportunity to influence the story. It may also make reporters say, “Officials of the hospital refused to comment.” This can bring discredit to the hospital.
• Do not ever say, “No comment.” “No comment” is generally regarded as a way of saying that the person has something to hide. It will invite negative press coverage and damage press relations.
• Be honest, open, and candid. When mistakes are made, do not be defensive. Don’t be afraid to say, “We erred. We regret it.”
• Do not bluff when you don’t have the facts. It is always acceptable to say, “I don’t have a ready answer, but I’ll check.”
• Do not question editor’s integrity. That will destroy good media relations and prompt the press to investigate the hospital in depth and detail.
• Remember that nothing is ever “off the record” when talking to reporters. Don’t ever say anything that you do not want to see printed or broadcast.
• When the hospital is involved in any controversy, cooperate fully to get the story uncovered as quickly as possible. Be immediately available to the press. Tell the truth and give as many facts as possible. This will cut down on rumours and speculations.
• Do not ignore the local news media. You have to live and work with them. If you refer to the national news media, you will have a difficult time mending relationship with the former.

Releasing News to the Press

In dealing with the press, an understanding of its working is beneficial. In press relations, editors and reporters set a high premium on accuracy and style. It is strongly recommended that the public relations officers who usually deal with the press enroll themselves in an introductory course in journalism.

A basic journalism text, a good dictionary, a thesaurus and a press stylebook (such as The Chicago Manual of Style) are the essential tools to any public relations writer.

The best way to ensure that names, figures, date, time and other information go into print and on the air correctly and the story is done in the most favourable fashion is to prepare and send a news release to the media. If the news has an element of timeliness requiring that it should be released at a particular time or day, it should be so mentioned. Otherwise in most cases it should state “For Immediate Release.”

Without going into details, suffice it to say that there is a standard format and a well established and acceptable way of preparing news releases which the hospital CEOs and public relations officers will do well to be familiar with.

Press Conference

Although a press / news conference is an efficient way of giving information to all the media at one time, it could turn out to be a tricky business too. Every news conference runs the risk of turning into a potentially volatile and dangerous forum. More often than not CEOs or hospital spokespersons get their fingers burnt in the process. One of the potential dangers – there are several others – is that questions stray from the topic of the conference to areas the person holding the press meet is not prepared to discuss, or topics that put him on the defensive. In such situations, the person may lose his cool, even walk out of the conference room. Moreover, a news conference should be conducted only if there is solid or hard news of widespread interest. Hospital news generally does not make an exciting topic for reporters as political news does, and reporters don’t come flocking unless news is one of great significance, not to mention that a breaking story elsewhere may preempt or completely wash out the hospital’s press conference.

For most hospital CEOs handling a news conference means sweaty palms. It needs a lot of preparation, constant practice, intelligence, communication skill and knowledge of the subject inside out. A better option is an interview with a reporter on a one-on-one basis. It is more informal and is utilized to provide feature stories and exclusives. Interview needs preparation and practice too. One must be familiar with the ground rules, have a positive attitude and remember that during the interview the searchlight is turned more on the interviewee and his answers rather than on the interviewer and his questions.

Responding to Media Criticism

Hospitals should be wary of rushing to respond to media criticism even when they are unjust, and more so when the criticism reflects the public mood or outcry. All the same, when there is an inaccurate print or broadcast coverage, hospitals must respond to set the records straight and draw the attention of the media and the public to inaccurate statements or false accusations. There is a danger if these inaccuracies are not corrected then and there. Most news organizations maintain subject clipping files for future reference. These files are retrieved and used again. When inaccurate statements reappear, they pick up credibility. Then it is too late to correct them.

Hospitals should consider if the unfavourable media coverage is serious enough to warrant a response and whether it has undermined its reputation or shaken public confidence in the hospital as a health care provider. It should also consider whether the response would have the desired effect or simply backfire. Finally, it should consider if it has effective weapons in its arsenal such as hard facts with which to successfully refute the story.

The writer is a consultant and he has adapted the article from his book ‘How to Market Your Hospital without Selling Your Philosophy, Prism Books, Bangalore.

E-mail: gdk@vsnl.net