The purpose of the workshop was to bring consumer, patient and labor organizations together for an update on emerging initiatives in the health care quality movement. Morning and afternoon panel discussions focused on the role of philanthropy in the health care quality movement, the availability of Internet tools that can help consumers make health care decisions, strategies for 'activating' consumers, and new initiatives to address medical errors and patient safety. The briefing began with a keynote address by Joanne Silberner, Health Policy Correspondent for National Public Radio. Ms. Silberner briefly highlighted the health care issues likely to be addressed by the new Administration and then shared ideas about how to use the media to highlight health care quality issues for the public. Ms. Silberner suggested that the lack of news on health care quality has to do with the fact that the American public is more concerned with health care costs than health care quality .
Editors decide which stories get written and published.
When selling your story, appeal to editors rather than reporters. Prove that the news in your story happens to people everyday. Different media use different tactics. Radio, TV and print media are different and require different approaches. The way you present your story should be relevant to these different types of media.