The Power to Control Diabetes Is in Your Hands Community Outreach Kit

Tools to Implement Promotional Activities

Tips for Working with Media

Your local media is a great vehicle for reaching a large audience and relaying important messages about diabetes self-management in older adults. Here are a few general tips to help you work with your local media:

• Determine your target audience. For example, are you trying to reach African American older adults, Hispanic/Latino older adults, caregivers of older adults, etc.? Find out which local media outlets reach that audience and would be most receptive to and interested in your story. Then, develop a list of contacts at local media outlets and keep it current. (See the section of this kit entitled Guidelines for Issuing a Media Advisory for more information on creating a media list.) Include local religious organizations, hospitals, and community service groups. Tell them your availability, explain your role and the type of information you can provide, and give them your contact information.

• Offer information that is current, accurate, and includes audience appeal. Facts and personal stories are what make a news story. Review the campaign’s messages and use statistics about diabetes prevalence in your area to get the attention of your local media. Here are some examples:
  • Watch for national or local events related to diabetes and use them to create a story with a local angle.
  • Find a local older adult who has overcome obstacles to manage diabetes and ask him or her to speak about the experience in a media interview.

  • Plan and host a special diabetes-related event and enlist a guest speaker.

• Find out whether your local print media outlets accept public service advertisements (PSAs) and send them NDEP’s print PSAs. Call newspapers and magazines and ask for a contact person for PSAs. Send an email to the contact and attach a copy of the PSA. Call the contact, urge them to run the PSA in their publication, and offer to provide a printer-ready version of the ad (available on NDEP’s website). Since all of NDEP’s materials are copy-right free, you can also add your own logo to any NDEP product, including PSAs. For more information, see NDEP’s logo use policy*.

• Contact public service directors at local radio stations and ask them to air NDEP’s recorded or live-read radio PSAs. Adapt the sample radio live-read scripts for your organization. Send the script to the public service director along with a cover letter. The cover letter describes the campaign and asks for the radio station’s support. Call the public service directors to confirm they’ve received the PSA script and tell them briefly why this campaign is so important. Follow-up calls can make all the difference!

• If a reporter or editor has specific questions about diabetes or Medicare benefits that you do not feel comfortable answering, direct them to speak with a diabetes educator or other health care professional. Be concise, accurate, and honest with what you can and cannot answer. Most importantly, be professional, friendly, and creative!
   

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