Archive for the ‘Media Relations’ Category

Anthony LaFauce
Anthony
LaFauce

Top Tips for Hospitals and Doctors to Achieve Positive Feedback with Social Media

Tuesday, August 10th, 2010

social-media-logoI was recently featured in an article on AMED News and ReachMD (12:45) talking about how doctors should handle negative posts by patients on social media sites. I stated that doctors should never go on the offensive against negative postings and instead should work on “getting on top” of negative messages.

The principle is simple; you can never make everyone happy all the time so by nature some people will post negative messages. If you’re a good hospital or doctor, many of the patients you serve are happy with the work you do. Therefore, as a good practitioner or facility, if you give patients an opportunity to speak positively about you they will. More positive messages will always drown out negative messages.

Think about it like this, if you see a Yelp posting about a restaurant and 15 people say it's great and one say it’s terrible… Who are you going to believe?

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Posted in Community Involvement, Health Care Industry, Media Relations, Social Media
By Anthony LaFauce | No Comments »

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ErinTurner
Erin
Turner

Online Newspaper Consumption Decreases for 18-24 Year Olds

Friday, February 26th, 2010

With cuts happening in news rooms around the country, it comes as no surprise that print newspaper circulation is down. The fact that more and more Americans are getting their news online is old news. What may take some by surprise, however, is that even online newspaper consumption is down among certain age groups. According to PointerOnline, IBM's Media and Entertainment group will soon be releasing survey results that show those between 18 and 24 years of age are consuming online newspapers less, down to 58% in 2009 from 64% in 2008. PointerOnline also notes that "the study, not surprisingly, finds consumers moving to what IBM calls 'connected experiences,' using various Internet-enabled devices to consume, engage with and create media, whether news and information, personal messages or produced entertainment."

These findings highlight two important points. First, if you are conducting outreach to young adults, social media is a must. It's also imperative to consider the "new" leading sources for breaking news - The Huffington Post, TechCrunch, Daily Kos, The Daily Dish, even TMZ.  When applicable, Web sites like those should be included in outreach plans. (more...)

Posted in Journalism, Media Relations, New Media, PR Industry, Technology
By ErinTurner | 1 Comment »

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MaggieSchmerin
Maggie
Schmerin

FDA Offers Free Webcast for Social Media Meeting

Wednesday, November 11th, 2009

The two-day FDA hearing on the use of the Internet and social media begins tomorrow. Spectrum will be in attendance and will live-tweet throughout (@SpectrumScience).

Due to the widespread interest in this meeting, the FDA is offering a free webcast on Thursday and Friday that can be accessed here. The meeting will run from 8 a.m. - 5 p.m. on Thursday and Friday.

For a full list of speakers, click here.

Posted in Health Care Industry, Media Relations, New Media, PR Industry, Public Affairs, Social Media, Technology, Tweets
By Maggie Schmerin | No Comments »

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eanderson
Erica
Anderson

FDA and FTC: Enter at Your Own Risk

Friday, September 18th, 2009

Summers are normally quiet in Washington. Traffic thins out. Cabs are more available, and Capitol Hill can feel like a ghost town. But this summer, the story was different.

Health care reform kept the government and the media buzzing with details about the proposed overhaul - debate over a public option, discussion of non-profit coops, and concerns over access and quality of care.  While the conversation on Capitol Hill focused on one angle of health care reform, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) chiseled away on another. Quietly, each released new proposals that portend major changes for how pharmaceutical and medical device companies advertise, interact with the consumer, the patient, in the future. (more...)

Posted in Health Care Industry, Health Care Reform, Media Relations, New Media
By Erica Anderson | No Comments »

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mhackett
Mary Ellen
Hackett

Health of the U.S. Warfighter Making News in Kansas City

Friday, September 4th, 2009

The medical challenges faced by U.S. troops engaged in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan has and will contribute to the pressures the U.S. health care system is confronted with today.

This week, investigators conducting research aimed at alleviating some of that pressure - including issues related to traumatic brain injury, post-traumatic stress disorder, suicide prevention and other areas - met to share their expertise at the Military Health Research Forum (MHRF). Spectrum was on site in Kansas City running the press program on behalf of the Department of Defense Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs (CDMRP), which funds the research.

CDMRP Director Navy Capt. Melissa Kaime, M.D. - who spent hours in the press room conducting interviews discussing the featured studies - said the research funded by the CDMRP is "high risk, high reward." In addition to funding more traditional studies, the CDMRP makes "concept awards," designed to test novel scientific ideas. So far, one of these studies, which was featured in the MHRF opening ceremonies video, has resulted in significant steps toward a treatment for ALS, or Lou Gehrig's disease.

(more...)

Posted in Media Relations, PR Industry, Public Health, Research, Technology
By mhackett | No Comments »

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jseng
John
Seng

The Downsides of “Defensive” Driving

Tuesday, September 1st, 2009

While I was navigating the notoriously heavy DC traffic en route to work this morning, local radio station WTOP aired a CBS News story of a Defense Department study of soldiers who undertook aggressive driving maneuvers to avoid roadside bombs and other threats in Iraq and Afghanistan and linked them with poor domestic driving skills in the three months after returning to the US.

How delighted I was to learn later this morning that indeed a Spectrum team had generated the national radio coverage - and much more - on behalf of our client, SAIC, and the Defense Department's Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs. Spectrum's Colleen Butz worked with USA TODAY reporter Gregg Zoroya whose story appears on today's front page of the print edition.

I've been managing health care public relations for 30 years, and this story is as solid as any I've seen. Plus, it has a happy ending: "(Fatal accidents) have since declined after aggressive Army efforts to monitor soldiers' driving behavior and educate them," USA TODAY reported.

Posted in Journalism, Media Relations, PR Industry
By John Seng | No Comments »

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