Navigating Rapid Change in Healthcare Communications

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TRANSCRIPT:

DOUG: You had a chance to look at our recently released survey of TV producers across the country. And I was wondering, was there a specific stat that sort of jumped out at you?

JEN: Well, actually, Doug, there were two things that really stood out to me in the study. The first was the drop in the use of network or syndicated feeds for health stories. And the second was the high number, I think it was around 69% of TV producers who are producing health stories in studio with a spokesperson. I can’t believe that in-person studio interviews are back, but you know, what this tells me is that stations are likely prioritizing, producing their own local content. Which is a bit surprising considering that we’re seeing, you know, continued shrinking of newsrooms across the country, reductions in media staff and just overall fewer and fewer resources across media, but we know that telling local stories, you know, leveraging local stats, using local, experts can be impactful, but it also requires a good deal of investment to do it and to do it well. I would imagine that we’re also seeing that coincide with an uptick in satellite media tours that you’re producing. Would you say that that’s fair. Doug.

DOUG: Yeah, that’s definitely fair. We have seen that uptick. And it was interesting because on the health space, I was surprised as well how rarely they’re sending a crew out with a reporter to cover health stories. You mentioned that they’re back in the studio, which was a significant rise since 2022 at 69%. You were correct on that stat. Also, that satellite zoom style interviews were next on the list, three times more than sending a reporter and a crew out. I’d like to get back. Since you do work in the health space in your role, you mentioned about the 85 to 15% preference by stations for interviews of people who are actually in house. Is that something that you’re thinking of in terms of your strategy with clients trying to get them on the media, if you can?

JEN: Absolutely. Most of our clients do want to tell their stories through earned channels. And, you know, we’re seeing, um, from the various organizations that we work with, we’re seeing quite a variety of spokespeople that they want to put forward for, for these interviews. Of course, you always have the C-suite executives, um, which, you know, always have their, their place and time in telling news stories, but beyond that, you know, in the health space, we also use, um, third party experts, like physicians. Other health care Providers, sometimes even patients themselves. Yeah, so I thought that it was really interesting that, um, that most of those interviews are now being done in studio or via satellite.

DOUG: Interestingly, I think also a lot of the stations perspective is they sort of see doctors as an in-house spokesperson as opposed to a celebrity type or a small C celebrity type vouching for because doctors seem like they’re within the medical health environment, which is interesting. Now you put your own reports together on C suite, what they’re looking at and they’re looking at vision came up as one of the top things getting back to that. Is it important when we look at the subject matter of what they’re talking about on air? Is that a way to get their vision across, and can that also have value for the internal teams and staff?

JEN: Absolutely. Any C-suite leader that is, um, out there spreading the message, doing media interviews needs to remember that their own employees are part of that stakeholder audience, that they will be reaching with those media interviews, even though even that if that’s not the first priority or first intention with it. But yeah. And what that means is that there needs to be consistency across messaging. There needs to be that clear vision that is, you know, repeated again and again and brought to life through really tangible data, real world impact and, and to show employees and as well as outside stakeholders. You know, how that vision is really transforming the organization and potentially the, the industry.

DOUG: In the report, well, there was significant interest in most topics within the health care arena. There were a couple that didn’t perform as well, and that was framing a story. If it was about nutritional supplements, stations were more hesitant and pharmaceutical advances being pitched a story that way was about 4% instead of a higher number like the others. So, as you work with pharmaceutical companies and noting that there are other topics like mental health, women’s health, men’s health, care and prevention of illnesses, is that factoring in how you strategize your messaging for the public and for different audiences?

JEN: Absolutely. In the world of healthcare, one of the things that we’re constantly up against is the volume, that massive volume of contents and information and news that is being pushed out. Some of it legitimate, some of it not so legitimate. We’ve seen an increase in what we call junk science. You know, the pseudoscience, where organizations, potentially, you know, nutritional supplements that may not be, um, vetted and, you know, approved by the FDA, for instance, and backed with clinical evidence. You know, the stories about those kind of things are competing with, you know, stories about breakthrough drugs that have real evidence behind them. And, you know, and I think that’s because the volume with the volume of information out there, sometimes it’s really hard to discern what is fact versus what is fiction. You know, especially on social media channels where there is today very little to no, content moderation happening.

DOUG: And that can sort of be dispiriting for PR people who are fighting through. How do you advise people keep themselves sort of motivated, engage with all these things happening, as well as a changing media landscape and of course, changing organizational needs.

JEN: In a lot of ways. I think we need to reframe the way that we work and in the way that we think about telling our clients stories. You know, there’s so much change happening in the health industry and really around the world right now. And with that, we have a whole new set of challenges that we need to navigate. One of the things that I keep thinking about is the volatility that we are facing, particularly in health. And this volatility has almost become the new normal that we have to react to. You know, we have policy that is shifting, you know, faster than reporters can actually type and write up the stories. You know, there’s critical public health information that is disappearing from federal websites. Um, you know, misinformation out there is kind of out of control. So, you know, that means that we can’t rely on the same old tried and true playbook that may have worked for us in the past. Um, we really need to be nimble. We need to be responsive, and we need to be ready to pivot in our strategies.

DOUG: And that’s really important that you brought that message out. You mentioned about being nimble and pivoting to deal with that. It almost seems like it’s making the whole PR need more valuable than it’s ever been with what’s going on, because of the volatility you spoke about.

JEN: Yeah. Well, Doug, I would always argue for the value of PR within any organization, but you’re right. Today, more so than ever before. I think it’s really, really critical to an organization’s success and being able to get the right messaging out there at the right times. Um, you know, so there are a few things, though, that I think, um, PR people can do to, to help navigate this constant change in chaos that we’re all experiencing. You know, the first is to build flexibility into the plans that you’re developing. Communication strategies today really do need to be living, breathing frameworks that can flex as needed. Based on what’s happening in the world, you know, whether it be a regulatory update, um, a public health emergency or even a cultural moment. The second thing that I think is really important for us to do is we’re rethinking the way that we develop our communication strategies is to ensure that we are investing in management and crisis preparedness. That is so, so, so important today. You know, organizations should not be waiting for a crisis or an issue to arise before they create their response plan. Right now is really the time for organizations to dust off those issues, playbooks and update their response protocols and develop anticipated messaging and make sure that their spokespeople are trained so that they can react when needed.

DOUG That’s great advice. You want to leave us with any final thought? Great discussion. Really appreciate it.

JEN: One thing that I will leave you with, and this is something that I’m always passionate about in the world of health care storytelling, is that, you know, despite all of the chaos that we’re seeing today, all of the change that is happening across the industry and across the communications landscape, um, we have to remember that storytelling continues to be a really powerful tool that can change minds and that can inspire real action. And for me, um, it’s all about the human interest story. You know, we don’t want to lose sight of telling those stories that can both educate and inspire. Um, you know, it’s those human interest stories that continue to break through. Um, and I find that the most impactful narratives really do balance data with humanity. You know, bridging innovation with personal impacts. Finding that human angle in your product launch. Um, or even just telling patient stories that can really help your story and your message resonate with your audiences and, frankly, be remembered.

DOUG: Yeah. Well, thank you so much for educating and, I believe, inspiring our viewers.

JEN: Well thank you. I really enjoyed the discussion today, Doug.