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Public Relations Announcements: Smitty is now looking for PR Representatives in the following areas:
The following outlines the public relations efforts of the National Athletic Trainers’ Association and its Public Relations Committee:
We are excited to report on the widespread publicity results and new relationships generated on-site at the Atlanta annual meeting this year! As a result of our collective efforts, we were able to generate over 8,096,350 impressions through strong local and national coverage on the sudden cardiac arrest (SCA) in athletics guidelines and by leveraging other timely news coming out of the meeting. We also met with top tier editorial/association contacts at the meeting to continue building important synergies. Details are included bellows.
a. Sudden Cardiac Arrest in Athletics Press Conference
The event took place on Wednesday morning, June 14, at which time our panel of speakers released the executive summary of the SCA consensus statement. Panelists included:
Ø Chuck Kimmel (who provided introductory comments) Ø Ron Courson, task force co-chair Ø Jon Drezner, MD, task force co-chair Ø Winston Gandy, MD, cardiology consultant to the University of Georgia Athletic Association Ø Mike Meyer, ATC, Vanderbilt University athletic trainer who saved the life of a college basketball player who suffered SCA Ø Bob Schriever, an SCA survivor and vice chairman of the Sudden Cardiac Arrest Association
We worked with all speakers to finalize press material and general comments. We aggressively pitched the news to local and national media and generated the following results:
TV:
Ø CNN American Morning (Thursday, June 15. Total audience reach: 496,000)
Correspondent Elizabeth Cohen did a live segment on the SCA guidelines and referenced NATA and outlined the recommendations in detail. We liaised with producer Miriam Falco on all details to ensure they had accurate information.
Ø CNN Headline News (Thursday, June 15. Total combined audience reach: 1,357,000)
Health correspondent Christy Feig reported on the task force findings and sourced the guidelines in detail. Her segment ran five times throughout the day. We coordinated a phone interview with Ron Courson prior to the airing to answer producer Val Willingham’s questions and to confirm she had all relevant information for review. CNN then fed this story to other networks/affiliates. The story was picked up by eleven local network affiliates around the country.
Ø CNN Health Minute
We worked with producer Leslie Wade on a taped piece for use in July/August on SCA, with Ron Courson as spokesperson. We will follow up to confirm air date and audience reach.
Ø NBC Nightly News
NBC contacted us after reading about the SCA event with an interest in a segment for Monday night, June 19. We provided background and offered Ron Courson for the interview. The producers then decided to focus on summer sports training and heat illness. We offered Doug Casa and provided NATA Heat Illness Consensus Statement Guidelines, but the correspondent wanted an MD. As a result, Jon Drezner, MD, University of Washington and co-chair of the SCA task force, was interviewed for the segment. NBC included a very short sound bite and referenced the work of coaches and athletic trainers who use the new heat pill that monitors core body temperature.
Ø Georgia Public Television “Prep Sports” Program:
The show’s producer and cameraman attended the press event and are planning to produce a segment on SCA in high school athletics for the program to air in late summer. We will continue to work closely with them.
RADIO:
Ø Georgia Public Radio (Monday, June 14 and Tuesday, June 15. Total audience reach: 90,000)
The station sent a freelancer to the SCA press event for use that afternoon (June 14) on the local cut-in for “All Things Considered” and the next morning’s local cut-in broadcast of “Morning Edition.”
Ø WCNN-AM/Atlanta (Sunday, June 11, “Community Focus.” Total audience reach: 25,000)
Chuck Kimmel was interviewed for a Sunday, June 11 taped segment on the annual meeting and press event. The piece ran on the station’s weekend a.m. public affairs show.
Ø WSB-AM/Atlanta (Thursday, June 15, morning news. Total audience reach: 50,000)
Ron Courson was interviewed for a taped short news item on the SCA event, which aired on Thursday morning, June 15.
Ø WALR-AM/KISS-FM/Atlanta (Sunday, June 18, “In The Black” community program. Total audience reach: 30,000)
Ron Courson was interviewed for a taped segment on SCA which ran on Sunday, June 18.
PRINT MEDIA:
Ø USA TODAY (Thursday, June 15. Total circulation: 2,199,052)
Reporter Gary Mihoces attended the event and wrote an article for the June 15 high school sports section column on the SCA event.
Ø Atlanta Journal Constitution (Wednesday, June 14 and Thursday, June 15. Combined total circulation: 763,460)
Reporter Bill Hendrick wrote two articles – one as a stage setter for the SCA event (June 14) and one on the guidelines announcement (June 15). He interviewed Ron Courson, among others for his stories. The story on the 14th was also distributed by Cox News Service.
Ø Internal Medicine and Family Practice News Online
Reporter Mindy Tanzola attended the event and we are tracking her coverage of the new guidelines.
ADDITIONAL MEDIA RESULTS FROM MEETING
Ø The Weather Channel (Saturday, June 17 and Sunday, June 18. Total audience reach: 2,475,500)
We worked closely with the station’s producers and offered a wide range of environment and health/fitness topics for their consideration. We ultimately worked with the “Weekend View” producers on two taped segments with Doug Casa on exertional heat illnesses. The first segment ran twice on Saturday, June 17 and the second ran four times on June 18. Doug is credentialed as an athletic trainer in all broadcasts.
Ø CNN Health Minute:
Producer Leslie Wade taped two segments for “Health Minute” on stretching and senior fitness. Jim Thornton served as spokesperson for both stories and provided select exercises for Leslie to use during the segment(s). We anticipate both will air later in the summer and will confirm timing accordingly.
Ø Atlanta Journal Constitution: (Sunday, June 18. Total circulation: 610,338)
In addition to his coverage of the SCA event, reporter Bill Hendrick was also interested in the MRSA information being presented on-site. He attended Ron Courson’s presentation on this topic and interviewed him at length for a feature story that ran in the Sunday paper. The article was also picked up on the Healthleaders e-publication.
MEDIA & RELATED PR MEETINGS ON-SITE:
We coordinated meetings with the following outlets during the annual meeting:
Ø CNN: Explored future musculoskeletal topics with “House Call” producer Karen Denice. Ø The Weather Channel: Discussed its weatherclassroom.com program and video programs re: health/fitness and the environment geared to teachers and students. Note: TWC also referred us to a similar online program with ESPN and will provide appropriate contact information. Ø Arthritis Today: Met with the editors to build a relationship on related health/wellness topics/customizing of workouts/potential participation on the AT advisory board, etc. Ø Advance for Directors in Rehabilitation: Discussed potential editorial topics for 2007 and other related editorial information Ø Wellness & Fitness Entrepreneur: Continued to build on our relationship with the publication and identify 2007 editorial synergies. Ø Women’s Sports Foundation: Held exploratory meeting to discuss its “Go Girl Go” program promoting health and wellness to girls 8 – 18 and determine potential editorial and integrated marketing opportunities that leverage this program.
b. PR Workshop
We worked closely with Ellen Satlof, PR Chair Al Green and new PR Committee member Smitty Faure (a former television producer and broadcaster) on the formal PR workshop presentation on “effective media relations” held on Thursday afternoon, June 15. Al, Robin and Smitty conducted the formal presentation. We also conducted a few “mock” interviews with seminar participants to provide an interactive component. All participants were given a handout with timely media relations and interview guidelines.
c. PR Highlight Reel
As we did last year, we produced a highlight reel summarizing 2005-2006 PR results. This was shown during one of the general sessions as well as in the PR booth.
d. Additional Press Releases Distributed in Conjunction with Annual Meeting
We worked with Brian Conway and Richard Ray on press releases announcing their Board of Directors appointment and Hall of Fame induction, respectively. Releases were sent to local media and other outlets provided by them and their PR contacts.
e. Public Service Announcement (PSA) Airport Advertising
We worked with the Atlanta Hartsfield airport marketing contacts to secure airport print advertising space in June for four of the baby boomer injury prevention public service announcements. The PSAs campaign was created by NATA and the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons and officially launched earlier this year.
2. National Athletic Training Month Update!
We have been able to track a broadcast on kids and high tech gadgets that includes tips from NATA to avoid overuse injuries. We had crafted a press release on this topic in March and have now tracked 33 television stories that reference NATA and include general computer tips. This all originated from a CNN Headline News story that aired on June 19! The package was produced by Judy Fortin, a CNN reporter who creates ongoing health packages that are distributed to local networks/affiliates. The story continued to air last week on local affiliates in Los Angeles, Tampa, San Diego, San Francisco, Cleveland, Austin and Phoenix, among other markets. Total audience reach; 1,647,085!
NATA News Bureau Placements/Placements in the Works
Ø USA Today (Monday, June 19. Total circulation: 2,199,052)
The paper ran a series on arthritis the week of June 18. We worked with personal health reporter Kathleen Fackelmann for the first article in the series on osteoarthritis and baby boomers. We provided Kathleen with several examples of baby boomers (weekend warriors) who may be at risk for osteoarthritis due to physical activity and over-exercise. We sourced several athletic trainers and related patients. She specifically wrote about Sam McCullum, a former NFL player and patient of Jim Whitesel, ATC from Seattle, Wash. The first article included a large picture of the two of them and described in detail Sam’s story. Marje Albohm was also quoted as an NATA spokesperson in the article, with comments on boomers and osteoarthritis.
Ø New York Times (Tuesday, June 20. Total circulation: 1,136,433)
Al offered comment on why certain training camps are now requesting that athletes sign forms saying they do not take performance enhancing supplements.
Ø Los Angeles Times (Monday, June 12, circulation: 907,997)
We worked with fitness reporter Jeannine Stein on an article re: the growth of female athletic trainers on collegiate and pro sports teams. Chuck Kimmel, Julie Max, Lisa Iwasaki (UCLA football) and Ariko Iso (Pittsburgh Steelers) were quoted. We had provided Jeannine with names and contact information as well as timely statistics on the topic. The story ran on Monday, June 12.
Ø Chicago Tribune (Saturday, June 3. Total circulation: 515,253)
Discussed shoulder strains in response to an athlete who had experienced an injury and the reporter was interested in more detail on these types of occurrences.
Ø PLAY Magazine (quarterly publication of New York Times
Chuck Kimmel was interviewed by reporter Gretchen Reynolds for the August issue on the topic of human growth hormone use in sports.
Ø USA Weekend
Reporter Gayle Carter is working on an article focusing on what schools should be doing to promote youth sport safety. Jon Almquist was interviewed for this article, which should appear in August 2006.
Ø Men’s Health
Reporter Seth Porges interviewed Chuck Kimmel on appropriate fitness shoe selections for best performance and endurance for a Q&A column in the magazine. The column will run in either July/August or September 2006.
Ø Fitness Magazine
Editor Jennifer Matarazzo is planning a column on important facts and figures to help shape your workout for a summer 2006 issue. Lisa Martin, St. Vincent Sports Performance Center, provided us with information for the upcoming article.
Ø NCAA News
We are working with their editors on two stories. The first is a feature on the SCA event with comments from Ron Courson, which should run the week of July 3. The second is a centerpiece story for the July 31 issue which will focus specifically on NATA and athletic training. We have provided the editors with several editorial topics and athletic trainers for comment.
Ø Wellness & Fitness Entrepreneur
We are working with Marje Albohm on a two-part series for the August and September issues on specialized care for different populations (from youth to seniors) and how to attract these audiences to wellness centers. We have submitted content for both articles for editorial review.
Ø Experience Life
Freelance writer Sarah Tuff interviewed Ralph Reiff on the topic of overspeed training for the October 2006 issue.
We distributed a press release on the behalf of the Coalition to Preserve Patient Access to Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation in response to the Office of the Inspector General’s recent report on physical therapy billed by physicians. The release was sent to key CMS and general trade media for review and potential use. We continue to follow up.
5. Ongoing & Future Programs/Initiatives
a. Coaches Emergency Action Card
NATA is producing this card for coaches to print from the NATA Web site. It provides timely information on how coaches should properly manage emergencies. We are finalizing text and layout accordingly.
b. International Council on Active Aging (ICAA)
We are exploring possible synergies with ICAA and its September 2006 Active Aging Week. Details forthcoming.
c. Westin Workout Web Site (part of Starwood Hotel chain)
We spoke with our Starwood/Westin marketing contact to determine a potential role for NATA members as providers of health and fitness content. This site was formally relaunched late last year in conjunction with the hotel chain’s workout program. We had an internal brainstorm earlier this year and are finalizing integrated marketing concepts for follow-up and discussion.
d. President’s Council on Physical Fitness & Sports NATA and The Council have established a science partnership which will allow the groups to jointly promote physical activity, fitness and sports throughout 2006, when the Council is celebrating its 50th Anniversary. We formally distributed a press release on this announcement in early June 2006.
Getting Your News out for All to See....This is a chance to not only further our public relations from District 10, but to do some bragging about ourselves, our states and our District to the rest of the membership. Caroline "Smitty" Faure is in charge of receiving articles, pictures, announcements, etc. to be featured in the NATA News section of Cross Country. This is the section where it usually starts with "News from District 10" or "News from such-and-such state". The deadlines are generally 2 months prior to printing. So please, send things to Caroline via e-mail, or snail mail at the following:
CENTRAL OREGON (Bend area) EASTERN OREGON (Portland area) SOUTHWESTERN OREGON (Medford area) WESTERN WASHINGTON (Sea/Tac) CENTRAL WASHINGTON (Tri Cities area) EASTERN WASHINGTON (Spokane area) MONTANA (Missoula area; Bozeman/Butte/Great Falls; Billings areas) Duties would include: Help Smitty disseminate information to various media outlets in those areas and be a conctact for the local media, should the need arise. Provide Smitty with a "heads up" on health care trends/issues that arise in those particular areas. It's really very little work involved... just be "available" should the need arise to do an interview. Smitty will help with the training once the folks start volunteering! |
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