ROBERT LEONARD, SVP, DAN KLORES COMMUNICATIONS
On one hand, yes, anthrax is affecting our ability to pitch certain
stories for certain clients. On the other hand, we have a sizable
healthcare practice here at Klores. As a result, the healthcare group is
playing a major role in helping hospitals and other related clients get
public health messages about anthrax to the masses. We represent the
Beth Israel Continuum Health Partners System and Saint Vincent's
Catholic Medical Center System of New York. We have been very busy
working with these hospitals as they deal with their emergency rooms
being inundated with people who are perfectly healthy, but coming in for
anthrax testing and requesting Cipro. We are also facing the upcoming
flu season, when even more people who simply have the sniffles are
worried they have anthrax. That, along with trying to get our
non-healthcare clients back in the papers, is the challenge we face.
SANDRA SOKOLOFF, SVP, MEDIA RELATIONS/CRISIS COMMUNICATIONS, MAGNET
COMMUNICATIONS
The anthrax scare is ultimately changing the way we communicate with the
media, but it does not have to hamper our efforts or diminish clients'
media coverage. Now more than ever, established relationships with
journalists are critical, as is demonstrating an understanding of the
strains facing the media and their news organizations' mailrooms. It is
imperative to rethink and retool communications efforts. Is bulk-mailing
really necessary? Are we properly counseling clients about news mailroom
issues? Have we polled journalists about their new mail preferences? We
have added the mailroom procedures of various news outlets to our
information base of journalists' beats, interests, and contact
preferences. Our job is still to develop and execute communications
strategies that will help tell clients' stories to their key audiences,
but now we must rethink how traditional mail carriers play into this new
communications outreach mix.
CRYSTAL WRIGHT, MANAGING SUPERVISOR, FLEISHMAN-HILLARD, WASHINGTON,
DC
In many ways, I think that the anthrax scare has taken us back to
September 11. Things were starting to loosen up a bit. Then Tom Brokaw
got that letter, closing the window yet again. We need to realize that
there is an appetite for information outside of anthrax, but it is
narrow, and the news hole is very small. This is a time where people
need to lean on the relationships that they had in place before the
attacks. You cannot try and strike up new contacts or cold-call people
you don't know. I used to work as a producer and off-air reporter for
ABC. I also used to cover the state department at the news bureau in
Washington, DC. I still have to think twice before picking up the phone
to pitch a story, but it is about putting yourself on the other end of
the conversation, and knowing how to approach your contacts.
JEFFREY DOUGLAS, DIRECTOR OF PR, VIRGINIA-MARYLAND REGIONAL COLLEGE OF
VETERINARY MEDICINE
The anthrax scare is affecting our ability to talk with the media in a
very positive way. As one of the nation's 28 colleges of veterinary
medicine, we offer a voice of scientific reason during this frenzied
maelstrom of anthrax-related media coverage. In fact, veterinary
microbiologists working in our Center for Molecular Medicine and
Infectious Diseases are currently funded by the US Army to develop a new
anthrax vaccine for people and animals. This crisis has elevated the
profile of the profession of veterinary medicine. Many people tend to
stereotype veterinary medicine as a segment of medicine that cares for
sick animals. But the public practice dimension of this profession is
all about protecting the abundance and safety of the nation's food
supply, and promoting public health. We can manage the anthrax threat,
but the media needs to remember to moderate public concerns with calm
and objective reporting.
