Media Relations for Public Health Research Institutions

Public health research institutions produce work that general audiences need. The communications discipline that determines whether the work reaches them is the press release writing, the faculty positioning, and the relationships with health beat reporters at major outlets.

The challenge

Public health research is high-stakes communication that is often poorly translated. Multimillion-dollar studies on childhood lead exposure, infectious disease, or health disparities frequently produce press releases that reporters skim and skip. The work to make the research land — narrative structure, quote prep, multi-outlet pitching — is real and underinvested.

What I deliver

• Press release writing for research announcements. Lede first, methodology in the middle, quotable conclusions at the end.
• Faculty media training for principal investigators going on camera or to press calls.
• Bilingual coverage strategy. Public health research that involves Spanish-speaking populations should be covered by Spanish-language press too.
• Long-term reporter relationships with health beat reporters at NYT, WSJ, Washington Post, Today Show, ABC, NBC, and the major Spanish-language outlets.

Where the work connects to my career

FIU's Robert Stempel College of Public Health & Social Work is a major research institution. My work there included translating studies on disaster preparedness, childhood lead exposure, and faculty research into coverage that ran in CBS News Miami, The New York Times, and other major outlets. Earlier media training work at the American Red Cross included executive prep for satellite media tours and live broadcasts.

"Multimillion-dollar studies frequently produce press releases that reporters skim and skip. The work to make the research land is real and underinvested."