1. “Organizing a Press Release for My Article” William Grobman, MD, MBA Editor American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology Northwestern University William Grobman, AJOG, 2016.

2. Overview What makes your published study newsworthy? Media outreach process –Institutional route –Journal/publisher route William Grobman, AJOG, 2016.

3. What Makes your Published Study Newsworthy? Presents ground-breaking and/or new research, or provides new, important insights into previous research –Press releases on case studies are not optimal Has important implications for patient outcomes or future research Presents information in the public interest William Grobman, AJOG, 2016.

4. What Makes your Published Study Newsworthy? Has a message that can be explained in lay terms Relates to current health concerns or “hot topics” covered by the press Coincides with important dates, for example National Infertility Awareness Week, Preeclampsia Awareness Month Presents a call to action William Grobman, AJOG, 2016.

5. Media Outreach Process Press releases are issued by –Authors’ institutions –journals/publishers Press releases have greater impact when they are issued while the article is still under embargo, i.e. not yet published. –This has become increasingly difficult to do Must have a “hook” that will catch the interest of journalists to cover the study. It is not advisable to issue a press release on a study that has published online more than 30 days or has been covered by the press previously. Do not sensationalize the outcome or provide incomplete or misleading information, particularly when patients may come across this news. William Grobman, AJOG, 2016.

6. Media Outreach Process: Institutional Route Get to know your media relations department. Bring the forthcoming publication to the attention of the media relations department as far in advance as possible. Draft a lay summary. Do a “deep dive” with your media relations contact so he/she can translate it into layman’s terms. William Grobman, AJOG, 2016.

7. Media Outreach Process: Institutional Route You or your media relations department will need to contact the publisher to obtain the embargo date and time. Make sure that your media relations department has a version of the article to send to interested journalists –You may have to obtain permission from the journal to distribute –You should be available for interviews for several days after the release is issued You should ask for a report of the media in which the release has been picked up. William Grobman, AJOG, 2016.

8. Media Outreach Process: Journal/Publisher Route Typically initiated by the journal’s Editorial Office with support from the publisher. The corresponding author is contacted to inform him/her of the article’s selection and to request permission to proceed. Journal’s representative may interview the corresponding author prior to drafting the release. Journal drafts the press release and sends to the corresponding author and in some cases the institution’s media relations department for review and feedback. William Grobman, AJOG, 2016.

9. Media Outreach Process: Journal/Publisher Route Editorial Office/Editor-in-Chief provides feedback and final approval. Embargo date is coordinated with the publisher’s journal production department. Press release is issued and the journal sends full text of the studies to journalists and coordinates interviews with the authors. William Grobman, AJOG, 2016.

10. Press Release Pearls Press releases should either be “For Immediate Release” (article already available publicly) or state the embargo date and time (article not yet published). Issuing a release 3-5 working days before an article is published (if possible) generally yields good results. –It is not good practice to issue releases less than 24 hours before the embargo lifts (this tends to aggravate journalists) – wait until the embargo has lifted. If articles are distributed to journalists prior to the embargo lifting, the articles must be clearly stamped with the embargo date and time. Accompanying images, podcasts, audio and video increase the impact of your release. Refer to the example from the Journal of Hepatology. William Grobman, AJOG, 2016.