Last year I met Baichwal when WLS covered the arrival of Porter Airlines first flight from Toronto to Chicago Midway. Having previously worked in Toronto for Canada’s top national news outlet, CTV, Baichwal was perfectly suited to cover the new connection between the two Great Lakes cities. Ravi was kind enough to share some thoughts on the relationship between broadcast journalists and public relations practitioners in this edition of “Five Questions.”

Q: What goes into the daily decision making process at WLS in choosing which stories the team will cover?
A: The key questions we ask of ourselves focus on what’s of greatest importance to the most people. That’s why weather and crime are often in the lineup. Our job is to tell the stories of interesting people doing interesting things in the world we all share. Where we can find those stories, and where the impact or implications from those narratives hit home with wide swaths of people, that’s where we tend to direct resources. And we try to focus on events that are somehow out of the ordinary – where the video is exceptionally good, and the story in the visual medium is easy to tell. That’s why television news is especially suited to emotional, people-based stories rather than process stories. Our medium just conveys the message in the pictures that much more effectively than anything else.

Q: When PR people have a segment idea, what’s the best way to pitch that story to your news team?
A: Find individual reporters and build a relationship with them. Do this by offering stories that are arresting visually. Any pitch from a PR agency is going to engender suspicion in a newsroom. It has to; that’s just in the nature of our journalistic duty to be skeptical. That said, knowing that the PR person you are dealing with is an honest broker who understands how a TV story gets put together helps. We want to know that you know what deadlines are, how important it is to offer local experts and b-roll opportunities, and that if we can’t do it, you don’t take rejection personally.

Q:What separates “good pitches” from “bad pitches?” What types of things are you looking for in a pitch that will make it a story you’d cover?
A: A good pitch has to have good video that is at the core of the story’s appeal to broad spectrum of people. It is amazing how many interview “opportunities” I am offered for satellite interviews with people pitching products that I just don’t care about. The principal in the story has to be in Chicago otherwise I can tell you it is highly unlikely the story will be covered.

Q: When you’re on location shooting a segment, how can PR people best assist you and your team?
A: If you are working with a big company on a breaking story, making spokespeople available is number one. Having background statistics that are relevant and help us develop context is good, too. This is especially helpful on big public policy stories involving such subjects as health care and community development.

Q: What’s your most memorable story or experience as a broadcaster?
A: There are so many. The time when my son was born and I was anchoring Canada’s number one national broadcast for the first time and I went on air with no sleep for nearly 48 hours comes to mind. That was a special broadcast for a lot of reasons. Our lead story that night was word that a cult in Quebec had succeeded in cloning a human being. The story was subsequently debunked, but I am sure my son will get a laugh out of it in the years to come!

“Please don’t take this as a “Don’t you know who I am?” ego rant, but the outside PR firm rep for Talecris didn’t know I cover pharma @ CNBC.”

“Nearly 6 hours (6 hours!) after Sanofi $SNY issued PR on H1N1 vaccine study corp comm gets around to emailing me the PR. What’s the hurry?”

It’s important to keep in mind that what may once have required too much effort or trouble for the media – calling out bad pitches – is now made quite easy through Twitter. And this is true of both journalists and bloggers.

The good news? It’s an excellent reason to step up our game.

The September 2009 issue is embedded below and may also be found on The Social 7 blog.  Follow the ongoing conversation on Twitter: thesocial7

Zeno Group Digital Lifestyle-TheSocial7 Sept.09

OK, “damaged the credibility of his network” might be an overstatement, but surely CNN executives were wincing last Thursday as they watched one their most visible personalities completely fall apart during an episode of Celebrity Jeopardy! Blitzer didn’t just finish a distant third to Tonight Show sidekick Andy Richter and actress Dana Delany, he stumbled home with a deficit of $-4,600 after Double Jeopardy. Not surprisingly, the blogosphere had a field day with the poor showing by the host of The Situation Room.

When the three contestants were first introduced, I’m sure I wasn’t alone in thinking Blitzer would cruise past the Desperate Housewife and Conan’s cohort. And while he struggled through the opening round, I was willing to chalk it up to a man who was simply slow with the buzzer. But when Wolf started to chime in late in the game, confusing fettuccine with mostaccioli and making an absolute mess of the “E Times 3” category, it was clear that this test of random knowledge was not for him.

So was the Blitzer blowout a black eye for CNN? It certainly doesn’t help. While there are no shortage of TV news personalities who are hired to be a pretty face that reads a teleprompter, Blitzer comes across as an intelligent man with thoughtful insights. That intelligence betrayed him during a 30-minute game show appearance. For a few weeks, many CNN viewers will see Blitzer and be unable to shake the comical image below. As time goes on, the incident will fade into a mere mention on his Wikipedia bio. But don’t expect CNN to encourage Anderson Cooper or Larry King to join Alex Trebek on the Celebrity Jeopardy! set anytime soon.

Sue Else has been the President of NNEDV since 2006. She started her career in the field as a volunteer at a battered women’s shelter in Ames, Iowa while earning her Bachelor’s degree in psychology from Iowa State University. She was eventually hired as the volunteer coordinator at the shelter—one of two paid staff positions—and quickly became the Executive Director. Later, she moved to Kansas City, Missouri and served as President and CEO of Hope House for 18 years.

She recently sat down to discuss the organization’s work in the last year, providing insights on the challenges overcome and those that lie ahead.

Q: What are the core services NNEDV provides?
A: NNEDV started as a policy arm of state coalitions against domestic violence, to advocate for the passage of the Violence Against Women Act, which was introduced by then Senator Joe Biden, now our country’s Vice President. We were created to monitor, watch and affect legislation on all key issues that deal with family violence, such as housing, safety, health insurance and most importantly national domestic violence legislation. In addition, we work with state organizations to monitor what is occurring at the state level and what type of effect it could have at national level.

We also focus on issues surrounding training and economic literacy. For example, through our partnership with The Allstate Foundation, we provide survivors with economic literacy training, an important empowering skill for abused women. In many cases, domestic violence occurs – and is perpetuated – by the fact that the victim does not possess sound financial skills, and therefore depends on the abuser for economic support. (For more information on this program visit www.nnedv.org/projects/allstatefoundtion.html.

Another area where we provide support and training is around the risks and benefits that everyday technology provides. Working with survivors of domestic violence and advocacy groups, as well as police departments, we help educate how technology plays a role in domestic violence. For example, many women don’t know that a simple electronic greeting card sent to them can contain Spyware, allowing their abuser to monitor their email traffic. Or that police departments can use the GPS tracking system inside of a cell phone to find a missing person.

Q: Why is NNEDV’s work so important? Are incidents of domestic violence on the rise?
A: Our work is needed and important no matter the time or place. In the U.S. there are 2.3 million cases of domestic abuse in a year. One in four women in their lifetimes will experience domestic violence in some manner. In one day alone, local programs provided service to 61,000 domestic violence victims and answered over 21,000 crisis hotline calls.

Unfortunately, each day people lose their lives to domestic violence. Due to societal pressures and family matters, many people don’t talk about the subject. There is far too much blame felt by victims of domestic violence. The constant question — “Why didn’t she get out sooner?” – continues this myth. Women represent roughly 85 percent of domestic violence victims, but men can be victims, too.

Creating awareness and talking about domestic violence is so important if we want to end it. Domestic violence has a high cost to our economy, people lose work productivity due to it, healthcare costs are a higher and children who come from families that have domestic violence issues tend to do poorer in school and are more likely to join gangs.

Q: What new initiatives are on the horizon to broaden people’s knowledge of domestic violence?
A: One very important and exciting new development we have is that there is a new White House advisor on violence against women, Lynn Rosenthal, who also served as the former Executive Director of NNEDV. This is such a tremendous leap for us because we now have a touchstone for our work inside the White House, something that we never had before. This allows us to galvanize greater support, advocacy and understanding about domestic violence issues than ever before.

We’re also reaching out to the media through a project supported by The Allstate Foundation. We are educating members of the media on the importance of using language that does not stigmatize or place blame when domestic violence is reported. For example, the use the word “dispute” is often used to describe domestic violence, when in fact this is not the case at all. A better example is the recent “messaging” around the Chris Brown and Rihanna case in which the media confused the issue blurring the line as to who was to blame.

Q: What is the best way that companies and non-profit organizations can work together to build partnerships to combat domestic violence?
A: Getting involved with a cause holds some great benefits not only for the local shelter or group by providing needed services or money, but it also provides the partnering organization positive benefits by raising their profile, as well.

Another way that organizations can become active in addressing violence in the workplace is to create policies and procedures that help employees. For example, if a women is being stalked, her employer should provide a security guard to walk her to her car each night when she leaves work, allow for time off for her to go to court to handle any legal issues, or create a domestic violence education program within the workplace to heighten understanding.

Other simple, but effective, steps include taking up a collection for a local shelter, becoming a board member at a local program to put your skills to use, offering to drive a domestic violence victim to a doctor’s appointment or court case, or just volunteering at a local shelter.

Q: What are the shifting trends that you see emerging in public policy issues related to domestic violence?
A: The White House advisor is a positive. We do, however need legislation specifically designed to help teenagers. There is increasing abuse, and even death, at the teenage level, and we need proper protection orders and curriculum in the school systems to educate families and teens about domestic violence. Many teens don’t feel comfortable going to their parents, and the only way now that a teen can do anything in most states is to have their parents file the necessary report.

Finally, there is a lot of legislation within the criminal justice system for violence against women. That legislation doesn’t address ancillary issues like housing and finances. We are seeing an expanded effort to serve victims of domestic violence beyond the criminal justice system. For example, efforts are underway to protect victims from getting evicted from housing or losing access to their money due to domestic violence incidents.

On my last day of chemo, I expected a pink balloon drop or shower of pink confetti. But none came. I realized that the celebration was not in the end of treatment, but in the start of a new chapter. Pink took on a new meaning at my first breast cancer walk. I was immersed in a sea of survivors and friends and family and yes, pink. Everywhere. On hats, banners, signs, balloons and the endless posters carried by survivors and friends. It was overwhelming and beautiful. Incredibly beautiful. So as we approach Breast Cancer Awareness Month, I say bring on the pink. I may not be wearing it myself, but I will be proudly walking with other survivors, doing my part to raise awareness, taking my medications and moving toward the incredibly wonderful pink light.

Read the full article on PBS MediaShift.  Do you use Facebook Connect on your iPhone or on any Web site?

A few weeks ago, I attended a Health Care Social Media Webinar, presented by WOMMA, and was intrigued by the discussion that took place.  The conversation centered on the pros and cons of engaging directly with patients online, as well as applying guidelines for health care and pharmaceutical companies to current social media marketing tactics (a topic that has been hotly debated for some time).  The bottom line is, at this point no one knows the rules yet, and it’s a scary place for some companies in the health care industry.  But for many, social media is becoming a reality however good or bad that may be, thus they must take the initial steps to understand it and eventually incorporate it into their overall business strategy.

Despite moderating and reporting adverse events, or sticking to the Fair Balance “one click” rule, social media presents some exciting opportunities for health care and pharmaceutical companies, as well as everyday consumers seeking health information.  Patients and anyone interested in health are more empowered than ever.  Web 1.0 fostered patient education through the presentation of new content, and now Web 2.0 allows the opportunity to engage directly with companies.  Hospitals and pharma companies have spent millions of dollars in years past trying to push their messages out to consumers, with mediocre results at best.  Today, social media allows them the opportunity to reach their core audience directly and have a conversation with them.

A 2008 report published by the California HealthCare Foundation maintained that Web 2.0 puts the power back into the hands of the consumer, but I don’t know if I completely agree with that statement.  In fact, I think it’s a nice balance of power between the two parties.  Consumers have always had the potential to be empowered; however, I think social media truly empowers the health care companies who are trying to reach and engage with people in a meaningful way.  From finding distinct groups of people to recruit for clinical trials to mining social networks for valuable customer feedback to discussing hot topics that affect health care companies as a whole, patients are finally willing to listen to what they have to say.  Social media allows all parties involved in health care, from doctors to pharma companies to patients, to engage in a meaningful, direct conversation; the next step for health care companies is learning to navigate the hurdles presented by FDA regulations in order to truly engage.

This is important to recognize as we grapple with health care reform. We must make sure that research dollars for new treatments are preserved and access to experimental drugs becomes a little easier. Yes it’s absolutely important for all Americans to have access to basic health care and current treatments, but let us all not forget that we must still keep working to find new therapies for all those illneses that do not have cures or for patients where the current treatments fail them. Only once we have these discoveries and treatments will we truly have universal health care.

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