Healthcare Media Pitching Tips From Managing Editor, detikHealth

When it comes to pitching COVID-19 related stories to healthcare media, keep it simple and practical. That’s the key tip from Uyung Pramudiarja, Managing Editor of detikhealth, an online healthcare news website in Indonesia. 

As the pandemic continues to evolve, Pramudiarja predicts that COVID-19-related stories will stay dominant in detikHealth’s coverage. What types of pitches would get his attention?  Simple and practical ‘what to do’ and ‘how to’ tips that are relatable to everyday life.  

Pramudiarja is one of the 15 editors and journalists whom PR Newswire interviewed for its 2021 Healthcare Media Pitching Kit (APAC Edition).  The media share best practices and tips on pitching to them, what they look out for in media pitches and industry trends and developments that they are looking to report on this year.  

What kind of content would entice you to follow up on a press release and do an interview or in-depth coverage on it?  

Anything new will always be interesting for me. I would also consider the impact of the news  – especially those with a positive impact and has greater value for the audience.

How has the shift in information consumption habits among your audiences change over the past year and how has this impacted the way you report the news?   

Pandemic fatigue is real. Basically, people need hope, so content that brings positive information usually gets more attention. Unfortunately, not all positive information is actually ‘positive’. Some may contain bias, exaggeration, or worse, false information. Most of the time, journalists can’t rely on one or two sources only. We need to do more research, observation, investigation, and whatever is needed to make things clear.

READ MORE: 4 Healthcare Media Pitching Tips from Journalists

What would you like to see less of and more of from healthcare companies in 2021?  

Hopefully, there will be more campaigns on a healthy lifestyle. Information on diseases and treatments is important, but preventive measures are also needed. With most people still working from home, educating people on how to stay active will be very useful.

Stop over-hyping products as having high expectations can bring massive backlash from disappointed audiences.

What are you anticipating most from the industry this year that you would be keen to cover?  

COVID-19 related stories will stay dominant in our coverage. Simple and practical ‘what to do’ and ‘how to’ tips that are relatable to everyday life will get my attention. Considering that the guidelines are constantly changing, we’ll see many updates to our editorial line-up.  Science stories are also interesting – updates on drugs and vaccine development, new findings and research. Readers are always curious about the statistical model that predicts how and when the pandemic will end.

Download the 2021 Healthcare Media Pitching Kit (APAC Edition) to get up to speed with the evolving healthcare industry to craft solid pitches and connect with the media effectively in a COVID-19 world.