Mental health stories top TV producers most wanted list
TV producers at news stations across the country showed strong interest in interviewing brand and non-profit spokespeople on the widest range of topics ever and 84% of them were interested in covering mental health stories. Overall, 91% of TV producers reported being open to being pitched for stories. Those are among the critical findings from the annual TV Producers Survey from D S Simon Media.
“The increase in local TV news programming in both English and Spanish, combined with staff reductions, has significantly increased station’s need for PR driven content,” says Doug Simon, CEO at D S Simon Media, which conducted the survey. “From our own surveys and those of others, local TV news remains the most trusted source of information. This survey shows that the opportunity for PR people is growing.”
Surprisingly to many PR people, local TV news producers continue to overwhelmingly prefer interviewing in-house spokespeople (85%) compared to third-party experts (15%). “This result tracks with data from the more than 200 satellite media tours the firm conducted last year,” says Simon. “There was a 12% increase in media bookings when clients featured an in-house spokesperson compared to a third-party expert.”
Big Changes to How Stations Are Producing Health Stories
The number of stations featuring a dedicated medical reporter or producer fell by 70% in the aftermath of COVID during 2022. Stations also reported a significant drop in their use of network or syndicated health news feeds down to 29%. More than 65% of stations are conducting in-studio, satellite or Zoom interviews to cover these stories.
Stations also provided significant feedback on the types of health stories they prefer to cover. In addition to mental health, top categories included Women’s, Men’s, and Children’s health as well as wellness care and care and prevention of medical conditions. “The report offers valuable insights as to how to frame a story to generate the most coverage,” says Simon. “For example, a pharmaceutical advancement is better framed as a story about care and prevention to generate more coverage.”
The 21-page report can be downloaded here.
