Monday, November 29, 2010
Guest Blog: New York Times Above the Fold
Friend of Newswise, Aline Schimmel guest blogs today on the topic of redefining “good press coverage.” Aline blogs over at Scienta Communications, where she serves as Principal.
New York Times Above the Fold
It’s every biotech CEO’s dream to be front and center in one of the nation’s most read news dailies. As a corporate communications consultant, I know this all too well. If I had a dollar for every time a well meaning exec asked me if they should embargo their upcoming news release to the NY Times, I’d be a wealthy woman. But I’m not ashamed to say, I don’t relish the NY Times’ attention for my clients. And moreover, it’s important for execs to understand the reality of the situation and to re-evaluate their own expectations for coverage.
Consider some recent biotech company coverage in the NY Times:
*Rare Hits and Heaps of Misses to Pay For
*Prostate Cancer Drug Gets Lukewarm Review
*Ex-Con Samuel Waksal Starts New Drug Venture
*Genzyme Makes Case That Sanofi Bid Is Too Low
*Two Plaintiffs at Center of the Ban on Stem Cell Use
*The Sharing of Data Leads to Progress on Alzheimer’s
These stories discuss the high risk associated with biotech research – risk so great that not even pharma invest in the companies until they’ve proven their science. They include; an analysis from Medicare suggesting that a much lauded prostate cancer drug may not be covered; the founding of a private biotech company by the infamous inside-trader Sam Waksal; Genzyme’s efforts to convince shareholders that an acquisition bid undervalues their future expected revenues; one researcher’s lawsuit against MIT claiming that the Institute’s decision to fund stem cell research would threatened his ability to qualify for federal grants; and lastly the search for biomarkers of Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease by a collective of universities and nonprofit groups that, while potentially fruitful, would prevent biotech companies from patenting, and therefore profiting, on such discoveries.
What do all of these have in common? In a word: controversy. The NY Times is hard hitting and investigative, which naturally tends toward covering controversial topics, including opinions from sources other than the interviewee. Therefore, the NY Times is unlikely to run flattering pieces highlighting the success of a biotech company’s efforts to treat rare diseases; exposés on CEOs who, because of a lack of outside funding refrained from taking a salary so their company’s critical cancer research isn’t jeopardized; or the incredible potential of the latest advance for patients in third world countries, whose limited access to proper healthcare is of great concern to the WHO. I won’t say that a positive piece will never be written on a biotech company, but the odds are against it.
How does a media relations professional help a CEO come to terms with this reality and reframe the client’s expectation for “good press coverage?” First, consider the question: “what is the benefit of a profile in the NY Times?” Pharmaceutical companies do not explore the NY Times for business development opportunities. Fund managers don’t rely on the Times for investment insight – they employ analysts for that. Certainly no equity analyst I know has ever covered a company based on an article in the paper. Yes, the NY Times is impressive, but if placement there doesn’t address company business or strategic goals, then perhaps it is not the appropriate target outlet for your firm.
CEOs would benefit from redefining “good press coverage” as that which reaches their stakeholders. BioCentury, Xconomy and The Street.com are widely read by biotechnology and pharmaceutical industry personnel, as well as industry investors and analysts. Local press in a geographic hub like San Francisco, Silicon Valley, or Research Triangle Park can also reach many readers in the industry. Then, there are the wires. A good wire story may be picked up by print newspapers, including top-tier dailies like the Wall Street Journal, which is owned by the wire service provider Dow Jones.
Thus, be proud of a piece in the San Francisco Business Times, the Xconomy expose, the brief paragraph in Reuters Significant Developments, and that full-column story in BioWorld. Miriam Tucker re-tweeted your post? Pat yourself on the back. That front page BioCentury piece? Frame it. Because that, ladies and gentlemen of the biotechnology industry, is good press.
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