Media CPR: survival tips for physicians

Physician Executive, March-April, 2007 by W.F. Peate

As the physician founder and president of a seven-clinic practice that served 250 corporations in three communities, I had faced down every management crisis, including a banker who needed $200,000 to cover a loan by 3 o'clock.

But my most fearsome task was meeting the media.

My first television interview was a disaster. I had been asked to appear on a local network show to discuss substance abuse. I did extensive research, wrote down eight pages of notes single-spaced--a mistake when you forget to bring your reading glasses for the interview--practiced my points and met the reporter.

A quarter hour later, I thought I had done well. Though I noticed the dry parts of my anatomy had turned wet, and the usually wet areas like the mouth had turned dry.

That evening my family expectantly gathered around the television. My 15 minutes of fame unfortunately had been reduced to only 15 seconds. The camera panned to the interviewer who asked, "Doctor do you think drug screening is the solution to our nation's drug problems?"

"No," I answered as part of my much longer explanation of the larger prevention issues. And then I was cut off the screen.

They had only allowed the audience to hear me speak one word, and that one word was out of context! Several large clients called with obvious irritation. Since we were one of the largest providers of drug screening in the workplace in our area, they asked if I didn't believe in drug tests then why was I taking their money.

Angry, I called the reporter for an explanation. He said, "Sorry Doc, it's television not a research project. The editor knew he would lose the audience, so you only had a one-word show."

I asked what I should have said and he threw it right back to me with the same question.

What I should have said was: "Effective substance abuse prevention requires education and treatment, and screening where appropriate."

The 12-word rule

"Once burned, twice shy" goes the saying. I swore off the free-wheeling world of television interviews. I let our marketing staff member know I would only do print media interviews, what I perceived to be as less risky.

My next interview was with a newspaper journalist about an international peacemaking program I had brought to my state. Surely the topic would be safer from a professional standpoint--no angry business clients this time.

What I told the interviewer: "Ethnic disputes are a universal problem throughout the world, even in our own country. The project helps build bridges and promotes mutual respect."

To my surprise, the next day I was misquoted as saying "The project is a universal problem-solver." I had to laugh. Give me any problem and the project will fix it, including the heartbreak of psoriasis, world hunger, and inflation!

This time the calls were more sympathetic and helpful. A CEO told me to sign up for a media survival class and not to use big words like "universal" that most people, even reporters, don't understand.

Media CPR

Here's what I learned.

Keep your initial comments to an easy to remember 12-word sentence, or sound bite You know the value of this rule as a physician. Most patients won't remember everything you say. That's why you tell them the most important information, and then use patient and medication handouts.

Trust your medical instincts; they'll carry over as your media skills.

Here's an example of the 12-word guideline. When asked, "What are the most important issues in health care today?" you might be tempted to expound at length. Don't. You'll lose the initial interest of the listener and even worse the editor who will chop what he or she wants out of your dissertation and print or show an embarrassing out-of-context fragment (The reason why I only had one word on screen during in my television interview.).

Instead try something like this: "Americans want choice, affordability and quality in health care." This sentence is short enough for the editor and the listener to remember. Better yet, you have set an attention-getting "hook"--they'll want to learn more now that you have their interest.

Once the 12-word hook is set, you can add further information. One doctor responded to the same question with: "Health insurance is the final frontier of communism in America."

Whether you agreed or not, you couldn't wait to hear what he had to say next! He told me later that the first response in an interview should be like telling a patient they have cancer. From that point on you have their complete interest.

How to stay in control

Medical training encourages accuracy and autonomy. In other words, no physician wants to be misrepresented or lose control--two important goals for an interview.

Remember we all have biases. So do the journalist and editor. Don't assume the media are reporting, in the words of the Dragnet star, "Just the facts." Everyone has a slant based on their politics, upbringing, education and past experience.

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For example, I was asked to speak on the increasing presence of community-acquired MRSA (methicillin resistant staph aureus) infections for a television station. During the interview I offered practical tips on early identification and treatment of infections. It became obvious that the interviewer had another agenda related to Medicare cutbacks.