Are you considering approaching the media with your study’s findings? Sometimes there is no clear reason for why a story makes news and another does not. Nonetheless, knowing what reporters consider newsworthy and preparing your message accordingly may help increase the odds of your research making the news.

If you answer “yes,” to several of the following questions, a reporter may be interested in talking with you. Keep these questions in mind as you prepare your press release and other outreach materials:

• Discovery. Did you find something new or surprising? Are you looking at an existing problem in a new way?
• Practical Information. Has the research led to action steps or recommendations the audience could take to address a problem or concern of theirs? Are these recommendations new or surprising?
• Timeliness. Is your research related in some way to an existing topic or concern? Is the study related to something else going on in the news?
• Magnitude. Do your research findings affect a large amount of the population?
• Human Interest. Can you provide personal stories that would highlight your work and make it more compelling?
• Notable Spokesperson. Does your research address an issue that has caught the eye of a well-known public figure?
• Milestones. Does your story have an important historical marker or anniversary, either locally or nationally?

If you’re an RWJF grantee, whether you feel that your study has potential news value or not, be sure to submit it as early as possible to the communications contractor RWJF has assigned to you. In addition to considering the study’s possible media appeal, the contractor will share it with RWJF, and will see that it gets featured in one or more Foundation platforms—including the Leaders’ Link—once it has been published.