AARC’s “Year of the Lung” Press Release Project

International respiratory organizations, including the AARC, American Thoracic Society and American College of Chest Physicians , have banded together to declare 2010 the Year of the Lung (YOL).

As a partner in the YOL campaign, the AARC is planning a number of awareness activities over this year. In order to get the state societies involved, we’ve written four press releases that we would like each of you to distribute to newspapers in your state . The four releases are:

• Asthma Giving You Trouble?
• Air Quality in the “Year of the Lung”
• Back to School Without the Bugs
• Raising COPD Awareness in the “Year of the Lung”

Each of the press releases includes quotes, and we would like you to select members from various cities in your state to attribute the quotes to. If your members would like to alter the standard quotes in the releases, they may feel free to do so.

Attributing the quotes to members from specific cities/areas in your state will increase the chances of publication, because newspapers like to publish stories quoting people who live and work in their own communities.

Here are 3 easy steps to follow when preparing and releasing these press releases to newspapers in your state:

Step 1 —

• Identify one member each from 3-4 different cities in your state to serve as the respiratory therapist quoted in the press release. Ask them to read the release and offer them the opportunity to customize the quotes, if they would like to. Customize the press release with their quotes and/or names, cities, state, etc. (Wording in the press releases requiring customization is presented in ALL CAPS and double brackets.)

Step 2 —

• Go to http://www.usnewspapers.org/ to access the web sites of local newspapers in your state. Select several papers in each of the cities you have targeted. Once on the newspaper web site, look for a link to “contact us” or something similar. Many papers will include a link where you can submit the press release electronically; for others, you may need to mail the release. If the newspaper lists a health editor, address the press release directly to that person. Calling the health editor to let them know the press release is coming can increase the chances it will be published.

Step 3 —

• Mail or e-mail the press release for each area to the newspapers you have selected in that area. For example, the press release with quotes from the state society member in Atlanta would go out to newspapers in the Atlanta metropolitan area, the release with quotes from the state society member in Mobile would go out to newspapers in Mobile , etc.

Here is the timetable for releasing the press releases:

• Asthma Press Release: Release to newspapers around April 15 for publication during Asthma Awareness Month in May.

• Air Quality Press Release: Release to newspapers around July 1 for publication in July/August.

• Back to School Press Release: Release to newspapers around August 15 for publication in late August/early September.

• COPD Press Release: Release to newspapers around October 15 for publication during National COPD Awareness Month in November.

Thanks for taking part in the AARC YOL Press Release Project.

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