Living with dementia magazine December 2012/January 2013

With stories about dementia becoming more prominent in the media, simply knowing which journalist to call is not enough for our Press team. Press Officer Emma Prince looks at how useful relationships are built.

Meeting journalists face to face isn't something new for the Press team but lately it has become a more important aspect of what we do.

Good relationships with journalists can make the difference between our perspective being included in a story and no mention at all. If journalists are able to put a face to a name when we call they're more likely to have time to listen to us, and this can sometimes lead to more in-depth features.

Making it easy

Meetings can vary from a quick 10-minute chat to an hour-long conversation over coffee. We make it easy for them by being flexible and offering to meet at their office.

Earlier this year we met with a BBC Radio 4 producer of Woman's Hour and this led to a 20-minute feature during Dementia Awareness Week. Months later she also helped us to secure a piece for Memory Walk with our Ambassador and film star Carey Mulligan on the station's You and Yours programme.

In March we had a brief meeting with the Daily Telegraph's medical correspondent to discuss the Prime Minister’s challenge on dementia. We went prepared with suggestions of people affected by dementia whom he could interview and of other stories that were coming up. He called us directly on the day that the challenge was announced so he could arrange interviews with these people.

Strong relationships

Meetings don't only benefit us. They give the journalist a contact they can go straight to when they want a quote, spokesperson or more information.

We have particularly strong relationships with health journalists at the Express and Mail, who often come to us when they’re looking for a comment on a story. They can also warn us about stories they will be writing in the near future. It's not a normal week in the Press team if we don't have at least one request from the Daily Express for a quote.

Meetings with individual journalists give us an opportunity to find out how they work so that we know what stories they'd be interested in and which case studies would be relevant to them.

The Press team has had successful meetings with Daybreak, the BBC health team, The Times and the magazines Woman's Own and Best, to name a few.    

Although there is always more to do when it comes to building relationships with journalists, we're really pleased with the progress we have made. The more journalists we have on side the more coverage we can achieve and the more we can get people talking about dementia.

If you're interested in sharing your experiences of dementia in the media, please contact the Press team on 020 7423 3576 or press@alzheimers.org.uk

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