Use newsroom techniques to find and develop brand journalism stories

This is the second article in a three-part content series on brand journalism. This series in partnership with MediaSource, a media relations and content production firm that specializes in brand journalism tactics, offers tips to communications professionals

At National Jewish Health, the Denver, Colo. hospital with a worldwide reputation for its research on, and treatment of, respiratory disorders, the PR and marketing teams have three requirements for stories deserving the brand journalism treatment.

“We look for news with broad appeal,” explains Lauren Green-Caldwell, chief communications and marketing officer for National Jewish Health. “Then we ask ourselves if the story will make a difference in people’s lives. And then we need to make sure it highlights our brand mission.”

Only then, says Green-Caldwell, will the story get the brand journalism treatment: a video package for broadcast, photos of patients and doctors, and audio and video files for radio and the Web. These stories, produced with the assistance of content provider MediaSource, are the hospital’s opportunity to deliver newsroom-quality stories that showcase National Jewish Health’s brand—hence the term “brand journalism.”