Write to Your Local News and Media Outlets!

Write to Your Local News and Media Outlets

Writing to your local news and media outlets is another great way to raise awareness for, and during, National Tinnitus Awareness Week. Below we have provided a sample cover letter and press release to make it nearly effortless for you to reach out and raise awareness in your own communities.

Many times, you can find the email address of the news desk and other reporters on media outlets Web sites. So you might consider searching for an email address and send then this information via email. This will likely be the quickest way to reach them!

Please feel free to use the cover letter and press release as they are, in an email or regular mail, or to edit and include your personal tinnitus experience.

COVER LETTER (printer-friendly version)

Date


Name of Newspaper or Television Station
Attn: News Desk
Address
City, State Zip


Dear Editor or News Program Director (use their name if you know it - many times you can find reporters names and emails on the “Contact Us” link at the bottom of web sites),

I am writing to you about tinnitus – most commonly referred to as “ringing in the ears” a condition which impacts 50 million Americans and I am one of them. (If you are not one of them note your connection to tinnitus.) Tinnitus is also the number-one service-connected disability for veterans from all periods of service and is impacting Iraq and Afghanistan veterans in record numbers.

Imagine constant noise 24 hours a day, for the rest of your life. Imagine there’s no cure. Imagine this condition is poorly understood, and that many healthcare professionals think nothing can be done about it. They tell you “to go home and live with it”. Now imagine that the noise you hear was probably caused by exposure to loud noise – on the job, on the battlefield, while motorcycling, snowmobiling, or hunting, while playing with fireworks, or listening to loud music. In other words, while living a fairly normal, modern life.

May 15 – 21, 2011 is National Tinnitus Awareness Week sponsored by the only member-based tinnitus organization in the United States, the American Tinnitus Association.ATA is the foremost tinnitus research funding organization in the United States.

If you are interested in doing a story on tinnitus, please contact ATA Director of Public Affairs, Jennifer Born at jennifer@ata.org or 800-634-8978 x215. She can put you in touch with local tinnitus health professionals, patients and other experts who are willing to be interviewed about this horrible condition.

Please tell your readers and viewers about the growing problem of tinnitus during the week of May 15-21, 2011.
 
I would also be willing to be interviewed and can be reached at (add your contact information).

Sincerely,

Your name, contact information and group, if any, that you represent

 

PRESS RELEASE (printer-friendly version)

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                Contact: Jennifer Born
April 2, 2011                                                             jennifer@ata.org, (800) 634-8978 x215

Celebrating 40 Years of Restoring Silence

Portland, Ore. – The American Tinnitus Association (ATA) is celebrating its 40^th anniversary during National Tinnitus Awareness Week, May 15-21, 2011. This week is set aside every year in May, but ATA has activities planned for the entire month, which is also “Better Hearing and Speech Month.”

Tinnitus, commonly referred to as “ringing in the ears” is the perception of sound where no external source is present. Most commonly caused by noise exposure, tinnitus impacts up to 50 million Americans and of those, 16 million suffer from chronic tinnitus and have sought medical attention for their condition. Tinnitus is the top service-connected disability for veterans from all periods of service and is impacting returning personnel from Iraq and Afghanistan in historic numbers.

“The progress of clinical research over the past five years has hastened,” said Michael Malusevic, ATA Executive Director. “At this time, there are now more viable treatment options being tested for tinnitus patients than at any other time in this history of tinnitus research, a real reason for the entire tinnitus community to celebrate ATA’s 40^th anniversary,” said Malusevic.

The American Tinnitus Association is the largest member-based research funding organization in the United States. Beginning in 1980, they have awarded nearly $5 million in “seed” money to tinnitus investigators. Many of these researchers have gone on to attract larger funding from the U.S. National Institutes of Health and more recently, the U.S. Department of Defense to enhance their findings and develop treatments for tinnitus.

For more information about Tinnitus Awareness Week including awareness raising materials and fun activities to share with your family and friends, please visit ATA.org/taw2011.

About the American Tinnitus Association
The American Tinnitus Association (ATA), headquartered in Portland, Ore., is the nation’s foremost organization committed to curing tinnitus. For 40 years, ATA has helped tinnitus patients understand and manage the “ringing in their ears.” ATA exists to cure tinnitus through the development of resources that advance tinnitus research. Founded in 1971, ATA has contributed millions of dollars to medical research projects focused on curing tinnitus. The association also provides information on tinnitus to the public and advocates for effective public policies that support its mission of curing tinnitus. ATA.org.

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