New Radio Show Welcomes Experts on Women's Health Topics

April 21, 2010 (Bulldog Reporter) — An Internet radio program on women's health has made a rare transition to the airwaves, and the producers are on the lookout for engaging experts who can discuss a wide range of topics relevant to an over-35 demographic. "We define health and wellness to mean virtually any topic that would be of interest to women — emotional health, physical health and any other healthy aspect of a woman's life," explains Cassie Holm (cassie@realwomenonhealth.com), one of two co-hosts for"Real Women on Health!," which now airs weekly on WNLK/WSTC-AM/Norwalk, Conn. in addition to streaming on the Internet.

For example, she notes that the next episode will feature author Allegra Huston discussing her book, "Love Child: A Memoir of Family Lost and Found." "It's an amazing story of how families come together," Holm says. But the program will also have guests discussing serious medical topics such as cancer, heart health and Alzheimer's.

Focus: Real Women on Health was founded by Kelley Connors (kelley@realwomenonhealth.com), who is the other co-host and president of KC Healthcare Communications LLC. In addition to her work on the program, Connors blogs on healthcare marketing topics. Holm's official title is national strategic alliance director.

The show originally launched in February 2009 as a webcast on BlogTalkRadio, where all previous episodes are archived. With the move to terrestrial radio, the one-hour show will air live Wednesdays at 8 p.m. ET and also stream live on the station's website. On-demand versions will still be uploaded to BlogTalkRadio.

Connors notes that the station reaches listeners primarily in affluent Fairfield County, Conn., and neighboring Westchester County, N.Y., though the signal also reaches parts of Long Island and the Bronx. Arbitron ratings indicate that the station draws 10,000 regional listeners in the show's targeted demographic of women 35 and older, not counting those who listen online.

How it works: Each episode begins with a discussion of the week's health news between the co-hosts and Robin Strongin, founder of Disruptive Women in Health Care and CEO of Amplify Public Affairs in Washington, D.C. This is followed by live conversations with one or more guests and listener call-ins. Guests can call in remotely. With the move to WNLK/WSTC, Connors says she wants to bring more Fairfield County-area guests into the mix, but they'll continue to have national guests as well.

The producers have an arrangement with HealthyWomen.org to provide content and women's health experts, but they are also open to guests pitched by PR pros. Many guests are authors or people involved with advocacy groups.

Holm and Connors are also on the lookout for sponsors to underwrite programs, though the producers will retain control over the show's content. "It could be a pharmaceutical company," Holm says. "It could be an advocacy group interested in getting the word out about health education. It could be a specific author who wants to buy into the program for a couple of weeks."

Getting airtime: Holm offers these tips for approaching the program:

• Suggest guests who can engage the listeners — "We're not looking for the talking-head pontificator," she says. "We're looking for someone who is willing to engage in a conversation and be informative, so at the end of the hour the listener has a take-away that will be a 'Wow, I haven't thought of that before,' or an action they can take." She's open to academics or researchers "if the topic is of interest to a broad enough audience and if that person doesn't talk over folks' heads."
  
  Guests need not be in the show's targeted demographic. "It's more the content," she says. "More frequently than not, we'll end up with women in the boomer demographic as guests, but it's by no means exclusive."
   
• Disclose paid relationships — The producers will consider paid celebrity spokespeople "on a case-by-case basis," she says, but it's important to reveal those relationships up front. "One thing we are not is a commercial," she says. "The discussion would need to be about a disease, whether it's the diagnosis of a disease or management or treatment. We certainly wouldn't preclude anything, but the main focus here would be education and conversation."
• Give a heads up on important news developments — In addition to fielding guest pitches, Holm is open to hearing about important studies and other news that could be fodder for discussion in the opening segment or other portions of the program.
• Learn from the listeners — Holm notes that the program will offer a way to monitor the concerns of listeners who call in. "If you are a sponsor, you can learn from the women who are talking about your 'fill-in-the-blank' — your product or your mission," she says. "We'd like to have potential sponsors start listening to the conversations."

Pitch: Both co-hosts are appropriate contacts. Reach Holm via email at cassie@realwomenonhealth.com. She discourages calls unless she's already reached out to you to express interest.