Since most journalists do not have the time to read long technical reports, you can increase the chances of making news by drawing the major findings, conclusions, and implications to the attention of the news media. A news release accompanying the report should start with a simple statement of its most impressive conclusion (26). The release also should include quotations from the authors, organization directors, or outside authorities to lend credence to its findings.

If they want to encourage news coverage of their work, the authors of a study or report themselves should highlight information with potential news value, to the extent possible, as they prepare the report. For example, Population Reports received widespread coverage in the international press with its report, The Reproductive Revolution: New Survey Findings (25, 58, 62). In examining findings of recent surveys and comparing them with earlier data, the authors of the report emphasized the potentially newsworthy aspects of the data implied by the use of the words "revolution" and "new" in the title.

Recognizing the potential newsworthiness of the report, the Johns Hopkins Center for Communication Programs public information specialist and the principal author of the report telephoned journalists, including the Associated Press world service reporter, who wrote the initial news story about the report. The Center distributed over 1,000 copies of a news release and the report itself to journalists around the world. The combination of a good story and effective media relations resulted in many articles in leading newspapers as well as radio reports and interviews broadcast around the world. Later, the authors adapted the report as an article that appeared in Scientific American magazine (61), which resulted in another round of news stories and interviews.