Media Outreach Toolkit
Developing and placing feature articles
– a ‘how-to’ guide –
This guide takes you through the process of developing and placing feature articles in your local press. Feature
articles are a good way to disseminate messages that are important to your organisation and for mental health
issues that you identify as specifically important to the region in which you work. They can appear in either
medical or consumer press and are different to ‘news’ articles in that they are in-depth pieces and are not so
time-sensitive. Developing and placing feature articles also allows you to develop relationships with important
groups and individuals in your region. These may include primary care and mental health practitioners, local
opinion leaders, other patient/professional groups and of course people with mental illness themselves.
Researching and developing your idea
When planning your feature article you should first consider what specific issues you would like to cover and
what type of article would be best for those issues. Enclosed with the World Federation for Mental Health
(WFMH) Media Outreach Toolkit is information on how to work with case studies as part of your
communications initiatives (see the working with case studies – a ‘how-to’ guide document). Case study-based
feature articles are often effective and appealing to the media, as they provide a human interest element to the
article as well as allowing you to discuss the mental health issues that your group identify as important for your
region.
However, also remember that the principles outlined in this document remain the same for developing any type
of feature article and you need not restrict yourself to case study-based articles. The final section of this guide
includes suggestions for alternative ‘angles’ which can act as stand-alone articles, should you feel they are
more suitable for your local media, or be combined with case studies to produce features covering a range of
topics.
Secondly, you should consider what audience you are trying to reach, and in what media you would ideally like
to place your feature. Unless you have a very good knowledge of your media environment, you should conduct
a media audit in order to learn what outlets exist in your area and which titles would be best to approach
regarding placing your article. Once you have done this, you should know the content and angle of the feature
article you plan to write and what media titles you will want to approach regarding placement.
Media Outreach Toolkit
Choosing an author
There are three options for whom your feature could be authored by:

A local opinion leader (an expert in some area of mental health who lives and works in your region)

A representative of your group (the director or CEO for example)

A journalist at your targeted publication
If you have a strong existing relationship with a local opinion leader, the preferred option may be to use him or
her to write your article. The opinion from a respected professional is often the most impressive and attractive to
media outlets and their readers.
If your organisation is well-known and respected in your region, an equally strong option may be to have a
senior figure from your group author the article. The opinion of an established patient group is also often seen
as informed and important, as patient groups are typically considered to reflect the real needs of the people with
mental illness that they represent.
When you contact a targeted media outlet to place the article, you could approach a specific journalist and ask
them if they would be interested in authoring the feature themselves. Many journalists are very well respected
and their opinion highly valued, so you should do your research first to identify someone who has relevant
experience and who will do justice to the topics you intend to discuss in the feature.
Remember, once you have confirmed your preferred author you should work with them throughout the writing
process to ensure they are covering the topics you want to discuss in a way that is appropriate for the aims and
objectives of your organisation. You may be able to ‘ghost write’ the article on their behalf (either yourself or by
employing a freelance writer) and then give it to your author for their comments and approval.
However, if the article is being written by an opinion leader or a journalist, there will be a level of compromise
regarding how much control you will have over the article’s development. Finally, you may want to place two,
three or even more articles in different media outlets over the course of a year. If you do want to do this, you
should consider using different authoring strategies throughout the course of your overall feature programme.
Media Outreach Toolkit
Approaching targeted media outlets
Establish the interest of your target publication by making a phone call on behalf of the author to discuss the
feature idea. You should write a one-page overview of the feature article outlining the rationale and proposed
content, which you can share with the publication to help give structure to your conversations (this may also be
useful to share with opinion leaders when approaching them as potential authors).
When discussing the feature idea with the publication, be prepared to consider incorporating additional/different
topics if suggested. You should establish the outlet’s basic requirements including the word limit, what visual
images they would like (photographs of your case study for example), whether they will want to use summary
boxes within the article to create visual interest on the page and any other requirements that the publication
may have.
Finally, you should agree a timeframe for completion and publication of your feature. The whole process can
take several months, sometimes even longer, and some publications plan the content of their issues up to three
months in advance of publication. Allow enough time for drafting and approving the article both internally at your
organisation, with your opinion leader author if appropriate and also with the editorial team at the publication.
Remember that final editorial control is held by the publication and they may decide to modify your copy
depending on their needs. They will not necessarily be obliged to share these changes with you prior to
publication.
By this stage you should have agreed the outline of your feature with the author and the media outlet that will
publish the article. You should also have agreed timeframes for completion, approval and publication and be
ready to start the writing process proper.
Writing your feature
How your feature article is written will depend to some extent on who your author is. If you, or a ghost writer you
employ, are writing the article on behalf of an opinion leader, you should discuss the content with them in detail
before you start writing to ensure that you are developing a piece that is in-line with their expectations. Once
your draft is ready, send it to the author in the format they prefer and provide them with a deadline for returning
comments. You may have to go through this process several times before you have a final approved version
ready to submit for publication.
Media Outreach Toolkit
If your article is being written by a journalist from the publishing outlet you should again discuss the content in
detail before they start, this time to ensure that they are developing a piece in-line with your expectations. If the
article is being developed in-house at your organisation, you should have greater control throughout the writing
process to ensure that the article is developing in a way appropriate to your aims and objectives.
Throughout the writing process you should take responsibility for sourcing appropriate photography and other
imagery that will appear in the final printed article (there may be royalty payments associated with this). If your
article is case study-based, you should also facilitate any liaison between the author and the case study.
Enclosed in the WFMH Media Outreach Toolkit is information on working with case studies. For the purpose of
feature articles, you should ask your case study whether they are happy to be contacted directly by the author
or whether all liaisons should go through you.
Supporting materials
In addition to submitting the final article for publication, it may also be appropriate to supply the media outlet
with background information on relevant topics. This toolkit includes a template mental health and metabolic
syndrome media backgrounder, a backgrounder on the WFMH and a global facts and statistics document on
mental health and metabolic syndrome.
These supporting documents can be sent to media outlets as they are or adapted (and translated if necessary)
to apply locally in your region. For example, you may already have or wish to develop a backgrounder on your
specific organisation, and you may want to develop a document with facts and statistics on mental health
specific to your region. These extra materials may be used by a journalist author when writing your feature, but
also help to raise the profile of your organisation and the issues that are of concern to you and the people you
represent.
Media Outreach Toolkit
The feature article process
Research and plan
feature article
Draft
outline
Sell-in to
media
Write first draft &
supporting materials
Redraft and
approve
Submit article
to publication
Ongoing media relationships
Once you have your feature article placed, ensure you keep a database of all media you researched during
your initial planning stage and all media you contacted as targets for publication. This database will form the
basis for all future media activity and should include:

Information on the types of stories covered by specific media, including examples should you so wish

Up-to-date contact details for relevant media and individual journalists

Feedback from your discussions when placing the article

Details of your experiences and feedback from approaching opinion leaders as potential authors
Media Outreach Toolkit
You should monitor key media regularly (ideally on a day-to-day basis) to keep yourself informed of topics
relevant to mental health that the media in your region are discussing. This will also allow you to identify
potential opportunities for placing additional feature articles as you progress with your communications
initiatives.
Other feature ideas
The primary purpose of the WFMH Media Outreach Toolkit is to facilitate the development of case study-based
feature articles. However, there may very well be opportunities in your local media for features based on other
material that you should also consider. These may include:

Developments in treatment guidelines and/or protocols

Historical discussion on changes in incidence and/or prevalence of mental illness in your region

Profiles of opinion leaders (clinicians, inspirational awareness campaigners etc)

Government policy on mental illness
There may also be other topics that you feel you would like to discuss and you should consider including these
alongside case studies and other feature ideas to create an interesting and diverse feature programme as part
of your group’s communications initiatives.
Remember also that the closer you monitor the media and engage in feature proposal discussions with
journalists, the better you will understand your media environment and the better equipped you will be to
develop and place feature articles in the future.