HLTH 4380 Week 9 Media Pitch Example Example

Course	HLTH 4380 Strategies for Health Communication and Wellness
Week	Week 9
Paper type	Media pitch
Length	About 690 words, 5 pages
Format	APA 7 student paper
School	Walden University
Program	BS in Public Health
Updated	October 2026

Free sample paper for HLTH 4380 Week 9

A One-Screen Pitch to a Local Health Reporter: Adult Children Clearing Parents' Medicine Cabinets in Spring Moving Season, With a Reason to Run It Now, a Pharmacist on Offer and a Scene a Crew Can Film

Student Name

Walden University

HLTH 4380: Strategies for Health Communication and Wellness

Instructor Name

Month Day, Year

What this page is doingThe title names the recipient, the story and the four things a pitch must hand a reporter, and its length limit, which together are what a pitch is graded on.

The Pitch

Subject: Packing up a parent's house? The medicine cabinet problem

Hi Dana,

Spring is when many families in the county move a parent out of the family home, and every move means emptying a medicine cabinet, often full of leftover pain pills from old surgeries. Most of those pills never reach a safe disposal site. A review of six studies found that up to 92% of surgical patients had opioids left over and that safe disposal was rare.

For a story this month, I can offer three things. Dr. Ana Ruiz, a pharmacist at the Elm Street market pharmacy, can explain what families should do in under a minute, on camera. On Saturday, April 18, our collection table at the Northside Community Center runs from 9 to noon, where your crew can film families dropping off bags of old medicines. And we have a short graphic that shows the three-step decision at the cabinet.

I can set up an interview any weekday this week. Reply here or call me at the number below by Friday if you'd like to schedule.

Thanks,

Jordan Lee, Communications, Maple County Health Department

What this page is doingThe subject line names a local story in under ten words, the first paragraph gives a reason it matters now and the second lists what the reporter can use.

Note on the Pitch

The Gatekeeper

The pitch is written for one person, a composite health reporter at a local television station, who receives dozens of pitches a week and decides whether the public hears anything at all. Agenda-setting research holds that the issues news media cover become the issues audiences consider important (McCombs & Shaw, 1972); a reporter who passes on the story removes it from that agenda. The pitch must therefore be easy to say yes to, and quick to reject if it does not fit, which respects the reporter's time.

Why the Subject Line Leaves Out the Campaign

The subject line names the situation viewers live through, "packing up a parent's house," and leaves out the campaign's name and the department's name. A reporter is looking for a story about people, not about an agency's program. The department appears only in the signature.

A Reason to Run It Now

News values research identifies what makes an event newsworthy to journalists. In their updated study of news content, Harcup and O'Neill (2017) list values such as relevance to the audience, magnitude, good or bad news, and the availability of audiovisual material. The pitch offers relevance (families in the county are moving this spring), a magnitude figure from a published review (Bicket et al., 2017) and audiovisual material in the form of a filmable event. The statistic is presented as what the review found in surgical patients, not as a local figure, because no local count exists.

What the Reporter Can Use

Three assets are offered: a spokesperson who has rehearsed a one-minute explanation, a scene with real people doing the action and a graphic. Each lowers the work of turning the pitch into a segment. The collection table is timed close to the DEA's spring National Prescription Drug Take Back Day, part of the periodic events the FDA describes, which gives the reporter a second hook (U.S. Food and Drug Administration, 2024).

What the Pitch Leaves Out

The pitch does not explain how to dispose of medicines in the trash, list the flush list or describe the campaign's channels. Those details belong to the segment and the fact sheet. A pitch that tries to deliver the whole message to the reporter reads as a press release and is likely to be skimmed.

Follow-Up

If the reporter does not reply by Friday, one follow-up goes out on Monday with a single new element, such as a family willing to be filmed packing, and no more. A second follow-up would cost goodwill for future pitches.

Ethics of the Scene

Families filmed at the collection table will be asked for consent on site, and no prescription labels will be shown on camera, since names and medicines are private health information even when the bottles are being discarded.

References

Bicket, M. C., Long, J. J., Pronovost, P. J., Alexander, G. C., & Wu, C. L. (2017). Prescription opioid analgesics commonly unused after surgery: A systematic review. JAMA Surgery, 152(11), 1066-1071. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamasurg.2017.0831

Harcup, T., & O'Neill, D. (2017). What is news? News values revisited (again). Journalism Studies, 18(12), 1470-1488. https://doi.org/10.1080/1461670X.2016.1150193

McCombs, M. E., & Shaw, D. L. (1972). The agenda-setting function of mass media. Public Opinion Quarterly, 36(2), 176-187. https://doi.org/10.1086/267990

U.S. Food and Drug Administration. (2024). Drug disposal: Drug take-back options. https://www.fda.gov/drugs/disposal-unused-medicines-what-you-should-know/drug-disposal-drug-take-back-locations

The Walden HLTH 4380 Week 9 instructions

Week 9 asks students to write a pitch to a journalist, usually by email, offering a story connected to their campaign. The prompt expects brevity: a reporter should be able to read the whole pitch without scrolling. Students write a subject line that names a story rather than an organization, an opening that explains why the story matters to the outlet's audience now, and a short list of what the reporter can use, such as a spokesperson, a scene and visuals. Contact details and a response window close the email. An accompanying note typically explains the choices with reference to news values or media theory. Many prompts ask how the student would follow up and what ethical issues filming might raise. Any statistic must be accurate and correctly attributed. A press release is a different genre, and pasting one into the email usually costs credit.

How the HLTH 4380 Week 9 example is put together

The email opens with a seven-word subject line about packing up a parent's house. Its first paragraph ties the story to the county's spring moves and gives one figure from the review of six surgical studies. The second paragraph offers the pharmacist from the Week 7 script, a collection table at a community center on a named Saturday morning and the decision-path graphic. A one-line close sets a Friday reply window. The note introduces the reporter as gatekeeper and cites McCombs and Shaw on agenda setting. It explains why the campaign's name is kept out of the subject line, matches the pitch to news values from Harcup and O'Neill, and labels the statistic as a finding about surgical patients rather than a local count. It lists what the pitch leaves out, limits follow-up to one message with something new and requires on-site consent and hidden labels when families are filmed.

Where the marks sit in the HLTH 4380 Week 9 rubric

Graders of a media pitch usually check length, newsworthiness, usefulness, accuracy and professionalism. Length is simple to mark: a pitch that requires scrolling or attachments to understand loses credit. Newsworthiness is judged on whether the opening gives a reason the audience cares now, framed around people rather than the agency. Usefulness rewards concrete assets, a named spokesperson, a date and place, and visuals, that lower the reporter's work. Accuracy matters for any figure; a national or study statistic presented as a local one is a serious error. Professionalism covers tone, a clear reply window and a sensible follow-up plan. The explanatory note earns credit for applying news values or media theory to specific choices. Ethical attention to filming members of the public adds to the score. Mechanics include APA entries for two communication journals and a medical review.

HLTH 4380 Week 9 help from the desk

Pitches most often fail by reading like press releases: long, formal and centered on the organization. Another common problem is a subject line that names the campaign, which tells the reporter nothing about the story. Students also offer vague assets, "experts available," instead of a named person and a time. Before submitting, check that the whole email fits on one screen. Rewrite your subject line so it names a situation viewers live through. Put the reason it matters now in the first sentence. List exactly what the reporter can film or quote, with dates. Attribute any statistic precisely. Plan one follow-up with something new, not a reminder. Add a sentence on consent if people will be filmed. A custom pitch can be written for a different outlet, such as a community newspaper or a podcast, with assets suited to that format.

Get a HLTH 4380 Week 9 example written to your instructions

Forward the prompt and rubric and the kind of outlet your section names, and the pitch and its note are shaped for that gatekeeper. We write the first free, back in 24 to 48 hours. Reporter, station and department here are fictional, and this sample email is never sent to any newsroom.

More HLTH 4380 papers and BS in Public Health samples

HLTH 4380 Week 9 questions, answered

Where can I find a free HLTH 4380 Week 9 sample paper?

This page offers a full Week 9 pitch email to a local health reporter, with a one-page note on news values, follow-up and filming ethics with four references and notes beside each section.

What does the pitch offer the reporter in the HLTH 4380 Week 9 example?

A pharmacist who can explain disposal on camera, a collection table at a community center on a Saturday morning where families can be filmed, and a short explanatory graphic.

Why does the subject line leave out the campaign's name?

Reporters look for stories about people, so the subject line names the situation, packing up a parent's house, and the department appears only in the signature.

What news values does the pitch use?

Following Harcup and O'Neill, it offers relevance to local families, a magnitude figure from a published review and audiovisual material in a filmable event.

How many follow-ups does the plan allow?

One. If there is no reply by Friday, a single message on Monday adds something new, such as a family willing to be filmed, and nothing more is sent after that.