The email came to Jillian Wallen’s inbox on a Friday morning in late July.
“Good news. . . CNN wants to do a health minute segment on dental trauma.”
Dr. Wallen, B.D.S., chair of the Department of Growth and Development at the UNMC College of Dentistry, responded quickly.
The topic was about what a parent should do if their child injures or knocks out a tooth while playing sports, something Sydnie Hochstein, a communications specialist with the College of Dentistry pitched earlier in the year.
Now, with school just around the corner the producers at CNN thought this was the perfect topic for their “Health Minute” segment as it is something people can easily understand and relate to.
For some people, being interviewed by CNN could be somewhat intimidating. But not Dr. Wallen. On Aug. 2, she did the interview and handled it with ease.
The interviews are done in the third floor TV studio in University Tower on the Omaha campus through a satellite hook-up that allows the CNN interviewer to ask questions directly into an ear piece. Rich Watson from UNMC PR mans the camera the interviewee looks into while answering each question.
The whole experience takes less than 30 minutes. CNN then sends the recorded piece out nationwide. This particular segment was viewed in more than 166 markets across the country, ranging from New York City to Midland, Texas to Klamath Falls, Oregon. The total ad value of the piece is calulated at $59,399; the total publicity value to UNMC and the College of Dentistry is calculated at $178,210.
To see it, click here.