May 25, 2007

Live from the MGH Studio

With the push of a button, the knowledge and expertise of MGH staff now can be shared with news outlets around the world through the hospital's new ReadyCam™ Studio. Located in the MGH Public Affairs Office at 50 Staniford St., Suite 830, the studio enables the hospital to transmit video and audio interviews from MGH experts via satellite to TV stations around the globe.

From left, Boddie, Emily Parker,
media relations officer, and Nathan
at the grand opening of the studio

The ReadyCam™ Studio is controlled remotely by broadcast professionals at an outside company. Interviewees only need to clip on a microphone and earpiece before being linked directly to the specific broadcast outlet conducting the interview. In addition to live video and audio broadcasts, the studio can be used for webcasts, pre-taped interviews and multiple interviews with several TV stations in one sitting. On May 22, the studio hosted its inaugural interview with the national cable news station CNBC and David Nathan, MD, director of the MGH Diabetes Center. Nathan shared his expertise on a breaking news story about a commonly used diabetes drug.

The MGH studio offers many benefits to the MGH, including increased responsiveness to breaking news events and greater worldwide media coverage for both individual interviewees and the hospital as a whole. Says Donita Boddie, assistant director of Public Affairs, "Our new broadcast studio allows the MGH greater opportunities for national media exposure by making our experts accessible in today's increasingly deadline-driven media environment."

For more information about the studio, call the Public Affairs Office at (617) 726-2206.