For The Media >> Our Services
Overview
The Office of News & Communications represents the Health Science Center at the University of Florida, its six professional colleges and a number of health-related research centers and institutes. The office is also the principal news media and communications support bureau for the UF College of Medicine.
The office creates and distributes news releases and news publications about these institutions, provides support to the news media, assists and promotes internal communication and provides other communication services to clients within and beyond the Health Science Center. Our main phone number is 352-273-5810. Our branch office at the UF Health Science Center regional campus in Jacksonville can be reached at 904-244-5523.
Our national news releases, written in Associated Press style, are distributed through the News Desk at UF’s News Bureau. Their phone number is 352-392-0186.
Patient-care activities of College of Medicine faculty often occur at facilities operated by Shands HealthCare, which has a separate marketing and public relations office. Their phone number is 352-265-0373.
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News Releases
We distribute most of our news releases via e-mail. We keep a database of media contacts to whom we regularly send news releases. If you would like to be included in our database, please fill out this form. This service is provided only to professional members of the news media and freelance writers, so please indicate your occupation and with whom you are affiliated.
We normally do not attach photos to news releases; we place the photo(s) on a news Web page and provide a link to the page in the release. Our news photo Web page can be found here, along with other types of photos in our Image Gallery.
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Source Contacts and News Escorts
We encourage reporters to contact our office when they are interested in locating a source for a story. In most cases, we can save you time by quickly identifying the best source and facilitating contact. For a comprehensive list of our HSC sources, consult our Expert Guide.
Due to heightened concerns about protecting patients’ privacy, broadcast reporters and photographers visiting the medical campus must have an escort from our office or Shands. Please call one of our offices if you plan to visit the campus.
We frequently arrange for patients to participate in interviews and to be photographed. However, patients must agree to the interview/photograph and must sign a formal consent provided by the medical center. Please help us protect our patients’ privacy by not interviewing them or photographing them until we obtain a written consent.
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Patient Condition Checks
Reporters who need to check on the condition of a patient should call Shands Marketing and Public Relations at 352-265-0373. A federal law enacted in April 2003 to protect the privacy of patients limits what can be released. Indeed, patients can request that no information be released.
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HSC Broadcast News Services
We have a team of professional broadcast journalists who support TV and radio news media in their interactions with our faculty both on campus and from afar. B-roll, soundbites and broadcast-style copy are provided to the news media free of charge via UF’s weekly satellite news feed, as well as on-demand via priority mail. Rush and overnight shipping can also be arranged. TV news stories for each successive week are announced on NewsFax, a notice sent to all stations who request to be put on the e-mail and/or fax list. To begin receiving NewsFax, please contact our office at
352-273-5810.
Satellite truck and uplink services can be provided through our campus’s TV satellite feed office in Ben Hill Griffin Stadium. Health Science Center footage and interview subjects can be delivered to the stadium and uplinked for on-demand, high-speed turnaround of important material. Network producers often take advantage of this service. Satellite uplink inquiries should be made through Quinten Eyman at UF News Bureau at 352-392-9092.
The UF Health Science Center News and Communications office also provides evergreen b-roll footage for affiliates in need of certain shots. Contact our office for details.
