Well, I already sent my letter, and it didn't lead to anything.
So maybe I wouldn't be much help. From my experience...
News media, in general, are interested in things that are:
different
new
affects a lot of people or has broad interest
public servant betrayal
Conflict
A show such as 60 Minutes is more interested in the last three, but nightly news would be more interest in the "new" or "different" feature of the topic.
They usually use an anecdote as the lead, a personal account. But that is just the lead to get the viewer interested through their empathy to what the real story is. So in pitching, put the other stuff first before you mention anything about yourself personally. Stories of one person's illness does not have broad interest. There's a lot of sick people with lots of different illnesses. What makes one rise above the other is the other things I mentioned.
I still say the blood supply has the broadest public interest, which then leads to discovery of it, how many affected by illness, then CDC failure.
Or, can start with CDC failure, which then leads to blood supply threat, which leads to virus and discovery that leads to illness.
It is sad to say, but a letter from an organization might get more attention than from independent individuals. Maybe Cort could send a letter from the "Phoenix Rising ME / CFS Information Exchange Center" (or whatever it is called). Describe it as "the largest international patient based information exchange center on the Internet." Seems like it is.
Or one of the other organizations, even small ones, (anything with a letterhead) might work. Of course, a few public demonstrations would work.
They get hundreds or thousands of press releases or news tips. So how can you make yours stand out? Same way you would a newspaper article.
Strong headline (focusing on why news worthy)
Quick summary in first paragraph
You have ten seconds or less to get their attention. So you have to capture them early and not lose them.
But, be very careful that any claim of fact be something provable or reported in a respected news source. You don't want the news reporter to feel tricked. But, you can speculate in questions, such as "Why would the CDC use vials that other researchers know are not effective in detecting pathogens?"
Reporters are curious by nature, you might get them to say, "yeah, I want to find that out. Why is that?"
Just don't take any leaps of ulterior motives. (But feel free to quote someone else who did who is a recognized expert or speaks for an organization.)
Including the front page of the two journals that covered it would send the subtle message that this is big deal in science community, thus worthy of their coverage.
Otherwise, keep it short.
Tina