Contact: George Giokas
631-582-9000, X109
george@staffwriters.com
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Former Reuters Health CEO Named President of HealthDay
NORWALK, CT., June 23, 2003 --Dan McKillen, the former chief executive officer of Reuters Health, has been named president of HealthDay, an international consumer health news service.
McKillen will oversee the sales, marketing and business strategy operations for HealthDay, which recently changed its name from HealthScoutNews. HealthDay syndicates its news to hundreds of media outlets, hospitals, HMO and government Internet sites, health content distributors and major Web portals. McKillen has more than 20 years of medical, publishing and Internet experience and brings with him a vast knowledge of the health and medical communities' needs for useful news and information. "I doubt there is anyone who knows much more about the need for health news and information than Dan McKillen," said Barry Hoffman, HealthDay's CEO and editor-in-chief. "He will help HealthDay solidify its position as the best - and maybe soon, the largest - daily health news service available." McKillen joined Reuters in 1998, heading the health division's sales team and became its CEO at the beginning of 2000. Before that, he was senior vice president of sales at the Lifetime Medical TV Network and also served in the same capacity at Physicians Online, an Internet access portal for doctors. He also held a senior sales position at MedScape, a health and medical content company. He began his career as an analyst with the A.C. Nielsen Company. McKillen has a bachelor of science degree from C.W. Post University. "Dan has impeccable credentials and a highly-respected reputation in the health news industry," said George Giokas, chairman of HealthDay's parent company ScoutNews, LLC. "We're confident he will significantly contribute to the rapid growth of our news service." McKillen predicted a larger role for HealthDay in the health news and information arena. "HealthDay's greatest strength is that its reporters and editors are attuned to the very latest developments in research and treatment of those diseases and conditions that affect us in our everyday lives," he said. "For example, people want to know about advances in diagnoses and treatment to help them manage diseases like diabetes and heart disease. That's what HealthDay does best."About HealthDay
HealthDay's reporters and editors produce 15-20 articles a day. The New York Times is HealthDay's print syndicator, with more than 40 newspapers using HealthDay stories. The Associated Press is HealthDay's digital partner. HealthDay stories are available daily in Spanish and Japan's Nikkei service carries HealthDay stories translated into Japanese. Other HealthDay products include 13 weekly health-specific newsletters, monthly special reports and an active 12-month archive of more than 4,500 medical/health articles. Clients include Yahoo!, USA Today.com, the Gannett News Service, COXNet (the online sites for Cox Enterprises), Forbes.com, HealthSouth, Consumer Health Interactive, Health Ink and Vitality, Healthfinder (the U.S. government's most widely-used health information search engine), and Health AtoZ. HealthDay's parent company, ScoutNews, LLC is a privately held information firm, headquartered in Norwalk, Conn.