Parkinson's Awareness Week 2012 - news and media coverage

We worked hard to achieve as much media coverage as we could during Parkinson's Awareness Week 2012 (16-22 April), to raise awareness of the urgent need to find a cure for Parkinson's.

We hope you kept an eye out and spotted coverage in local, regional and national media for mentions of Parkinson's and Parkinson's UK.

We had more than 780 pieces of coverage overall.

And we were highly commended in the PR team of the year category at the Charity Times Awards, for our work during Parkinson's Awareness Week 2012.

Our news updates

• Major research announcement launches Parkinson's Awareness Week - Monday 16 April
• Congratulations to our skydivers, runners and walkers - Tuesday 17 April
• Alun Morgan speaks to the House of Lords about Parkinson's - Tuesday 17 April
• Parkinson's Awareness Week in the news - Tuesday 17 April
• Tracking Parkinson's launched in Northern Ireland today - Friday 20 April
• Good luck to our London Marathon runners this weekend - Friday 20 April
• Congratulations to our 2012 London Marathon runners - Monday 23 April
• Talk Parkinson's blog: Parkinson's Awareness Week 2012 - what a week! - Tuesday 24 April

Media coverage highlights

This is just a selection of the media coverage we achieved.

Leading up to Parkinson's Awareness Week

• The Independent's 'Innovations in medicine' supplement - Wednesday 28 March
• Mature Times - April issue
• My Weekly
• The Daily Record: Two Parkinson's sufferers who were diagnosed in their 40s speak about the disease that affects 10,000 Scots - Tuesday 10 April
• S magazine (Sunday Express) - Sunday 15 April
• You magazine (Mail on Sunday) - Sunday 15 April
• 2-page spread in Prima magazine - May 2012 issue, out in April

During Parkinson's Awareness Week

BBC Breakfast - Parkinson's study: 'There is no definitive test' - Monday 16 April (Dr Kieran Breen, our director of research, with Paul Wilson who has Parkinson's)

The BBC website also features a great video of our research director Dr Kieran Breen explaining how Parkinson's affects the brain, making inventive use of the vintage signal box on the Bluebell Railway between East and West Sussex:

BBC News - Health Explained: What is Parkinson's?

UTV Live News -  Northern Ireland in Parkinson's research world first - Friday 20 April

• Today programme, BBC Radio 4 16 April 2012 - our chief executive Steve Ford and Bob Taylor, who has Parkinson's, were interviewed about Tracking Parkinson's
• BBC Radio 5 Live Breakfast 16 April 2012 - our chief executive Steve Ford was interviewed
• BBC News - Glasgow University leads biggest study into Parkinson's disease
• The Independent - 3,000 sought for Parkinson's study - Monday 16 April
• The Telegraph - Parkinson's: doctors missing early warning signs - Monday 16 April
• The Scottish Sun - I was just 36 when I got Parkinson's bombshell - Monday 16 April
• Mature Times - Parkinson’s UK announces a world first in the charity's bid to find a cure - Monday 16 April
• BootsWebMd website: Tracking Parkinson's - bid to find a cure
• Yours magazine news - Help in the fight against Parkinson's - Tuesday 17 April
• Saga magazine online - Calling people with Parkinson's - Tuesday 17 April
• The Scotsman - Shaking not stirred, Ruth Walker talks to Alex Flynn, diagnosed with Parkinson's at 36 - Tuesday 17 April
• My Weekly magazine - Tuesday 17 April
• Woman's Weekly double page article featuring Rebecca, diagnosed with Parkinson's at 46 - out Wednesday 18 April
• Belfast Telegraph - Parkinson's research study gets under way - Monday 23 April

Parkinson's Awareness Week was also covered on many regional TV stations and between 30 and 40 local radio stations.

And it was in over 50 local newspapers and on their websites.

Thank you

Thank to you to everyone affected by Parkinson's who helped us in the media by sharing their story.

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