Media coverage accompanies the “Faces of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome” exhibit as it travels to cities across the United States.

Video: News Coverage of CFS Accompanies Exhibit As It Travels the U.S.

As part of the national CFS public awareness campaign launched in 2006, the CFS photo exhibit called “The Faces of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome” has been traveling around the United States to public venues and medical conferences.

In this one-of-a-kind CFS exhibit, renowned photographer George Lange has captured the strength and courage of eight CFS patients and two health care professionals who are experts on the illness. The portraits are printed on 10 huge banners, each more than seven feet tall. Response from people who’ve seen the exhibit has been overwhelmingly positive, and viewers not only find it educational but incredible moving and poignant.

The photo exhibit has generated news coverage of CFS in the various cities where it appears. In fact, weeks of media contact and coordination go into every appearance of the exhibit as it makes its way around the country.

In 2008 the photo exhibit has traveled to Philadelphia, Portland, Tampa, San Antonio, Phoenix, Baltimore, Tacoma, Oklahoma City and Macon. Here are a few examples of the 2008 news coverage generated in conjunction with the exhibit:

• When the photo exhibit was at 30th Street Station in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, earlier this year, the Association’s board chairman Jennie Spotila was interviewed along with physician Andre Garabedian for CBS3 news. View this video.
• The photo exhibit’s stop in Phoenix, Arizona, in March led to an in-depth six-minute story on CFS in May when Dr. Scott Rigden and CFS patient Allan Youngberg were interviewed on “Horizon,” a talk show on Arizona’s KAET-TV. View this video.
• When the exhibit was in San Antonio, Texas, the San Antonio Express News ran a feature story about CFS on the front page of its Lifestyle section. CFIDS Association president Kim McCleary and CFS patients Terry Westerman and Nitzie Whittam were interviewed for this article, which helped educate readers about the seriousness of the illness. View this story.

You can see hundreds of other news stories generated by the public awareness campaign at www.cfids.org/sparkcfs/media-coverage.asp.

Planning is under way to send the CFS exhibit to more cities in 2009. We’ll keep you posted!

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