by: Heather Gehlert and Katherine Schaff
posted on Wednesday, December 08, 2021
In this blog, we go behind the scenes to explore strategic communication insights from a housing justice coalition’s recent policy wins and challenges, as well as implications for future campaigns. Advocates share lessons on rapid-response data collection, tailoring frames to different audiences, building a diverse group of spokespeople, and more.
Tags: coalition building, health equity, housing justice, media advocacy, narrative power, strategic communication
by: Heather Gehlert
posted on Thursday, November 18, 2021
New media analysis research from Berkeley Media Studies Group, conducted for Voices for Healthy Kids, an initiative of the American Heart Association, reveals strategic communication lessons for advocates looking to implement taxes on sugary drinks.
by: Heather Gehlert
posted on Friday, September 17, 2021
As gun violence rises and journalists pledge to cover the issue more effectively, BMSG researchers wanted to know how news about gun violence and firearm suicide has changed in recent years. Has the volume of coverage in California outlets increased or decreased? What types of violence receive the most attention? Is prevention present? A forthcoming BMSG news analysis, conducted in collaboration with our partners at the Hope and Heal Fund, will answer these and other questions about gun violence in the news. To learn more and to hear directly from our researchers, register for this Oct. 7 webinar.
Tags: community violence, domestic violence, firearm suicide, gun violence, news analysis, public health, violence prevention
by: Heather Gehlert and Shaddai Martinez Cuestas
posted on Thursday, June 24, 2021
When presented strategically, data can help tell an important story about childhood trauma. Here are a few tips for presenting numbers in ways that advance efforts to reduce adversity, promote resilience, and improve health outcomes.
Tags: ACEs, adverse childhood experiences, childhood trauma, data, PACEs, strategic communication
by: Lori Dorfman and Lucy Martinez Sullivan and Saru Jayaraman
posted on Monday, May 17, 2021
The National Restaurant Association makes taxpayers eat the cost of not paying a living wage. And even some of its largest members are disavowing its stance on raising the minimum wage.
Tags: fight for 15, food industry, minimum wage, national restaurant association, other NRA
by: Heather Gehlert
posted on Tuesday, April 27, 2021
Sharing messages and conducting outreach on social media may be an important way to advance equity, as doing so allows advocates to bypass traditional gatekeepers and elevate voices of color in a historically white, male-dominated industry. But how effective is this approach? A new study about tweetchats, published last month in the Journal of Medical Internet Research, offers insights into how effective these social events have been in making health inequities among Latinx populations more visible and moving people to act.
Tags: health equity, media advocacy, tweetchats
by: Lori Dorfman
posted on Thursday, March 04, 2021
Headlines about misinformation and vaccine hesitancy may be overshadowing the bigger problem of structural barriers and a fractured health care system, which are major reasons why many communities of color have not received their share of vaccines. BMSG’s Lori Dorfman reflects on this and other lessons following a recent national forum on the COVID vaccine.
Tags: covid, COVID-19, misinformation, public health, vaccination, vaccine
by: Pamela Mejia
posted on Friday, January 08, 2021
Media coverage from the recent attack on our democracy reveals steps journalists can take — and, indeed, are already taking — to report the news as clearly and accurately as possible, expose the roots of white supremacy, and hold power to account.
by: Heather Gehlert
posted on Friday, December 11, 2020
With so much at stake this year, advocates and organizers have been working tirelessly to sharpen their communication skills and make the case for solutions that advance equity, justice, and health. Those skills have shone through the many op-eds, letters to the editor, and other forms of media advocacy we have been tracking throughout the year. As we compiled our annual Top 10 list, these media bites stood out to us for their clarity, creativity, and overall impact.
Tags: media bites
by: Heather Gehlert and Katherine Schaff
posted on Monday, October 26, 2020
The years of organizing that build the foundation for visible moments of social change are often hidden from view. In this blog, we go behind the scenes to learn how Bay Area organizers used the tools of media advocacy to further efforts to prevent police violence and invest in community health.
