by: Fernando Quintero
posted on Thursday, September 13, 2012
In the fight for public health and social change, advocacy groups must often work for decades before seeing real change. But, as a recent victory for environmental health advocates shows, the struggle is well worth it. And media advocacy can play an important role in getting there.
Tags: advocacy, beauty products, Campaign for Safe Cosmetics, cosmetics, environmental health, Johnson & Johnson, product safety, public health, seat belt laws, social change, tobacco
by: Fernando Quintero
posted on Monday, August 20, 2012
The National Association of Hispanic Journalists is one of several prominent Latino organizations that has recently accepted large sums of money from PepsiCo. In doing so, such groups gain much-needed funds for scholarships and internships but may risk losing something even bigger.
Tags: corporate social responsibility, PepsiCo, public health, soda, sports drinks, sugary drinks, target marketing, tobacco
by: Heather Gehlert
posted on Monday, August 13, 2012
Language matters. It affects not only how people view an issue but also how they act on it. When it comes to discussing food policy, a couple of language pitfalls may be thwarting advocates’ efforts at change.
Tags: food, framing, language, obesity, public health, regulation
by: Laura Nixon
posted on Tuesday, July 24, 2012
In the wake of last week’s shooting in Aurora, Colo., the news media have been filled with journalists, elected officials, and others bemoaning the rampage as “senseless” and “evil.” But calling it evil does nothing to open up a discussion of how to keep it from happening again.
Tags: Aurora, Colorado, gun control, mental health, public health, violence prevention
by: Fernando Quintero
posted on Tuesday, June 26, 2012
It’s our government’s duty to protect us from health hazards. Yet a dominant “government intrusion” frame is making efforts to do so difficult. It’s time for public health leaders to vigorously defend government’s role in improving health.
Tags: Bloomberg, government intrusion, nanny state, public health, soda
by: Heather Gehlert
posted on Monday, June 11, 2012
Critics of public health measures often use the phrase “nanny state” to evoke fears about the U.S. government exerting too much control over people’s lives. But what’s really behind the words? And what do public health advocates lose when they repeat it?
Tags: Bloomberg, framing, gender, language, nanny state, public health, sexism, soda
by: Andrew Cheyne
posted on Monday, June 04, 2012
Public health advocates have crafted a proposal that would tax cigarettes to help prevent young people from smoking and risking premature death from cancer and other diseases. Unfortunately, Big Tobacco is up to its usual tricks, and its smear campaign may derail the measure.
Tags: california, cancer research, Proposition 29, public health, tobacco control, tobacco industry, tobacco tax
by: Fernando Quintero
posted on Thursday, May 24, 2012
Public health advocates and the news media have long pointed to the need for a suicide barrier on the Golden Gate Bridge to prevent unnecessary deaths. Now, as we approach the bridge’s 75th anniversary, it still lacks one. What will it take to change that?
Tags: Golden Gate Bridge, public health, suicide barrier, suicide prevention, violence prevention
by: Heather Gehlert
posted on Monday, May 14, 2012
Obesity is a symptom of a much bigger problem. Yet many of the groups working to improve health equity have placed responsibility for the country’s growing waistlines and related health issues squarely on the shoulders of individuals. And the food industry is reaping the benefits.
Tags: chronic disease, obesity, public health, weight of the nation
by: Priscilla Gonzalez
posted on Friday, April 20, 2012
Everyone needs easy access to healthy, affordable food. Yet this basic point is getting lost in recent media coverage of new research that questions the existence of food deserts and their potential relationship to obesity.
Tags: built environment, food access, food deserts, food swamps, obesity, public health
