by Lauren Himiak, Steph Herold | BUST
Tuesday, January 31, 2017
A new study from the Berkeley Media Studies Group and Sea Change Program shows how abortion stigma manifests in news coverage and outlines recommendations to help journalists and advocates change how this safe, common part of reproductive health care is portrayed.
by Alex Orlov | Mic
Wednesday, January 18, 2017
Following widely criticized coverage from The New York Times on SNAP recipients' soda purchases, BMSG Senior Media Researcher Pamela Mejia points to a missing piece of the conversation: the food and beverage industry's aggressive marketing of sugary drinks and other unhealthy products to low-income communities.
by Winston Cho | East Bay Express
Friday, September 23, 2016
One of the fronts where the soda war is being fought is Oakland, where companies have already spent $747,268 to oppose measure HH, a penny-per-ounce soda excise tax that will fund health education programs. BMSG's Laura Nixon notes that the soda industry is also creating misleading advertisements and explains that Big Soda tailors its strategy and counter-arguments to each community that proposes a tax.
by Lori Dorfman | San Francisco Chronicle
Tuesday, September 06, 2016
BMSG Director Lori Dorfman expands the conversation on gun violence in this letter to the editor for the San Francisco Chronicle. She writes, “Regarding ‘Funding for gun research’ (Editorial, Sept. 3): California has done what Congress is afraid to do: study gun violence. So simple, right? But in your editorial about this terrific news, why did you exclude suicides when you recounted the toll from gun violence? Most gun deaths in the U.S. are from suicides. With Dr. Garen Wintemute leading our new UC Firearm Violence Research Center, facts like that — and what we can do about them — can finally get the attention they deserve.”
by Alex Orlov | Mic.com
Tuesday, June 28, 2016
Mic.com's Alex Orlov uses Olympian Simone Biles' Hershey's commercial to shed light on food companies' unfortunate practice of using star athletes to promote bad nutrition. These endorsements are especially problematic for young children, who develop, as BMSG Media Researcher Laura Nixon explains, positive associations with the brand. The ad, Orlov concludes, "definitely doesn't stick the landing when it comes to helping America stay healthy."
Hungry Forever
Monday, June 13, 2016
Celebrity spokespeople are attractive to food and beverage companies because they help draw young consumers. As BMSG’s Andrew Cheyne explained to TIME in 2013, “We can’t expect kids to turn off that admiration [for their favorite celebrities] when the same person is selling sugar.”
by Alex Orlov | Mic
Tuesday, June 07, 2016
According to a recent NYU study, over two-thirds of non-alcoholic beverages promoted by celebrities contain added sugar. By associating unhealthy products with the celebrities most popular among children and teens, endorsements of sugar sweetened beverages are contributing to the childhood epidemic of obesity, explains BMSG's Laura Nixon. Nearly 13 million children and teens in the U.S. are obese, placing them at elevated risk for diabetes and other nutrition-related diseases.
by Jake Blumgart | Philly Voice
Friday, May 20, 2016
Berkeley, California's 2014 victory against the soda industry could provide insights for other cities looking to tax soda. Among them, says BMSG's Lori Dorfman, is that community organizing must play a strong role. Also, kids' health should be "the first concern."
by Marion Nestle | Food Politics
Monday, May 09, 2016
After Berkeley Media Studies Group creates a new health-focused, satirical take on Coca-Cola's "Share a Coke and a Song" campaign, Marion Nestle asks if the company's campaign will survive.
Salud America!
Wednesday, May 04, 2016
Shortly after the launch of Coca-Cola's "Share a Coke and a Song" campaign, which features hit songs to promote the product, Berkeley Media Studies Group and other health organizations have taken to Twitter to spread the truth about soda consumption. The groups are posting images of Coke bottles bearing song titles like "Killing Me Softly" and are asking advocates to amplify the message using the hashtag #ShareACoke.
