publications

BMSG's issue series

Video: Epigenetics and equity: The health and social impacts of racism and inequality

Friday, May 15, 2015

BMSG co-founder Larry Wallack, who directs public health studies at Portland State University, joins Rachael Banks, manager of Multnomah County’s Healthy Birth initiative, to discuss a new area of science that shows how certain lifetime stresses create inheritable changes in our bodies. The science challenges prior understanding of genetic inheritance and has major implications for public policy that seeks to create equal health outcomes for communities of color.

Video: Communicating to create healthy communities: More than a message

Thursday, April 30, 2015

Speaking at a November 2014 Place Matters Conference in Portland, Oregon, BMSG’s Lori Dorfman discusses how advocates can use media advocacy to help amplify and accelerate community organizing efforts and advance policies that improve health. She explains why message is never first, discusses the limits of counter-marketing, and shares insights on framing.

Politics over science: U.S. newspaper coverage of emergency contraception

Monday, April 27, 2015

In 2013, emergency contraception captured headlines when the FDA made Plan B One-Step available over the counter for women of any age. How did the news media cover this major milestone and the public debate leading up to it? In this paper, we explore how accurate journalists were in their reporting, what arguments for and against emergency contraception appeared in the news, whose voices were missing from coverage, and implications for advocates.

Talking about trauma on Twitter: An overview of hashtags

Monday, April 20, 2015

One of the benefits of using social media is the opportunity to build relationships with individuals and organizations that are working on the same issues. In this study, we explore what hashtags advocates and others are using to discuss childhood trauma on Twitter and identify possible next steps for making the most of the conversation.

Fast-food zoning for health: Lessons from newspaper coverage and legislative debates about land-use policies in U.S. communities, 2001-2013

Thursday, February 12, 2015

Strategic zoning and land-use policies can be used to help foster healthy food environments. But is the health argument enough when making the case for these policies? With our colleagues at Public Health Advocacy Institute and ChangeLab Solutions, BMSG analyzed legislative debates and news depictions of fast-food land-use ordinances to help researchers, policymakers and public health advocates better understand the effectiveness of various arguments for and against zoning.

Fast-food fights: News coverage of local efforts to improve food environments through land-use regulations, 2001-2013

Wednesday, January 21, 2015

Strategic zoning is a type of land-use planning that can be used to improve the environments that contribute to chronic health problems. But before advocates can implement zoning policy, they must first know how to make the case for it. This study analyzes news coverage and legal documentation of efforts to restrict fast-food restaurants to find out how such policies have are debated.

Tobacco industry use of personal responsibility rhetoric in public relations and litigation: Disguising freedom to blame as freedom of choice

Tuesday, January 20, 2015

This study analyzes how the tobacco industry has used “freedom of choice” language and appeals to personal responsibility both in the media and in the courtroom to prevent litigation and blame consumers for the health consequences of using tobacco. Conducted with our colleagues at the Public Health Advocacy Institute, the study also looks at implications for other industries like soda and junk food, which have replicated and refined tobacco industry tactics.

Big Soda’s long shadow: news coverage of local proposals to tax sugar-sweetened beverages in Richmond, El Monte and Telluride

Monday, December 15, 2014

In 2012 and 2013, Richmond and El Monte, CA, and Telluride, CO, became the first communities in the country to vote on citywide sugary drink taxes. In the face of massive spending from the soda industry, all three proposals failed, but the vigorous public debates they inspired provide valuable insights for future policy efforts. BMSG analyzed local and national news coverage of the three proposals to find out what arguments were being made for and against the taxes, whose voices dominated the coverage, and what this means for advocates.

Video: Soda & kids: A predatory relationship and how we can fight back

Tuesday, November 18, 2014

BMSG Director Lori Dorfman shares research on soda industry marketing in this panel, as part of a speaker series leading up to the November 2014 election, which featured soda tax ballot measures in Berkeley and San Francisco. Dorfman discusses how the soda industry has become the number one educator influencing what kids drink and the tactics it uses to target children of color.

Video: Testimony of Pamela Mejia: How the news portrays domestic violence

Wednesday, October 15, 2014

At an October 14, 2014, hearing of the California Assembly Select Committee on Domestic Violence, BMSG Senior Media Researcher Pamela Mejia speaks about the influence of news coverage on the public’s and policymakers’ understanding of domestic violence and how to address it.

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