(This resource corresponds to Module 4.)

A working definition of media advocacy is "the strategic use of media as a resource for advancing a social or public policy initiative." This contrasts substantially with the traditional mass media approach, which focuses on individual behavior.

As an example, a few years ago community members became alarmed when they heard about this promotion for Bud Lite: Small flashlights inscribed with the Bud Lite logo would be given away to fans 16 years of age or older who attended the upcoming Oakland Athletics baseball game—despite the fact that the legal drinking age in California is 21. Community members decided to challenge Anheuser-Busch for promoting their product to underage youth in this way. Using contacts with the media, they raised public concern about the beer promotion and Anheuser-Busch canceled its planned giveaway.

If you are considering using this communications strategy in your own community, consider these tips:

• Identify the appropriate contact person. By carefully reading local papers and viewing local television and cable stations, you can usually find out which reporters are most likely to be interested in your topic or event. Health section reporters will often cover prevention issues; you may also be able to interest metro or even living/features section reporters in covering a community event. When in doubt, you can contact the section assignment editor, who can forward your information to the appropriate person. The operator at the media outlet may also be able to direct calls to the proper person.
  
  
• Cultivate relationships with reporters. Reporters need information for their stories. Media advocates can serve as an important source by offering expertise, credibility, and timely information. Advocates can also contact a reporter with story ideas that move beyond personal vignettes to include policy solutions. Finally, they can offer feedback about how a story was reported, including important facts that were not included in the story or background material for future stories.¹
  
  Because reporters are almost always pressed for time, one of the best options for making initial contact is a short note, delivered either through regular mail or by e-mail. Explain why your project/event/issue is relevant to the paper’s readers, and suggest some potential story ideas. You might also suggest some experts on the issue who could be interviewed in conjunction with the piece. Reporters will be more likely to listen to you if they believe you are pitching a good story rather than trying to get some publicity for your organization. By developing a working relationship with two or three members of the media, you stand a greater chance of getting your ideas heard.
  
  
• Present information clearly and succinctly. Some media personnel prefer to receive a brief outline of your information, story idea, or media release via fax, with a phone call to follow up; others dislike the follow-up calls. It is best to ask each individual how he or she prefers to receive information.



• Help the media "tell the story right." A media advocate will try to influence how the media reports an event or issue and where reporters focus their attention.² Often, the media report health-related stories by focusing on personal tales that engage readers and viewers but ignore the broader community and social contexts. The personal story may, at first glance, be more compelling, but by itself does not usually lead to solutions. For example, in covering a drunk driving incident, the media may profile the person who committed the crime without looking at the State’s lax approach to enforcing drunk driving laws. The media advocate’s job is to get the media to cover the "back story" as well. Practitioners can directly influence which stories are covered by writing letters to the editor or "op-ed" pieces, planning media events with good visual images for television, and speaking on radio talk shows.³
  
  
• Look for opportunities to create news. Advocates look for opportunities to create news on public health issues that the media will find worthy of reporting. Public health stories are often newsworthy because they concern large numbers of people, touch on broad community issues, and frequently involve conflict, controversy, or injustice.⁴ Good times to promote these stories are during a news-breaking event (such as an alcohol-related automobile crash), when new projects are announced, when new laws are passed, or when the anniversary of a major event is approaching.⁵



• Use paid advertising. By paying for coverage, media advocates can present a message exactly the way they want, at the exact time they want, and to a desired target audience. This can be more costly than other methods, but it has obvious advantages—and not all paid ads are prohibitively expensive. Radio ads, for example, can be fairly inexpensive and can be used to reach large numbers of people during commuting hours. Anti-smoking ads on teen music stations are part of many State and local community strategies.⁶



• Evaluate the impact. As with public education and social marketing, it is important to conduct a process and outcome evaluation of your media advocacy efforts. This feedback is important in determining whether your efforts had an impact, whether your results were worth the effort, and what effective strategies for future advocacy efforts might be.⁷ Three questions should frame your evaluation: Did you gain the type of media coverage you were seeking? Did your story appear in the outlets most appropriate for reaching your target audience? Were you able to have the story told the way that you hoped?

Media advocacy is often used to advance a new policy through the legislative process. An evaluation can look at whether a policy was successfully implemented or not. Finally, in the long term, it is also useful to examine whether your organization has become a source for key reporters in your community.⁸

1. Wallack, L. and Dorfman, L. (1996). Media advocacy: A strategy for advancing policy and promoting health. Health Education Quarterly, 23(3), 293–317.
   
   
2. Wallack, L., Dorfman, L., Jernigan, D., and Themba, M. (1993). Media advocacy and public health: Power for prevention. Newbury Park, CA: age Publications.
   
   
3. Wilbur, P. M. and Stewart, K. (2000). Strategic media advocacy for enforcement of underage drinking laws. Washington, DC: Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation, Office for Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, U.S. Department of Justice.



4. Community Toolbox. Available online at http://ctb.ku.edu/tools/en/chapter_1034.htm.
   
   
5. Richardson, H. (1994). Raising more voices than mugs: Changing the college alcohol environment through media advocacy. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Education, Center for Substance Abuse Prevention, and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
   
   
6. Wallack, L., Dorfman, L., Jernigan, D., and Themba, M. (1993). Media advocacy and public health: Power for prevention. Newbury Park, CA: age Publications.
   
   
7. Wallack, L., Dorfman, L., Jernigan, D., and Themba, M. (1993). Media advocacy and public health: Power for prevention. Newbury Park, CA: age Publications.
   
   
8. Wallack, L., Dorfman, L., Jernigan, D., and Themba, M. (1993). Media advocacy and public health: Power for prevention. Newbury Park, CA: age Publications.