Media Advocacy & Public Health

How we think about health problems and what we do about them is largely determined by how they are reported on television radio and in the newspapers. Often crucial issues of public health policy are debated and decided on only after they are made visible by the media. The concept of media advocacy as a central strategy for the prevention of public health problems is discussed in this book. Traditional communication strategies like social marketing focus on giving people a message; media advocacy gives people a voice. The book lays out the theoretical framework and practical guidelines to successful media advocacy strategies and includes case studies on such vital issues as AIDS and alcohol abuse.