Communicating to Advance the Public's Health Workshop Summary (2015) / Chapter Skim
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3 The News Media as a Catalyst for Action
3 The News Media as a Catalyst for Action
Pages 11-22
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From page 11... ...
Most news organizations cannot afford the types of long-term, in-depth projects needed to engage communities on important population health topics. Therefore, The California Endowment Health Journalism Fellowship program at the University of Southern California's Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism provides funding and support to journalists throughout the country for long-term communication initiatives to advance population health.
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make it difficult for traditional news media to engage the public and stimulate action on important population health issues. The mission of The California Endowment Health Journalism Fellowship program is to give journalists the tools they need to overcome these challenges and to foster local efforts to advance population health.
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For example, as part of a project in Boyle Heights, a Latino neighborhood in Los Angeles, Health Journalism fellows are partnering with a Spanish language newspaper to help local youth publish stories and hold community meetings focused on public health issues critical to their communities. Another project brought together reporting teams from different media outlets to publish a series on valley fever, a little-known airborne fungal disease that was having a devastating impact on the Central Valley region of California.
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Another Health Journalism fellow reported on the high rates of asthma in a Colorado community located near a large Superfund site. The project's community engagement coordinator partnered with a local youth media organization to tell the story from the youth perspective.
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She partnered with community organizations to create websites and hold related events, and she developed a statewide network of professionals involved in obesity issues. Long said that the state enacted two laws: Feed to Achieve,1 which expanded the availability of school breakfasts in West Virginia public schools, and Move to Improve,2 which required an extra half-hour of physical activity for all students.
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Using statistics effectively Providing important statistics in plain language increases the impact of media messages, Long said. For example, at the beginning of the project, one in four 11-year-olds in West Virginia had high blood pressure and high cholesterol levels, and 18 percent of kindergartners were obese.
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Linking health issues with economic development Stories linking healthy lifestyles with economic development provided a catalyst for community action in Williamson, West Virginia, Long said. Local leaders -- including the mayor, school superintendent, nutrition director, garden club leader, and farmers' market organizer -- are now working together on initiatives aimed at creating a healthier community.
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PROMOTING COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT ON INFANT MORTALITY AND HOMICIDE IN DETROIT Bouffard reported that her series in the Detroit News was part of a community conversation about infant mortality and homicide that influenced the mayor and other local leaders to engage in efforts to address these issues. Her stories described the experiences of Detroit families affected by the city's economic decline and highlighted local initiatives to improve population health.
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To promote continued community engagement, the Detroit News and the Kellogg Foundation held an event featuring a lunch and a panel discussion by professionals working to address infant mortality. Invited guests included the mayor, the police chief, foundation leaders, neighborhood watch groups, and local residents.
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José Montero of the New Hampshire Division of Public Health Services asked how public officials -- who are obligated to treat all journalists equally -- can most effectively promote coverage of stories of interest to different segments of the community. Moderator Ceci Connolly agreed that public health officials addressing straightforward news issues should disseminate information broadly, to all media outlets in the state.
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Learning about population health concepts helps reporters frame stories appropriately, Bouffard said. In conclusion, Connolly highlighted several key themes from the presentations: Population health professionals should build long-term, ongoing relationships with reporters and treat them with respect.
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