Section 1. Working with the Media

 

Organizations and community groups use television, radio, newspapers, digital news, podcasts, and social media to explain issues, share community perspectives, and build support for change. Effective media advocacy depends on accurate information, clear goals, respectful relationships, and meaningful participation by the people affected by an issue. This section introduces ways to work with the media as part of a broader advocacy effort.

What are the media and media advocacy?

Media, the plural of "medium," are channels used to communicate information. They include television, radio, newspapers, magazines, websites, newsletters, podcasts, social media, and other digital platforms. Information may come from journalists, community members, organizations, businesses, public agencies, or other sources. Different channels reach different audiences and offer different opportunities for reporting, discussion, and participation.

Advocacy means supporting a cause, a policy change, or the rights and priorities of a group of people. Advocates may work with public agencies, elected officials, businesses, institutions, and community members to improve policies, funding, services, or everyday practices. For example, families and children with disabilities might work together to advocate for accessible, affordable health services in their community.

Media advocacy is the strategic use of media to build understanding and support for changes that advance community goals. It connects public communication with efforts to improve policies, practices, and conditions. For example, suppose your organization works with young people and neighborhood groups to prevent violence, including violence associated with gangs. Your media advocacy might aim to:

• Change how the issue is understood. Explain how violence affects the community, the conditions that contribute to it, and the strengths and relationships that support safety. Include young people's perspectives without assuming that all young people in a neighborhood are involved in gangs.
• Create opportunities for accurate, sustained coverage of the issue and possible solutions. Stories might examine prevention efforts, community leadership, access to opportunities, and lessons from local programs. People with relevant lived experience should be able to choose whether and how they participate, with attention to privacy and safety.
• Motivate community members and policy makers to take action. You might seek investment in youth programs, improved access to services, changes in organizational practices, or public participation in a community safety plan. Make the requested action clear and explain how it connects to the broader goal.

Media advocates help connect community knowledge, evidence, and proposed solutions with the audiences who can support change. Reaching a large audience can be useful, but reaching the right people with a credible, relevant message is often more important than the amount of publicity received.

As a media advocate, you can use the media to:

• Inform the public about conditions that contribute to community health and well-being, including housing, education, employment, safety, discrimination, and access to services. Explain community strengths and practical opportunities for improvement.
• Reframe issues such as violence and substance-related harms as concerns shaped by community conditions, policies, and access to support. Avoid portraying people as the problem or suggesting that individual choices alone explain complex circumstances. Show how prevention, treatment, supportive relationships, and broader changes can contribute to solutions.
• Encourage community members, professionals, organizations, and decision makers to learn more, contribute their knowledge, and participate in community-led action.

Media advocacy also requires attention to safety. Journalists and sources can face censorship, surveillance, harassment, detention, or violence. Risks vary across countries and communities and may come from public authorities or other powerful actors. The Committee to Protect Journalists documents threats to journalists and provides safety resources.

Before a sensitive campaign, assess risks to community members, staff, and journalists. Consider whether identifying a person, location, or relationship could expose someone to retaliation. Discuss safer ways to communicate and seek relevant local expertise when needed.

Participation should be voluntary and informed. No one should be pressured to accept danger for a campaign. People should understand the possible consequences of publicity and have alternatives to appearing publicly.

Plan for physical, digital, and psychological safety, including how to respond if threats emerge. Reassess the plan as conditions change, and be prepared to postpone or change an activity when risks cannot be adequately addressed.

Why should you engage in media advocacy?

Media coverage can help people understand community issues, consider possible solutions, and learn how to participate. However, journalists may have limited time or specialized knowledge about your issue. Provide clear explanations, reliable sources, and relevant community perspectives. Avoid assuming that a reporter already understands the terminology, history, or local context.

Journalists also seek independent evidence and perspectives that may differ from your own. Their role is to report, question, and verify information, not to promote your organization. Respond honestly, meet agreed deadlines, and respect editorial independence. A good working relationship supports communication but does not guarantee favorable coverage.

Working with a range of outlets can help you reach different audiences. Local news, community and ethnic media, radio, podcasts, and digital platforms may each offer useful opportunities. People affected by an issue can share their own knowledge and priorities, rather than having others speak for them.

Some specific reasons for media advocacy are:

• To inform the media - and through them the public - about the social, economic, environmental, and policy conditions that influence health and community well-being.
• To use media attention to build public support and accountability for policies and practices that improve community conditions.
• To encourage meaningful coverage that includes community members' experiences, knowledge, and proposed solutions in their own words.
• To support community leadership by expanding access to media participation for people whose perspectives are often underrepresented. Communities already have knowledge and leadership; media access can help their priorities receive greater attention.
• To encourage participation by showing how people can contribute to practical, community-led solutions.

When should you focus on the media?

Focus on media advocacy when it supports a clear goal and your group is prepared to respond to questions, public attention, and possible criticism. Before seeking coverage, confirm that your information is accurate, participating community members understand what publicity may involve, and someone can manage follow-up.

Good times to focus extra energy on the media include:

• When announcing a new project. For example, a youth-led initiative to prevent tobacco and nicotine use could explain its goals, introduce participating partners, and invite community involvement.
• When you have information connected to community news. If local reporting raises concerns about neighborhood safety, offer verified information about relevant conditions, community priorities, and prevention efforts. Avoid reinforcing stereotypes about particular neighborhoods or groups.
• When public understanding could influence an important decision. Timely coverage can help people compare proposals, understand their likely effects, and participate before a decision is made.
• When an urgent issue is receiving little attention. For example, older adults may be experiencing food insecurity or unsafe indoor temperatures. Reporting can make unmet needs visible and explain what services, investments, or policy changes could help.
• When a proposed law or regulation creates an opportunity for public discussion and action.
• When the community has achieved something important. Share the results, recognize collective contributions, explain what was learned, and identify any work still needed.

What does media advocacy involve?

There are two ways to answer this question: by considering how you work with the media and by examining what you hope to accomplish through that work.

Working with the media

Establish professional relationships

An important first step is to establish personal contact with journalists, editors, producers, or other relevant staff at the outlets you hope to reach. Learn what they cover, whom their outlet serves, and how they prefer to receive story ideas. Keep contact information current and avoid relying on a single relationship.

A productive working relationship rests on mutual respect, clear expectations, and reliable communication. It does not require friendship or agreement on every issue. Be comfortable explaining when a request would be inappropriate for your organization or participating community members, and respect a journalist's decision to decline a story.

Be a useful and reliable source

Help journalists do their work by providing relevant information, responding clearly, and respecting the limits of what you can responsibly share. Useful practices include:

• Respond promptly. Ask about the reporter's deadline and explain when you can provide an answer. Identify a backup contact so one person is not expected to be available at all times.
• Be transparent. Share relevant information and explain its context, while protecting confidential records and personal information. Ask permission before sharing someone's story or contact details.
• Be trustworthy. Tell the truth and distinguish what you know from what you have not confirmed. If you cannot answer a question, explain the limitation when possible rather than providing a misleading response.
• Be accurate. Check facts before making a statement. When using statistics, identify the source, date, population, and any important limitations. If you do not know an answer, say so and follow up when you have verified it. Correct mistakes promptly.
• Suggest relevant stories. These might include new findings, community-led solutions, policy decisions, program results, or local events. Explain why the story matters to the outlet's audience and offer credible sources who are willing to participate.

News outlets operate under different business and funding models, including advertising, subscriptions, donations, public funding, and combinations of these. They also work within limits on staff, time, and space. Understanding an outlet's audience and reporting priorities can help you make a relevant pitch.

A useful story idea explains its public significance, offers reliable evidence, and identifies people who can speak from relevant knowledge or experience. Avoid sensationalism or presenting people mainly through hardship to attract attention. Audience interest and responsible reporting can be supported by showing both the problem and credible responses.

Ask for what you want, within reason

Be specific about the story or issue you hope an outlet will examine. Explain why it matters now, provide background information, and suggest available sources. Journalists decide whether and how to cover a story. Your role is to offer useful information and access, not to direct their conclusions or expect favorable treatment.

You can also propose opinion pieces, submit letters to the editor, or offer interviews about a community concern. For example, residents might explain how housing and energy costs affect their households and what changes they support. Follow the outlet's submission guidelines, be transparent about affiliations, and respect each participant's choice about sharing personal experiences.

Some outlets may express editorial support for an issue or participate in a clearly identified community initiative. Keep those activities distinct from independent news reporting. Discuss concerns about language, images, or proposed activities, especially when they could misrepresent community members or reduce their experiences to stereotypes. You can offer context and request factual corrections without expecting control over editorial decisions.

If a request is declined, ask whether another angle, timing, or format would be useful. Respect the answer. If an outlet repeatedly overlooks an issue, consider other outlets and direct communication channels while continuing to offer relevant, well-supported information.

Be respectful and maintain clear boundaries

Communicate professionally, listen carefully, and address disagreements directly. Respectful communication can help maintain a working relationship, but it does not make you responsible for another person's harmful behavior. You do not need to accept harassment, discrimination, threats, or pressure to disclose private information.

A brief or delayed response may reflect a deadline, workload, or personal circumstances. Clarify what is needed and agree on a practical next step rather than assuming bad intent.

If someone behaves inappropriately, state your boundaries and consider ending the conversation, documenting the concern, or contacting an editor or supervisor. Supporting staff and community members takes priority over preserving any single media relationship.

Goals for working with the media

Agenda setting

Agenda setting involves helping an issue receive attention in news coverage, public discussion, and policy decisions. The aim is to make community priorities and possible responses visible to people who can help address them.

To help set an agenda:

• Explain the issue, why it matters, and what affected community members identify as priorities.
• Connect the issue to community conditions, shared concerns, and practical opportunities for improvement.

This process may involve several stages. If an issue receives little coverage, begin by explaining its significance and offering credible local information. If it is already widely discussed, identify what is missing from the conversation, such as community perspectives, structural causes, or evidence about possible solutions.

Media attention alone does not ensure understanding or action. Listen to how people respond, address questions, and connect coverage with opportunities to participate. Be willing to revise your approach if the message is unclear or leaves out important perspectives.

• Connect attention to a clear next step, such as attending a public meeting, contributing to a community plan, contacting decision makers, or supporting a specific policy change.

Coverage can help make public concerns and institutional decisions more visible. Combined with organizing, research, and direct engagement, it can encourage governments, businesses, and other institutions to respond. Explain who has responsibility for the proposed change and how community members can hold them accountable.

Agenda setting can help you make connections with the media and their audiences. It also creates opportunities to improve how the issue is discussed.

Shaping the debate

Shaping the debate means helping people examine an issue with enough context to understand its causes, consequences, and possible solutions. Clear messages are useful, but they should not reduce complex concerns to individual responsibility or a single simple answer.

For example, coverage of substance use that focuses only on personal choices can overlook access to treatment, housing, supportive relationships, and other conditions. Coverage of poverty can similarly overlook wages, costs, discrimination, and policy decisions. Offer accurate language, relevant evidence, and community perspectives that explain these connections without defining people by the challenges they face.

You cannot control independent coverage, but you can contribute reliable information, challenge inaccurate assumptions, and help journalists connect with knowledgeable community members. The goal is a more useful public discussion that supports informed action.

Advancing a policy

Media advocacy can help explain a proposed policy, show whom it would affect, and build support for action. Identify the decision makers involved, the change you are requesting, the reasons for it, and how progress will be assessed.

This process can take time. Decision makers and community members may need background information, opportunities to ask questions, and a clear explanation of the options. Media coverage works best as part of a broader effort that includes relationships, community organizing, and direct participation.

Connect communication with opportunities for people to act, such as contacting officials, participating in public meetings, submitting comments, joining demonstrations, or contributing to petitions. After a policy changes, continue to examine implementation, resources, and effects on the community. Share both progress and concerns so the policy can be improved when necessary.

Getting attention

Common ways to reach the public include:

• News media - including television, radio, newspapers, digital newsrooms, and community outlets - can investigate issues and reach audiences beyond your existing contacts. Independent news coverage is different from paid promotion: you can suggest a story, but the outlet decides whether to cover it and what to report. Consider the outlet's relevance, reporting quality, and audience rather than assuming that every form of coverage will have the same reach or credibility.
• Public service announcements, or PSAs, communicate information intended to benefit the public. Some outlets offer donated placement, but acceptance, scheduling, format, and eligibility depend on the outlet. Confirm its policies and production requirements. Keep the message clear, accessible, and focused on a practical action, and do not rely on unconfirmed placement for an urgent deadline.
• Press releases are concise announcements that explain news from your organization or coalition. Include the main facts, why the news matters, a contact person, and links to useful supporting information. You control the release you distribute, but outlets may use only part of it, investigate further, or decide not to cover it.
• Press conferences bring journalists together for an announcement and questions. They may be held in person, online, or in a hybrid format. Use them when there is a clear reason for a shared event, and prepare accessible materials, knowledgeable speakers, and time for questions. Attendance and coverage are not guaranteed, so consider whether a written announcement or individual interviews would better serve the purpose.
• Paid advertisements allow you to purchase space or time in selected channels. They provide more control over wording, presentation, and placement than independent news coverage, subject to the outlet's policies. Costs and effectiveness vary. Set a budget, identify the audience and intended action, and assess whether the likely benefit justifies the resources. Make paid promotion clearly identifiable.

Your own website, email newsletter, social media accounts, podcasts, and community meetings can complement these approaches. These channels let you publish directly and respond to questions, although they still require staff time, accessible content, and attention to privacy. Choose a combination based on your goal, the people you want to reach, and how those people prefer to receive information.

How do you set up a media campaign?

A media advocacy campaign needs a clear purpose, a practical plan, and people prepared to carry it out. Begin with the change your community seeks, then decide how communication can support it. Agree on responsibilities, resources, timing, and ways to assess progress before launching major activities.

Prepare your organization

Designate a media coordinator or coordinating group to organize the strategy, handle inquiries, and maintain contact with outlets. Establish a review process for official statements so information is accurate, responsibilities are clear, and personal information is protected. The process should support timely communication and meaningful community participation.

Identify and prepare appropriate spokespersons. These may include staff, community leaders, young people, or others with relevant experience who choose to participate. Provide background information, practice opportunities, interpretation or accessibility support when needed, and clear guidance about questions outside their knowledge or role. Arrange backup coverage and reasonable availability rather than expecting one person to respond at all times.

Errors or misunderstandings can occur in reporting. If you identify a factual problem, contact the reporter or editor promptly, explain the specific issue, and provide supporting information. Distinguish a factual error from a difference in interpretation or an editorial choice you dislike. Keep correction requests clear and professional.

Assume an interview is on the record unless different terms have been explicitly agreed to in advance. "Off the record" and "on background" are recognized arrangements, but their meanings and use should be clarified with the journalist before sharing information. You cannot assume that a comment becomes confidential simply because you request it afterward. Avoid sharing sensitive information when you do not understand or accept the agreed conditions.

Make sure staff and participating members understand the campaign's goals, key messages, and contact procedures. People approached unexpectedly should know how to refer an inquiry, verify information, or explain that they are speaking from personal experience rather than on behalf of the organization.

Identify your objectives

Ask what you want the campaign to accomplish. Are you seeking greater understanding, participation in a decision, changes in policy, investment in services, or accountability for an institutional practice? Identify a specific action and the people who can take it. Decide how you will assess progress, using measures such as relevant audience engagement, participation, decision-maker responses, or policy outcomes rather than publicity alone.

Identify the audiences you need to reach

A community includes people with different experiences, concerns, languages, and communication preferences. Identify whom you need to reach and why. Your audiences might include people directly affected by an issue, potential partners, decision makers, or people unfamiliar with the concern. Develop messages with community input and check whether they are understandable, relevant, and respectful. Avoid assuming that everyone in a demographic group will respond in the same way.

For example, an adult literacy program might develop different messages for prospective learners and volunteers. Information for learners could explain available classes, scheduling, costs, accessibility, and the goals participants can pursue. Volunteer outreach could describe roles, training, and the contributions volunteers can make. Learners who choose to share their experiences can help shape both messages, without being portrayed as lacking ability or having failed.

Make a plan

Decide when the campaign will begin, which outlets and community channels you will use, who will communicate, and what materials are needed. Your options may include television, radio, print and digital news, newsletters, podcasts, websites, social media, videos, and public events. Plan for accessible formats, captions, image descriptions, translation or interpretation where needed, and ways to reach people with limited internet access. Include a budget, review procedures, follow-up responsibilities, and a schedule for assessing results.

Be flexible

Be prepared to adjust your activities as circumstances change. A news event may create an opportunity, while a change in community priorities, resources, or safety concerns may call for a different approach. Review whether your message remains accurate and useful, whether you are reaching the intended audiences, and whether a different channel or timeframe would work better. Revisit major changes with the people who helped shape the campaign.

Listen to the community

Use conversations, community meetings, surveys, feedback, and media monitoring to understand what people know and what questions remain. Pay attention to whose perspectives are missing and whether coverage reinforces stereotypes or misinformation. Online reactions alone may not represent the wider community. Use what you learn to clarify messages, address concerns, and improve the campaign.

Sustain the work and review progress

A campaign can have a clear endpoint while the broader advocacy effort continues. Review what was achieved, what was learned, and what needs further attention. Maintain useful media relationships, keep public information current, and plan follow-up when it serves a clear purpose. Share responsibilities and allow time for rest so communication remains sustainable and accountable to the community.