| Develop Skills |
| Given the powerful impact of the news media, you are advised to have a strategic and well-planned approach to integrate newsmaking into your issue campaign. Anticipate the result of widespread dialogue on your issue. Do what you can to become knowledgeable in newsmaking. |
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| Identify Partners |
| There is a myriad of individuals, organizations, public officials and agencies that likely share your views on a given public health issue. Brainstorm who they are and which of them would have the greatest positive impact on your target audience, then bring them into your planning and development process as appropriate. |
| It is exciting when unlikely partners come together for common goals. The media love to see a gang member side-by-side with a police officer, or a drug treatment worker next to the emergency room doctor. Look carefully back to the problem and contributing factors to search for these alliances—people who share the problem and may be willing to work together for solutions. |
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| Gather Information on Your Issue |
| Data and other succinct, relevant facts are needed for effective newsmaking. You don't want reams of long-winded detail or scholarly analysis; short, clear facts and figures are best for news. |
| Statistics make stories come alive, and add considerable legitimacy to your issue. Local stats are best, and if your group hasn't yet developed - through surveys, observations or archival searches - detailed information about your issue, then get started! |
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| Develop a Plan |
| Planning is crucial. The place to start is with the issue and policy goals you are setting out to accomplish. Once you have established a time frame and objectives for your issue campaign, then you can develop an effective newsmaking plan that delivers the needed messages to the key targets. |
| Remember the definition of media advocacy is the strategic use of the news media to advance policy goals. The word strategic can't be emphasized enough. Who you want to "talk to" when you broadcast your message must be carefully considered. And remember, one story won't accomplish much (though it will accomplish some good). Most often the changes we seek some about from a carefully plotted series of news media activities. |
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| Monitor Your Results |
| Subscribe to a newspaper clipping service (or share one with a coalition), get copies of TV stories on video (through a news monitoring service or record them yourself), have people monitor radio, print and TV to determine quantity and quality of coverage. Then share copies of articles and TV stories with key people for further impact. |
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| Learn from Your Results |
| Consistently debrief as a group after every major news output and learn from what worked well and what could be improved, then make the relevant adjustments for next time. |
