The Harvard Family Research Project separated from the Harvard Graduate School of Education to become the Global Family Research Project as of January 1, 2017. It is no longer affiliated with Harvard University.
Volume VII, Number 1, Winter 2001
Issue Topic: Strategic Communications
New & Noteworthy
A list of new resources on strategic communications.
The Berkeley Media Studies Group works with community groups, journalists and public health professionals to use the power of the media to advance public policy. They study the process of news gathering and analyze media content to support media advocacy training, professional education and strategic consultation. www.bmsg.org
The California Wellness Foundation awards grants for health promotion, wellness education and disease prevention programs throughout California, with general grantmaking centers around five priority areas: community health, population health improvement, teenage pregnancy prevention, violence prevention, and work and health. Programs funded by the California Wellness Foundation include the “Wellness Villages,” broad-based neighborhood health improvement projects that solicit the interests of residents and local youth. Ten communities throughout California have each been awarded $1,050,000 for this initiative. For more information contact: The California Wellness Foundation, 6320 Canoga Avenue Suite 1700, Woodland Hills, CA 91367. www.tcwf.org
Causemedia Inc., is a full-service communications firm that integrates cause-related and social marketing strategies with compelling media campaigns for maximum visibility and heightened public awareness. Clients include the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, Boston Public Health Commission and WGBH-TV. For more information, contact: Causemedia, 50 Hunt Street, Watertown MA 02472. www.causemedia.com
The Center for Communications and Community at the University of California, Los Angeles, is a service, research, and training institution that works to develop media relationships so that community-based organizations can effectively interpret news stories, engage in policy advocacy, and fundamentally alter the shape and scope of public policy. Frank Gilliam, Ph.D., is the Center's director. uclaccc.ucla.edu/index.php
The Communication Initiative focuses on the use of strategic communications for sustainable development. Their Web site includes opinion polls, discussion forums, electronic magazines and a directory of people, organizations, and programs involved in communication and international development. For more information, visit www.comminit.com.
Connect for Kids is a Web site that targets adults, particularly mothers, who want to become more active on behalf of kids in their communities. The content is informed by communications research and the latest studies and reports on the status of children. Articles feature successful programs for kids and highlight issues gone uncovered by the news media, and the content is informed by communications research and the latest studies and reports on the status of children. www.connectforkids.org
Early Care and Education Collaborative
This Collaborative is a multi-year project of five state based child advocacy
organizations and five national organizations working on designing and implementing
public education strategies aimed expanding the supply and quality of early
care and education resources. www.earlycare.org
Fenton Communications is publishing “Communicating for Social Change.” This overview guide walks through nine components that make up successful communications efforts. Fenton interviewed more than 40 communications experts, and the guide includes quotes and case studies. “Communicating for Social Change” was sponsored by the David and Lucille Packard Foundation. Copies will be available in late March. Groups interested in getting a copy should email Fenton at Fenton.com, or call 202-822-5200. www.fenton.com
Greer, Margolis, Mitchell, Burns & Associates, Inc. (GMMB&A) is a strategic communications firm that specializes in advertising, political consulting and public education campaigns on social problems. Their clients include Child Welfare League of America, Nelson Mandela and the African National Congress, the Democratic National Committee, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids. www.gmmb.com
The I Am Your Child campaign seeks to raise public awareness of the importance of the first three years of life, and to increase the supply of and access to quality child development programs. Through state coalitions and partnerships with national organizations, they provide information and resources on healthy youth development and school readiness. www.iamyourchild.org
The Kaiser Family Foundation's Web-based project, www.kaisernetwork.org, provides live audio and video coverage of health policy events, daily health reports, analysis of health ads, searchable database of health opinion polls, and a calendar of national events.
A collaboration of Children's Defense Fund, the Children's Partnership, and Children Now (CA), the 100% Campaign is an effort to ensure that all of California's children obtain the health care coverage they need to grow up healthy and strong. They conduct policy research and analysis and use this information to develop a strategy for informing policymakers and advocates so that they will develop effective system changes to health care coverage. www.100percentcampaign.org
The Strategic Press Information Network (SPIN) project helps grow the capacity of grassroots groups to shape public opinion and garner positive media attention by providing comprehensive media training and intensive strategizing. SPIN's products include SPIN Works!, a media guidebook for communicating values and shaping opinion, and Internet PR, an online tutorial designed to help grassroots activists determine why and how to use the Internet throughout media campaigns. For more information, contact: Independent Media Institute, 77 Federal St. 2nd Floor, San Francisco, CA 94107 www.spinproject.org
Underground Advertising creates unique advertising for non-profit organizations and socially-minded businesses. Clients include The Pew Charitable Trusts, Rainforest Action Network, the Breast Cancer Fund and the Legal Community Against Violence. For more information contact: Underground Advertising, Pier 9 Suite 116, San Francisco, CA 94111, 415-433-9334. www.undergroundads.com
Zero To Three promotes the healthy development of infants and toddlers by supporting and strengthening families, communities, and those who work on their behalf. They communicate research and best practices, promote beneficial policies and practices and providing training, technical assistance and leadership development. Zero To Three sponsored a 2000 survey of 3,000 adults and parents which measured their knowledge of child development. www.zerotothree.org
Bales, S. N. (Ed.). (1999). Effective language for communicating children's issues. Washington, DC: Coalition for America's Children and the Benton Foundation. Conducted to aid child advocates in developing effective messages, the discussions unearthed adults' views on health care, poverty, welfare, the working poor, crime, rebuilding communities and why children should be a priority. www.connectforkids.org
Balch, G. I., & Sutton, S. M. Keep me posted: A plea for practical evaluation. Washington, DC: Sutton Social Marketing. www.suttonsocialmarketing.com
Carragee, K. M., Ryan, C., & Schwerner, C. (1998). Media, movements, and the quest for social justice. Journal of Applied Communication Research, 26(2). This essay examines the efforts of the Media Research and Action Project to assist marginalized groups in employing news as a political resource. The analysis highlights the news media as critical arenas of struggle for social movements and community groups seeking political change and social justice.
Galinsky, E., & Sazer O'Donnell, N.. (2000). The seven lessons of early childhood public engagement. New York: Families and Work Institute. This brief describes recent early childhood public engagement efforts nationwide and outlines critical lessons for public engagement leaders. www.igc.apc.org/fwi
Gilliam, F., & Iyengar, S. (2000). Prime suspects: The influence of local television news on the viewing public. American Journal of Political Science, 44(3). Using several methods of analysis, this paper evaluates the contribution of violence and race in news scripts on public opinion. The authors examine the prevalence of the crime news script in the local television news market, undertake several experiments using different versions of a crime script and conduct a survey of county residents' news viewing habits and views on crime and race. For more information on this study, visit www.sscnet.ucla.edu/issr/ccc/papers/primesus.html or contact The Center for Communications and Community at 310-794-6211, fgilliam@ucla.edu
Gilliam, F., & Iyengar, S. (1998). The superpredator script. Nieman Reports. Children and violence: The witness. The victim. The accused, 52(4). The Nieman Foundation for Journalism at Harvard University. In this report, the authors detail an experiment they conducted to examine the connections between local newscasts and viewers' perceptions of juvenile crime. They analyze different news frames used and propose alternative approaches for story reporting. www.nieman.harvard.edu/reports/98-4NRwint98/Gilliam.html
Gunther, H. C. (1998). 10 principles for effective advocacy campaigns. San Francisco: Public Media Centre. This guide provides succinct yet potent strategies for reaching a target audience. Issues addressed include agenda-setting, strategic diversity and influencing the undecided. media.socialchange.net.au
Gould, D. (1997). A funder's guide to successful media investments. Douglas Gould & Co. is a communications consulting firm dedicated to helping progressive not-for-profit organizations and foundations advance important causes through effective multi-media education strategies and campaigns. www.douglasgould.com
Iyengar, S. (1991). Is anyone responsible? How television frames political issues. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. This article examines the effects on the public of thematic and episodic framing in network reports. News cases covered include crime, terrorism, poverty, unemployment, racial inequality and the Iran-Contra Affair.
Iyengar, S., & Reeves, R. (Eds.). (1997). Do the media govern?: Politicians, voters, and reporters in America. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications. This collection of articles focuses on the business of news reporting, the effects of news on its audience, the use of the media in the policy process and media based political campaigns.
Lakoff, G., & Johnson, M. (1979). Metaphors we live by. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. This paper examines the use of metaphors in everyday speech and their importance in language and understanding.
Leiderman, S., Wolf, W., & York, P. (2000). Some thoughts about public will. Center for Assessment and Policy Development. A progress report on investments in public will, this publication covers frameworks, messages, the role of foundations, lessons learned and next steps in public will strategies to improve outcomes for children and families. www.capd.org
Ortony, A. (Ed.). (1979, most recent is 1993). Metaphor and thought. Cambridge, MA: Cambridge University Press. The essays in this book are revised papers presented at the 1977 multidisciplinary conference on metaphor and thought at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Topics include education, psychology and social policy. Of special note is the essay titled, “Generative Metaphor: A Perspective on Problem-Setting in Social Policy,” by Donald A. Schon.
Preston, M. B., Cain, B. A., & Bass, S. (Eds.). (1998). Racial and ethnic politics in California. Berkeley: Institute for Governmental Studies Press, University of California.
Wallack, L., Woodruff, K., Dorfman, L., & Diaz, I. (1999). News for a change: An advocates' guide to working with the media. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.
Wallack L., Dorfman, L., Jernigan, D., & Themba, M. (1993). Media advocacy and public health: Power for prevention. Newbury Park, CA: Sage Publications.
Wallack, L., & Dorfman, L. (2000). Putting policy into health communication: The role of media advocacy. In Rice & Atkin (Eds.), Public communication campaigns. Newbury Park, CA: Sage Publications
Wallack, L., & Dorfman, L. (1996). Media advocacy: A strategy for advancing policy and promoting health. Health Education Quarterly, 23(3).
Wallack, L. (1990). Improving health promotion: Media advocacy and social marketing approaches. In C. Atkin & L. Wallack (Eds.), Mass communication and public kealth: Complexities and conflicts. Newbury Park, CA: Sage Publications. This chapter examines the advantages and limitations of both media advocacy and social marketing, and how the blending of the two is a more comprehensive approach to using mass media to promote health.
National Cancer Institute, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. (1992). Making health communications programs work: A planner's guide. Bethesda, MD: Author. Expanding upon and replacing “Pretesting in Health Communications,” this guide explains the factors that contribute to a successful health communications program and includes examples of their use. Currently out of print and only available on Web. Newly revised version will be available on the Web soon and the print version will be available within a year. An interactive version will be coming out soon. www.cancer.gov/pinkbook
Johns Hopkins Center for Communication Programs. (1996). Reaching young people worldwide: Lessons learned from planning and communications projects, 1986–1995. More than 30 programs from around the world that help youth maintain their health, are reviewed. Chapters present research and evaluation methods, communication outputs and activities, collaboration and support and lessons learned. Activities that benefit youth and references are also included.
Advocates for Youth Media Project. (1995). The use of mainstream media to encourage social responsibility: The international experience. Study commissioned by the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. Examines the outcomes of programs using mass media entertainment to stimulate changes in health behaviors.
Sixty-second guide to working with the news media. The Independent Sector. This guide provides quick tips for staff and volunteers in building good media relations, with topics including: building and maintaining friendships, pitching a story, deciding when to put out a news release or hold a news conference, editorial pages, and talk radio shows. www.independentsector.org
Kathleen Hart, Research Analyst, HFRP