Communicating Public Health Information to the News Media

摘要

Effectively using the news media to help improve public health has long been an important component of good public health practice. A practitioner would, quite literally, have to be completely out of touch to not see the overwhelming evidence of the power of the media in Western culture. The power of this influence can be seen, however, as both a curse and a blessing in todays increasingly-cluttered information environment. But it is possible to better understand the news media; by doing so, practitioners will be able to reach both the general public and public policy makers. The purpose of this chapter is to suggest how health practitioners can effectively interact with the news media to further public health goals.