Fight For Public Health

The work explores the field of public health advocacy from the twin perspectives of the sociology of news production and public health activism. The second section offers an A-Z of strategies for gaining media attention, with many entries illustrated by case histories. Covering theory and practice, the guide is intended for public health and community medicine workers, community health action groups, and students of mass communication, media studies or public health. Theory and principles 1

1 What is public health advocacy?
SIMON CHAPMAN 3

2 Analysing news coverage
DEBORAH LUPTON 23

3 Two studies of public health news
DEBORAH LUPTON and SIMON CHAPMAN 58

4 Case studies in public health media advocacy
SIMON CHAPMAN 96

Il A-Z of public health advocacy
SIMON CHAPMAN 127

5 A-Z of public health advocacy 129

Accuracy 136

Acronyms 137

Advertising in advocacy 138

Analogies, metaphors, and similes 141

Anniversaries 144

Be there! The first rule of advocacy 145

Bluff 146

Boycotts 146

Bureaucratic constraints 148

Celebrities 153

Chain letters 156

Columnists 158

Crank letters (or how to put your opposition's worst foot forward) 158

Creative epidemiology 160

Demonstrations 163

Divide and rule 169

Doctors 172

Editorials 174

Elitism 176

Facsimile machine 177

Fact sheets 177

Fillers 179

Gatecrashing 179

Infiltration 181

Interview strategies 183

Jargon and ghetto language 195

Know your opposition 197

Learning from other campaigners 198

Letters to the editor 199

Letters to politicians 204

Litmus testing 208

Local newspapers 208

Mailing lists Marginal seats 209

Media cannibalism (how media feed off themselves) 211

Media conferences 212

Media etiquette 213

Media logs 216

Media releases 217

Networks and coalitions 218

Open letters 219

Opinion (op-ed) page access 220

Opinion polls 222

Opportunism 223

Parody 224

Petitions 227

Pictures and graphics 228

"Piggy backing" 229

Press agencies 230

Props 232

Publicising others' research 232

Quotes 233

Radicalism 234

Reporters and journalists 236

Shareholders 242

Slow news days 244

Strategic research 244

Talent (spokespeople) 246

Talkback (access) radio 248

Targeting or narrowcasting 250

Telephone trees 254

Whistleblowers 255

Wolves in sheep's clothing 255

Wrestling with pigs 257

Xmas 258

Index 261

Simon Chapmanis Professor in Public Health at the University of Sydney. He is the author of 11 books and major government reports, 302 papers and 112 letters and commentaries in peer reviewed journals. He is the Editor of the BMJ journal "Tobacco Control". The work explores the field of public health advocacy from the twin perspectives of the sociology of news production and public health activism. The second section offers an A-Z of strategies for gaining media attention, with many entries illustrated by case histories. Covering theory and practice, the guide is intended for public health and community medicine workers, community health action groups, and students of mass communication, media studies or public health.