News and Media

The Wallington, Blake, Taylor-Clark, & Viswanath (2009) article seemed to relate more closely to the guest lecture from Week 11 than to Week 12. Both the article and the lecture revealed how to systematically utilize the news media as a resource and effective channel through which to communicate pertinent health messages to the public. One of the main benefits of this channel of communication is that a large portion of the population can receive the message through a brief, simple, but directed point of exposure. The lecturer discussed how the organization has to be deliberate in how they utlize the time provided to maximize the impact of the message by 1) scripting the message, 2) considering the best org. representative to act as the spokesperson for the news interview, and highlighting and packaging the message content as "newsworthy" for the reporting journalist to present. The lecturer noted that the manner in which the message is packaged and prepared for public can seem somewhat "deceptive." On the other hand, the concept is similar to the idea of how researcher present the results from study data to visually demonstrate significance. For example, one may consider whether it is more effective to communicate that "Group A is two times as likely as Group B to develop Disease X" or "Group B is half as likely as Group A to develop Disease X." Even the visual graphs and figures selected to present the numerical data found in reserach studies are chosen based on how they most effectively communicate the significant results of the study. The purpose of the message has little impact if its not heard. Therefore, in the end, the packaging of the message is very important. Just like a product marketing, the "packaging" draws attention to the message or product and suggests its relative quality to the public. Without attention, the purpose of the message will be lost and will have fallen on deaf ears.