We believe that the mass media, especially the news, have a significant influence on people's beliefs and actions regarding public health and social issues.

We work with community groups, journalists and public health professionals to use the power of the media to advance healthy public policy. In essence, we help people make their voices heard in a powerful public forum, and increase their participation in the democratic process.

To do this we must understand how news, entertainment, and advertising present health and social issues. Thus we do research by monitoring the media, studying the process of news gathering, and analyzing media content to support our media advocacy training, professional education, and strategic consultation.

BMSG was founded in 1993 in Berkeley, California, by Lawrence Wallack, DrPH, who was then professor of public health at the University of California at Berkeley. Wallack, now professor of community health and director of the School of Community Health at Portland State University and UC Berkeley professor emeritus, founded BMSG in order to help public health professionals and community groups become more savvy about using the power of the media to advance public health.

During that first year, BMSG worked extensively with three major clients. For The California Wellness Foundation's Violence Prevention Initiative, we studied how local television news portrayed youth and violence, conducted media advocacy training and strategic consultation for the Initiative's members. For the Alliance to End Childhood Lead Poisoning, we conducted media advocacy training, analyzed news and public opinion, and created a strategic communications plan. For the S. H. Cowell Foundation, we developed a plan to address alcohol advertising and promotion aimed at young people.

Since 1993, BMSG has worked with organizations on a range of issues, including violence and injury prevention, alcohol, tobacco, children's health, child care, childhood lead poisoning, affirmative action, nutrition and exercise, and sexually transmitted disease. We have published numerous case studies, research papers, books, and media advocacy training curricula. We have come to be known as the leading public health media advocacy organization in the U.S.

BMSG is a project of the Public Health Institute in Berkeley, California. The Public Health Institute (PHI) is an independent, nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting health, well-being and quality of life for people throughout California, across the nation, and around the world. PHI houses a variety of local, statewide, national and international public health research and education projects.