Reframing childhood lead poisoning
BMSG worked with the Alliance to End Childhood Lead Poisoning to build a cadre of skilled media advocates who elevated the issue with local and national media around the country. The goal was to elevate the status of childhood lead poisoning on the national agenda, counter lead industry arguments and attention, and move the legislative agenda on the lead trust fund. BMSG developed a long-term plan focused on mobilizing those directly affected by the problem by providing communication skills to move this group from powerless victims to powerful advocates, with strategies to minimize the legitimacy and credibility of corporate groups that make up the lead industries. Using focus groups and national polling we identified ways to make the issue salient and compelling to the public and to policy makers, and with our analysis of how childhood lead poisoning was framed in the news, informed our media advocacy training.