Tuesday, September 12, 2023
The news about sugar-sweetened beverage (SSB) tax campaigns frequently reported the health harms of SSBs and exposed the beverage industry’s outsized campaign spending, but rarely named the benefits of SSB taxes or how they can act as a tool for industry accountability, found a new study from researchers at BMSG, the University of California Berkeley’s School of Public Health, and the University of California San Francisco’s School of Medicine.
Monday, August 14, 2023
A new BMSG study conducted alongside the University of Minnesota’s Division of Health Policy and Management, Cornell University College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, and Wesleyan University found that news coverage of food insecurity during the pandemic may have helped reduce the stigma associated with government-funded food assistance programs. However, reporting was largely “color blind” and failed to discuss racial disparities in hunger.
Wednesday, March 15, 2023
Latino communities and leaders have been at the forefront of organizing around racial justice for decades, but new research suggests their perspectives and voices are barely visible in the surging public discourse around racial equity and systemic racism. A study conducted by the Berkeley Media Studies Group (a program of the Public Health Institute), in collaboration with UnidosUS, revealed that less than 6% of news about racism and racial equity referenced Latinos, the country’s largest ethnic minority.
Thursday, May 26, 2022
No amount of data or context in reporting can move the needle of social change if dominant news narratives convey a sense of doom and leave us feeling paralyzed. To make progress, it’s critical to reframe the conversation from one of fatalism to one of hope, while still acknowledging the deep pain and harm that many are suffering
Wednesday, May 04, 2022
Now that the Supreme Court’s draft opinion is out in the open, the debate about a person’s right to choose the number and timing of their births moves from the high court to the court of public opinion. As dire as the situation feels, that means there is a window of opportunity for advocates, decision-makers, journalists, and others to take a public stand for reproductive freedom.
Thursday, April 22, 2021
Recent acts of police violence and one critical but long overdue instance of accountability have left many people dealing with mixed emotions and asking: Where do we go from here? We all have a role to play, but one thing is certain: As efforts to advance racial justice progress, Black and Brown voices must have access to the largest platforms — and the loudest megaphones.
Thursday, January 07, 2021
This week’s violent attack on the Capitol was destabilizing. The attempt to derail the peaceful transfer of power only reinforced our commitment to make 2021 a year when democracy shines, voices are heard, and social and public health infrastructure are prioritized in ways that will help every community.
Thursday, July 16, 2020
A report from the Center for Digital Democracy has found that the simple act of shopping for groceries online can put SNAP recipients at risk for exposure to manipulative marketing and online surveillance via “massive, ongoing data collection and personalized targeting.”
Wednesday, June 03, 2020
Our duty now is to listen and align our words and our actions with those at the forefront of efforts to eliminate police violence.
Tuesday, January 31, 2017
In an increasingly volatile political landscape, abortion is at the forefront of hotly contested public debates in the media and elsewhere. A new report from the Berkeley Media Studies Group and the Sea Change Program examines media coverage of the issue through a new lens — stigma. While researchers have investigated how news coverage reinforces stigma around a range of public health issues, from HIV to mental illness, this is the first time a national study has looked at how stigma appears in news coverage of abortion in the U.S.
