publications

What can you say when you can’t say everything?

Wednesday, August 26, 2026

Today’s decisions about what and how to communicate about population health occur amid very real fears and expectations of harsh reprisal that have had far-reaching impacts, both for people’s health and for the health professions. With planning, skill, resources, and adherence to best practices for health communication, even difficult or easily misinterpreted information can be communicated clearly and accessibly while maintaining accuracy. In this perspective, BMSG’s leadership team joins Portland State University’s Liana B. Winett in providing strategic guidance for communicating about public health.

Protected: Cultivating connection: A narrative and communication toolkit to amplify the Common Ground Framework

Monday, August 10, 2026

At a time when the United States — and, indeed, much of the world — feels increasingly polarized across political, racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic lines, green spaces are places for building and maintaining relationships across difference. But they aren’t often thought of that way. This toolkit, developed exclusively for staff at Trust for Public Land, can help build momentum for communication strategies that make the value of investing in parks clear to park practitioners, funders, and others.

The news about domestic violence: Findings from an analysis of California news, 2023-2025

Friday, February 27, 2026

We can’t solve a problem we don’t know is happening — and when it comes to domestic violence, decades of research suggest that news coverage may miss the scope and impact of the problem, and the important work advocates and organizations are doing to end it. This report identifies coverage strengths, gaps, and opportunities for improvement. It also includes recommendations to help journalists tell more complete and inclusive stories about domestic violence.

report cover, featuring image of a farmer talking to an elected official

Media advocacy toolkit for agricultural safety and health: Expanding on lessons learned from ROPS

Monday, February 09, 2026

This media advocacy toolkit equips researchers and advocates with strategies to translate evidence-based agricultural health and safety interventions into policy-relevant public narratives. Grounded in public health research and real-world examples, it demonstrates how shaping news coverage can help address structural barriers that limit the adoption of proven solutions.

Visible, yet vulnerable: What journalists can learn from how we covered the attack on trans rights in Trump’s first 100 days

Wednesday, October 15, 2025

Within the first 100 days of his second term, Trump signed 140 executive orders into law — with more than 1 in 10 concerning gender. In partnership with the Trans Journalists Association, BMSG conducted an analysis to find out how journalists have covered these executive orders and their consequences for trans communities.

text-only thumbnail of journal cover for Milbank Quarterly

Changing the story on health and racial equity: Why public health needs an infrastructure for building narrative power

Friday, August 22, 2025

As the field of public health strives to advance health and racial equity amid intense political pushback, we need more than better messaging: We need narrative power and infrastructure. In this commentary for Milbank Quarterly, BMSG Director Lori Dorfman and co-authors Sarah Gollust, Makani Themba, Pritpal S. Tamber, and Anthony Iton use real-world examples and lessons drawn from tobacco control and anti-racism advocacy to show how we can make health-promoting narratives, mindsets, and policies the norm.

A review of select message guides for communicating about climate change and public health

Monday, June 16, 2025

Want to effectively communicate the health-related challenges associated with climate change? This resource, supported by the California Department of Public Health, offers a curated list of existing message guides that offer clear, research-backed strategies to help advocates, health practitioners, and policymakers craft compelling narratives that inspire action. Whether you need quick, ready-to-use messages or in-depth frameworks, these guides will equip you with the tools to make the case across diverse audiences.

Simple line art: white icon of a bullhorn against a green background

Coming together to speak up for Medicaid and Medi-Cal: Answers to tough questions

Thursday, May 22, 2025

As lawmakers move swiftly to pass a bill that would slash funds from Medicaid, people across California and the country are raising their voices to demand that their representatives save this vital program. In doing so, especially in speaking to the media, they may get some tough questions. This resource provides sample responses to help advocates make their case.

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Media advocacy for farm safety and health: current landscape and future directions

Tuesday, March 11, 2025

How are farm and tractor safety portrayed in the news? Do solutions appear? Who has a voice in coverage? These are some of the questions that BMSG researchers examined in this study, published in BMC Public Health. The study also provides suggestions for occupational health and safety practitioners who hope to improve their use of media to advance farm safety agendas.

‘We have to move quickly to cement this willingness for change’: News narratives about declarations of racism as a public health crisis, 2019–2021

Wednesday, January 08, 2025

In the summer of 2020, global social movements in response to the police murders of George Floyd Breonna Taylor, Tony McDade, and countless others brought renewed public attention to racial injustice and health inequities. Against this backdrop, several jurisdictions formally declared racism to be a public health crisis. In this study, we explored narratives surrounding those declarations to see how they were framed in news coverage. The article includes implications for advocates and others working to advance health equity.

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