Advocacy through Media

Mass media is such an important ally when doing any community work, embarking on education and awareness projects or attempting to change attitudes and behaviour of project beneficiaries.

Basically mass media can provide feedback on implementation activities by interviewing beneficiaries on effectiveness of the project and intended outcomes.

Sensitising all stakeholders on the relevance of the your programme before and during its implementation, mobilising various stakeholders for support and resource allocation towards your projects and programmes

Link your activities with other like-minded local, national and international projects and stakeholders and thereby form networks or see to possibilities of pulling together resources or efforts

Alert your programme or project on potential challenges, threats and opportunities, help you gain support from other media, and build your respect and recognition among other stakeholders and clientele.

Come to your help in case of bad publicity of when your organisation is unfairly become under attack by the government or one of it agencies.

Majority of the news in media re about events, while an organization activities involves processes to change behaviour of people, and then there is unlikeliest chance of getting easy media coverage unless one learns to organize events which will attract media attention.

It needs also to understand that journalists operate within a narrow range of values which guide news collection and editing. These are what we call news values. Attempts to approach media and get publicity require manipulating the situation using the same values.