Media advocacy = Social advocacy

 
Media Advocacy is defined as the strategic use of mass media to advance a social or public policy initiative. Media advocacy allows the activists and community members to influence the decisions of the public through sharing information in a medium.
The media has power to influence the decisions of the public and help them to prioritize the issues of the time. Media advocacy is important and significant to informing society of current issues that need to be addressed.
Media advocacy is significant because it’s an integral part of society and without it media can be biased and miss out on important issues. Communities and organizations receive attention and promote goals through advocacy.
Anyone can participate and media advocacy is a way for media attention to be re-directed. Media advocacy is another example of democracy and allows attention to shift to societal issues that can be solved with community participation.
According to Lawrence Wallack, Media advocacy is significant and plays a role in creating debate and conversation in the public. “Media advocacy can be a significant force for influencing public debate, speaking directly to those with influence, and putting pressure on decision makers.” (Wallack, 1994) This is important to Southern University’s existence and prosperity.
Wallack also outlined the goals and objectives of media advocacy. “First, media advocacy uses the media to place attention on an issue by bringing it to light.
Second, media advocacy holds the spotlight on the issue and focuses in on “upstream” causes.
Third, media advocacy seeks to advance social or public initiatives as a primary approach to the problem.” We need to be able to advocate for societal issues inside and outside of the media. The media and society have to work together to address the issues hindering progress.
There is an importance and need for media advocacy in different situations and industries. Media advocacy addresses issues in society that may not be addressed outside of the media. Advocacy has the power to provoke solutions to society’s problems and action in both grassroots activism and policy making.
This advocacy leads to political uprising, policy changes, and awareness campaigns. With successful actions in media advocacy an issue can be shared with the world and provoke action to address it.
Through cases and campaigns media advocacy has proven its definition. The “strategic” use of mass media referred to as media advocacy draws attention to social issues to institute social reform. Through this advocacy participation has been evoked in multiple communities and cities.
Media advocacy has served as a democratic outlet for all members of society who feel disenfranchised and underrepresented.
Media advocacy has served as a catalyst to share insight and provoke policy action. It has served as the first step into finding solutions for issues affecting society as a whole. Media advocacy is more than important and has an empirical need.
Without media advocacy some ​of the cases and issues would have never been brought before the public for them to decide.
Without the original strategic mention in mass media members of society may have never known. Media advocacy will always serve as a option for people to participate in media, policy, and community change.
Make the decision today whether the issues are important enough to make moves and the media and the world will take notice.