casey hartford revised courant health care coverage audit –

UCLA Health Care Coverage in the Hartford Courant: A Content Audit Report George White Dr. Franklin D. Gilliam, Jr. Associate Director Director Framing Healthy Outcomes in Hartford: Communications Workshop III April 3, 2004 I. Communications and Community System-reform initiatives in low-income communities must take into account the powerful influence of mass communications if they are to be successful in supporting social change. This assertion is confirmed by a large body of social science research showing that news coverage (both print and broadcast) has a profound effect on what issues people believe to be important (agenda-setting); the lens through which they interpret issues (framing); and whether they use this information in making judgments about political and policy matters (priming). In short, the news media powerfully shapes the ways in which people relate to their communities. The challenge for community improvement advocates is to develop media relations strategies that empower community-based organizations to effectively engage the news media. A first step in this process for community development advocates is to have an empirical understanding of their local news coverage. Communications ...