by Heather Gehlert | The Columbia Missourian
Wednesday, April 24, 2024
Tractor overturns are the leading cause of death on farms, but a rebate program for highly effective protective equipment, known as rollover protective structures (ROPS), is rarely mentioned in news coverage, according to research from BMSG. In this opinion piece, Heather Gehlert, BMSG’s Strategic Communication Director, elevates the issue for readers in Missouri, one of the states most affected by fatal overturns. She also discusses how farm safety is an equity issue, with smaller farms and those with less resources being more likely to rely on older tractors in need of retrofitting.
by Samantha Michaels | Mother Jones
Monday, March 18, 2024
Oakland District Attorney Pamela Price, one of the country’s most progressive district attorneys and the first Black woman to hold the position in Alameda County, has encountered extreme scrutiny since taking office in January 2023. Compared with traditional prosecutors, progressive DAs anecdotally appear to be held to a different standard in the press and on social media, says Pamela Mejia, BMSG’s Associate Program Director and Director of Research.
Over the past five years, polls show that Americans have grown more worried about crime, regardless of whether their cities have become more dangerous. Nationally, reported rates of violence “appear to be going down, but public perception is that people don’t feel safe and that data doesn’t necessarily feel meaningful for people,” says Mejia. She cited a phenomenon called the “mean world” syndrome: When people consume a lot of news about crime, they become convinced the world around them is a dangerous place. The fear creates a communications challenge for progressive DAs, says Mejia, because research shows that people process information differently when they’re afraid.
by Gigi Kellett | CounterPunch
Friday, January 19, 2024
This article from CounterPunch explains how today’s food industry has employed one of Big Tobacco’s strategies – called preemption – to stall legislative progress. By promoting weaker state public health laws to override stronger local laws, the food industry has been able to continue its racist marketing campaigns, targeting Black youth and other youth of color. The article also uplifts an analysis by Corporate Accountability, in collaboration with BMSG and other organizations, that found a disturbing correspondence between NRA campaign contributions and the propensity of those receiving them to oppose progressive policies, showcasing the deeply harmful effects of industry lobbying on public health.
by Mark Barna | Public Health Newswire
Tuesday, November 14, 2023
U.S. leaders continue to see value in declaring racism a public health crisis in their communities. Yet BMSG research, shared at the 2023 APHA annual gathering in Atlanta, found that media coverage of racism declarations largely ignored the work of community leaders who are often the impetus behind governments adopting the resolution. This framing has the potential of stunting community action: Local leaders following media coverage may not realize the extent that other community leaders play in doing the legwork to make declarations happen.
by Lori Dorfman | Berkeley Public Health
Thursday, October 05, 2023
Public health researchers and practitioners have long known that racism harms health. Now, a new website called Racism Harms Health shows how. The site, part of Berkeley Public Healths’ Anti-Racist Community for Justice and Social Transformative Change, compiles research data culled from more than 250 studies across the spectrum of American life — from workplaces and policing to education and housing.
by Susie Neilson | San Francisco Chronicle
Wednesday, September 20, 2023
“Instead, San Francisco’s changing reputation has a complex assortment of causes unrelated to the risk of violence, according to crime media researcher Pamela Mejia, director of research and associate program director at the Berkeley Media Studies Group. Some of the change reflects national shifts in crime and safety rhetoric; some is grounded in the reality of city life; and the rest stems from how social media, news outlets and other sources tell San Francisco’s story to the world.”
by Paresh Dave | Wired
Thursday, September 07, 2023
A review last year by NAAFA and the Berkeley Media Studies Group found that popular news outlets published over 18,000 articles on weight loss over 12 months, but just 48 articles about “anti-fatness.” People who are ultra-thin or squat also don’t have life easy. Advocacy by the National Association to Advance Fat Acceptance, a US nonprofit led by Tigress Osborn, to outlaw size discrimination is just gaining steam at statehouses and city councils, including a New York City ban that begins in November.
by Carl Smith | Governing
Wednesday, June 14, 2023
Researchers from Columbia University visited five states to see how they were using money from the American Rescue Plan to build their public health workforces. They found that progress toward a robust public health system depends on political strategies that build community support from the ground up. These findings, they note, echo BMSG’s own recommendations, which state that messaging should always be rooted in local context and strategy.
by Andrea Vittorio | Bloomberg Law
Wednesday, May 03, 2023
Online platforms like Facebook, TikTok, and YouTube would need to obtain teenagers’ permission before collecting their personal information, under a bipartisan bill that would modernize a decades-old law for the social media age. Berkeley Media Studies Group, along with many of our partners, including the Center for Digital Democracy, endorsed the legislation.
by Susie Neilson | San Francisco Chronicle
Saturday, April 08, 2023
The fatal stabbing of tech executive Bob Lee sent shockwaves through San Francisco, igniting fear that the city is becoming more dangerous. The data tell us, however, that San Francisco has one of the lowest homicide rates among all U.S. major cities. Pamela Mejia, BMSG’s head of research and interim director, has spent years studying violence and uses her expertise to explain why perceptions of crime often don’t match reality. She cites the element of randomness, the visceral nature of stabbings, and the high profile of Bob Lee as a few reasons why many locals falsely believe that crime is rising. On a broader scale, Mejia believes the stigmatization of highly visible unhoused populations contributes to unnecessary fear and hopelessness. To effectively communicate crime statistics, Mejia suggests addressing fears right off the bat so that people are in the right space to listen to the data.
