CONTENTS
Chapters
- The News Media and Family Planning Programs
- Building a News Media Relations Program
- Developing a Strategy
- How to Tell the Family Planning Story
- Tools for Analysis
- Matching Your Message to the Medium
- Developing Materials that Interest Journalists
- Making News
- Dealing with Controversy
HIGHLIGHTS
Population Reports is published by the Population
Information Program, Center for Communication Programs, The
Johns Hopkins School of Public Health, 111 Market Place, Suite 310, Baltimore, Maryland
21202-4012, USA
Volume XXIII, Number 4
November, 1995 |
The News Media and
Family Planning Programs
The spread of television and radio, the rise of an independent press, and
increasing literacy rates in many countries offer new opportunities for
family planning and other health-care organizations to inform the public
and reach opinion leaders (55). Making the
most of these opportunities requires skill in helping the news media cover
family planning. News media relations professionals use proven processes
and approaches to encourage accurate coverage of family planning and other
reproductive health information and issues.
The Reach of The News Media
The news media reach more people than ever before. In developing countries
the number of radio sets is estimated at over 1 billion in 1994 (11).
In many developing countries, more than 9 households in every 10 have
radios (11). Ownership of television sets is much less widespread but
has risen dramatically. In the 1980s the number of television sets in
developing countries doubled and has nearly doubled again since 1990 to
an estimated 686 million in 1994 (11, 28). Where television is available,
it reaches enormous audiences. For example, in Egypt 82% of women watch
television every day (55); in Bangladesh
about 75% of city dwellers watch television at least once a week (42).
While newspapers reach fewer people than radio and television, nonetheless newspapers attract millions of readers daily in some developing countries—for example, about 22 million in India, 3.7 million in Indonesia, and 3 million in Turkey (71). In the Philippines more than 70% of women read a newspaper at
least once a week (54). In Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, 90% of men and 71% of women read a newspaper at least once a week (75). |
