Vaccine

Advocacy,

Journalism &

Social Media

Engagement

Tara Haelle

Overview

Familiarize yourself with the landscape

Recognize the different media and

opportunities for engagement

Op-Eds and Blogging

Become a false balance detective

Know your audience

General communication tips

Learn the Landscape

Mainstream media

USA Today, WSJ, NYT, major network TV news

Local newspaper, local news

Online media

Slate, Salon, Jezebel

Specialty/science/health media

WebMD, SciAm, LiveScience

“Alternative health” news sites

Natural News, GreenMedInfo, Mercola

Learn the Landscape

Professional organizations (AAP, FAAP)

Vaccine advocacy groups (avoid “pro-vaccine”)

Voices for Vaccines, PKIDs, Immunization Partnership

Anti-vaccine advocacy groups

NVIC, AVN, Age of Autism, SafeMinds, Generation

Rescue

Facebook pages

Informed Parents of Vaccinated Children, COVRAC,

Refutations to Anti-Vaccine Memes, Nurses Who

Vaccinate, Every Child By Two

Vaccination Information Network (VINE), Sherri

Tenpenny

Learn the Landscape

“Paul Offit”

“Barbara Loe Fisher”

“Geiers”

“Russell Blaylock”

“Robert F. Kennedy”

“Sherri Tenpenny”

“Louise Habakus”

Ways to Engage

Op-eds

Letters, commentaries

Blogging (including guest posts)

Twitter

Facebook

Pinterest

Comments sections of articles (ewww…)

Be available to journalists

Connecting others – be a hub

Why Social Media?

Pediatrics: “The Impact of Social Networks

on Parents’ Vaccination Decisions”

What are this study findings’ implications?

Studies on Twitter

Sharing articles, op-eds, blogs, etc.

“Memes”

Op-eds vs. Blog posts

Traditional media

(newspapers)

≤1000 words

Expert authors,

advocates, etc.

Specific audience

Online only

Variable length

Can be written by

anyone

Variable audience

May be responding

to other media

Op-ed characteristics

Addresses a timely issue of public interest

Clearly defined audience

Author’s credentials or perspective or

personal experience

Clear structure

Structure easily applied/adapted to blogs

Op-ed Structure

What’s the issue?

What’s the problem?

Who’s affected?

What’s been done?

What remains to be done?

How can it be done?

Call to action

Optional: author’s stakes/involvement

Example: Op-Ed

LA Times: "Public Health: Not vaccinated?

Not acceptable”

Who is the intended audience?

What is the problem?

How does the author build his case?

What’s the call to action?

Example: Personal Column

New Republic: “I’ve Got Whooping

Cough. Thanks a Lot, Jenny McCarthy”

How does this differ from an op-ed?

How is it similar?

How effectively does this article

communicate its message?

How does this message stumble in

communicating its message?

Example: Blog post

RWAS: “Oversimplification and hubris can

backfire: For once, it wasn’t actually Jenny

McCarthy’s fault”

What is the goal of this response?

How does the writer attempt to accomplish

this goal?

How is this post similar/different from op-eds?

False Balance/Equivalence

What is it?

Why does it occur?

When you’re a source…

When you see it in the media…

When you see it in social media…

Example: General Commentary

Politico: “Why is Katie Couric Promoting

Vaccine Skeptics?”

Who is the audience?

How does this differ from an op-ed?

What is the call to action?

What valuable key points or impressions might

a lay reader take away from this piece?

General communication tips

Have a “time peg” (be current)

Be concise and direct

Keep it simple

Use clear language, short sentences

AVOID JARGON

Choose (only a few) numbers strategically

Use active voice

Start strong (hook), finish strong

KNOW YOUR AUDIENCE

Know Your Audience

Understand their values, beliefs, trust, fears

Validate potential reader concerns/fears

Don’t assume they share your trust/beliefs,

especially in traditional institutions

Be careful not to make assumptions about their

knowledge/experience OR to patronize

Educate but don’t overwhelm or condescend

– What do they NEED to know?

Always speak to the middle, not the extremes

Audience on Social Media

Becomes polarizing quickly (duh)

Comments are very influential (Science study)

Understand “lurkers” and 90-9-1 rule

The way you engage with those on the

extremes influences the way the silently

observing fencesitters view the issue (and the

evidence)

What Makes for Viral Pieces?

Personal stories

Ultra timely issues (the faster, the better)

Celebrities

Quickly digestible

Edgy or surprising (the hook)

Good image can help

Big numbers

Your Voice Matters

Communication is essential

Parents, legislators, advocacy groups,

academics, the media, manufacturers

Decision-makers consider multiple voices

Vaccine programs

Recommendations for vaccines

Research priorities