On one hand, Aboriginal health professionals yearn for media to publicise their events and to carry information and educational messages as a component of public health campaigns. And advocates for Aboriginal health look for opportunities to engage various strategies to mobilise the media in support of health-related political, economic, policy and welfare reform.

On the other hand, there is no end to the criticism of news media based on perceptions of how the media negatively impacts Aboriginal health.

People working in the Aboriginal health sector in Western Australia started a process to improve media engagement, to strengthen the Aboriginal health profile and influence public opinion through news media.

Over a period of a year 23 Aboriginal and 17 non-Aboriginal health and media professionals were interviewed for their views of how the mainstream news media could be used more effectively to increase the awareness and understanding of the general population about Aboriginal people and their health.

That information was used to develop a tailored media management and advocacy skills training workshop and mentoring program, for Aboriginal health and related professionals. Exposure to journalists and learning a few media skills improved the Aboriginal health professionals’ understanding of the way the news media work, as well as what they need to do in order to help journalists do their job.

The participation of Aboriginal health and media professionals throughout the Aboriginal Health Communication Project resulted in two toolkits being produced.

One toolkit was to guide Aboriginal health professionals who initiate contact with the media or to respond to journalists seeking a comment or story. The second document was to guide journalists as they navigated the Aboriginal health sector in the course of news gathering and reportage.

The second document, to guide journalists as they navigate the Aboriginal health sector in the course of news gathering and reportage, consists of advice given by participating Aboriginal health professionals to journalists.

Both documents will soon appear on this page for download, in PDF form.