The Power of News Media in Social and Behavior Change Communication (SBCC)

Quality health journalism can provide the supportive, enabling environment in which Social behavior Change (SBC) efforts will have a better chance of success, whereas even the best SBC interventions can be derailed by poor journalism and misinformation. While high quality health journalism is a part of SBCC, it stands out because of the commitment journalists have for objectivity. Journalists need to provide space for dissent and help audiences weigh varying points of view with the help of authentic evidence and enable them to make up their own minds. This media resource is intended to shed light on the role of the news media in SBC interventions.