Get ready for an interactive, in-depth experience that will elevate your media skills! Using the fictional town of Parkville, we’ll show you how to unleash the power of media to raise issues on the public agenda, shape political will, and ignite lasting change. Our seasoned experts will lead hands-on exercises and provide tips and techniques that help you master the art of media advocacy.
Topics Include:
- Strategic planning that results in news coverage
- Engaging the modern newsroom
- Using social media to amplify your message
- Writing press releases and editorials that get attention
About Parkville
Parkville’s one park, Park Central, is abandoned and in disrepair. Through this workshop, you’ll learn how the fictional Parkville Alliance uses media advocacy to influence lawmakers to revitalize Park Central and create better health outcomes for Parkville. “Lights! Camera! ADVOCATE!” will provide you with the essentials of media advocacy that you can apply in your own work.
Opening Remarks: Dr. Roneet Lev
Podcaster and Former First Chief Medical Officer
White House Office of National Drug Control Policy
Dr. Roneet Lev is an emergency and addiction doctor who has served as the first Chief Medical Officer of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy. She hosts a podcast, High Truths, where she regularly interviews figures influencing national policy.
Dr. Lev will open the event with remarks on the Power of Media to Create Change.
Host: Cynthia Nickerson
IPS Associate
Cynthia Nickerson’s broadcast media background includes two decades as a news anchor/health reporter for television and radio stations in Louisiana, Florida and Virginia. Cynthia has a Master’s Degree in Health Communications and worked for four years as a Media Specialist in the Institute for Public Strategies’ (IPS) Los Angeles office.
PRESENTERS
Sarah Blanch
IPS Vice President
Sarah Blanch has a deep understanding of how to use media to achieve policy objectives and advance population-level change. She has on-the-ground experience with large-scale, municipal- and state-level policy campaigns that are won through media advocacy and community organizing. Sarah has a degree in Political Science from Stanford University.
Meredith Gibson
IPS Media Advocacy Director
Meredith Gibson provides strategic direction for IPS’ media efforts, resulting in coverage at the local and national levels. In 2018, she launched IPS’ SpeakWell program, workshops that give community members tools to create positive change through media advocacy. Meredith has a Master’s Degree in Public Policy from Georgia Tech.
Paul Levikow
IPS Media Advocacy Manager
Paul Levikow worked for several years as a writer, editor and reporter in news radio; assignment editor and producer in television news; and freelance reporter for the Associated Press, Los Angeles Times and other national print publications; and communications director for the San Diego County District Attorney’s Office.
Reviews From “Lights! Camera! ADVOCATE!” 2022
About IPS Trainings
For the past 30 years, IPS has provided media advocacy training to organizations throughout the United States. Having received national and international recognition for its media campaigns, IPS leverages its experience to train groups on developing comprehensive media strategies that integrate traditional and digital media and support coalitions in achieving policy objectives. The focus? Getting coverage in an ultra-competitive media landscape. Organizations around the country have benefited from IPS’ in-depth media advocacy trainings.
Ticket Cost: $299 per person
If you have any questions, email info@publicstrategies.org.
