New Series Aims To Make Mental Health Sector 'Media Savvy'

New Series Aims To Make Mental Health Sector 'Media Savvy'

The Mental Health Foundation and Like Minds, Like Mine today launch a new online series taking an inside look at the media and how organisations working within mental health can better tell their stories.

Media Savvy is a seven-part series which interviews experienced journalists, media practitioners and producers on what makes a good story for various media outlets – including print, radio, television and the web – as well as valuable information about how newsrooms work.

“We have worked closely with the media over a number of years to increase understanding around mental health and wellbeing,” says Judi Clements, Chief Executive of the Mental Health Foundation. “This series looks at the other side of the coin, speaking to real journalists about the realities of the media environment and how people in the mental health sector and consumers themselves can tell their stories with confidence.”

The first episode, released today, looks at print media and features Keri Welham, award-winning writer for the Dominion Post. Welham has been recognised in particular for her sensitive and thought-provoking pieces on mental health and suicide prevention issues.

Each episode, roughly between five and seven minutes in length, is chaptered with “top tips” on storytelling and working with particular forms of media.

One of Welham’s key tips for mental health organisations is to put a human face to their stories and avoid the use of jargon.

“One of the things that mental health doesn’t need is any more ambiguity,” she says. “You are really helping the reporter to ensure that their work is informative and educational for the general population, so that people who are reading it are actually learning something.”

Further episodes to follow include:

7 June: Radio (Jenny Woods, Newstalk ZB breakfast sub-editor)

14 June: Internet (Selwyn Manning, Co-editor, Scoop.co.nz)

21 June: Maori media (Makere Edwards, Reporter, Native Affairs/Te Kaea)

28 June: Pacific media (Stephen Stehlin, Producer, Tagata Pasifika)

5 July: Television (Rob Harley, investigative journalist)

12 July: Handling the media (Steve Attwood, Communications Manager, Families Commission)

To view the series, head to Likeminds.org.nz .

ENDS

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