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In a country where a few national media outlets control much of the news that Americans get, Sound Partners for Community Health has spent the last eight years helping local media collaborate with communities to tell their own stories. Radio, television, and print journalists have worked with local partners, like health agencies, to improve the health of their communities.

Although the Sound Partners projects are local, they focus on health concerns that are common across the United States, including children’s health, the special needs of vulnerable populations, chronic illness, addictions, and end-of-life issues.

We have found that by linking local media with ordinary people, partnerships form that invigorate and change communities. Six ideals are at the heart and soul of every project: partnerships, local voices, local media, empowerment, vulnerable populations, and social marketing. What this means in practice is that Sound Partners believes that each project should have a local focus and solution.

Locally produced broadcasts that feature first-person stories about everyday problems in American communities can both generate awareness and lead to solutions. There are hundreds of success stories. KUSP Radio in Santa Cruz, California partnered with Planned Parenthood and KION-TV, for example, to engage youth and their parents in a dialogue about reproductive health, drug use, violence, and healthcare access. The youth were empowered by learning how to produce radio documentaries. And, by bringing their concerns to the airwaves, they helped improve community awareness.

WBHM-FM, Birmingham, Alabama, the Oasis Women’s Counseling Center, and the University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Public Health worked to decrease the stigma surrounding mental illness, especially as it affects African-Americans. Using a creative approach, the project broadcast a radio soap opera called “Body Love.” The storyline drew listeners into an on-going saga starring African-American women dealing with mental health topics in everyday life.

In Eureka, California, public television station KEET collaborated with commercial radio station KHUM to reduce the high rate of methamphetamine use in their county. They worked with local schools, drug counseling professionals, and community leaders to raise awareness and educate the public about the terrible consequences of meth use.

Hawaii Public Radio focused their Sound Partners project on the unique health care and cultural concerns of Native Hawaiians, particularly chronic diseases such as diabetes. Joining with a commercial station and a Native Hawaiian nonprofit health organization, the project hosted “fish and poi gatherings” to promote dialogue around nutrition and health concerns.

In the United States, corporations and commercial media can spend millions of dollars nationally on slogans and slick advertisements that sound good, but have little impact on improving the heath of the average American.

What makes Sound Partners a “best buy” is its demonstration that a small grant of money, shared between local media and community organizations, can be leveraged to make a big difference in changing health behaviors at the local level.

Sallie Bodie & Alison Highberger, Freelance Consultants Sound Partners for Community Health

Additional Note: Since its beginning in 1997, Sound Partners has funded 148 programs with $5.4 million in grants, ranging from $15,000 to $35,000. The projects have won 109 awards. Sound Partners for Community Health is a joint program of the Benton Foundation and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

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