At BMSG, we believe that the mass media, especially the news, have a significant influence on people's beliefs and actions regarding public health and social issues. We work with community groups, journalists and public health professionals to use the power of the media to advance healthy public policy. We help people make their voices heard in a powerful public forum, and increase their participation in the democratic process. To do this we must understand how news, entertainment, and advertising present health and social issues. That's why we monitor the media, study the process of news gathering, and analyze media content to support our media advocacy training, professional education, and strategic consultation.