This handbook is organized around the seven-step process for guiding public health communicators in planning and implementing effective media communication shown in FIGURE ONE. Its primary focus is on relations with the news media (both print and broadcast) during a public health emergency – “media communication” can be taken to mean “news media communication”. Many cultures, however, rely on folk and traditional 5 means of mass communication which typically originate from the beliefs, culture and customs of a specific population. As such, the handbook can be supplemented with materials, practices and guidance for specific localities and target populations. A guiding principle of effective media communication in a global context is.
