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Over the past year, media interest in
NASW has increased substantially. Due to proactive outreach, more
journalists than ever are turning to NASW as a resource.
With this interest came
the need to recruit more experts to answer the calls. NASW recruited
deans and directors from schools of social work, as well as authors
and practitioners from around the country to create a media expert
database. The Association also introduced a media listserv for journalists
and authors to keep them up-to-date on NASW activities and issues.
Throughout the
year, social work experts from NASW contributed to a variety of
local newspapers and radio and television news
outlets. Our spokespeople also made several national appearances,
including:
- The NBC Nightly News with Tom Brokaw
- CNN's "Money Line" with Lou Dobbs
- NPR's "Talk of the Nation" and "All Things Considered"
- The New York Times, Washington Post , and Chicago
Tribune
SOCIAL WORK MONTH
2003
 Social
work, regardless of practice area, positively affects millions of
people every day. During Social Work Month each March, NASW recognizes—and
encourages others to recognize—the contributions of the 600,000-plus
professional social workers in the United States.
In 1984, the month of
March was officially designated "National Professional Social Work
Month," to honor our nation's social workers. Since then, NASW kicks
off a grassroots media campaign each year, to increase understanding
of the social work profession and to promote critical social issues.
Social Work Month 2003
was a tremendous success. The toolkit, created as a media outreach
resource for social workers everywhere, focused on specific practice
areas and provided templates and fact sheets. Stories related
to social work and the theme, "Preserving Rights. Strengthening
Voices," received approximately 3,500 media mentions, with
more than 138 million media impressions.
As we move forward with the NASW Social Work
Public Education Campaign, which will be formally launched in March
2005, media relations will play an even more important role in increasing
the visibility of the Association and the profession.
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