On Air Advocacy
Advertising professor leads radio campaign to combat domestic violence in the Midlands

by Anna Groos

“Beaten, battered and abused, she still stands. And though she’s strong, she knows there has to be a better life. She isn’t in a book or a movie. She is real. She’s not one, but thousands of women. Your mother. Your daughter. Your aunt. Your friend. She is your sister, and she is not alone – if you help. Visit HelpUsHelpHer.org, and see how you can help give a woman the life she deserves. For help, for hope, there’s Sistercare.”

These haunting words are from the script of one of five radio public service announcements that tell the story of Sistercare, a place where battered women and their children can get help. The PSAs direct listeners to the Web site www.HelpUsHelpHer.org to find out how they can help.

Professor Karen Mallia is the force behind the radio campaign that came to life in her Maymester advertising class.

Mallia wanted to show students their power to help their community through public service announcements, so she looked for a way they could create PSAs for a local nonprofit organization. Such thinking is at the heart of service learning, a teaching method where learning grows from instruction, reflection and community engagement.

Mallia learned that the American Advertising Federation of the Midlands (formerly the Columbia Ad Club) had worked on a media campaign for Sistercare but had not produced any radio spots. It was a perfect opportunity for her class to jump in.

Mallia's students initially drafted several scripts for Sistercare. They sparked wonderful ideas, but weren’t quite air quality. When the course ended, senior advertising major Kelly Mullinax continued working with Mallia during the fall. Together they began crafting additional scripts – with more power and drama.

It was important to get the message and tone just right. "There's a fine line between soliciting empathy and being condescending to victims," Mallia said.

They also wanted the messages to reach both victims and donors.

"We tried to strike a balance between the desire to inform people about Sistercare, so that those who need help learn where to get it, and the desire to get information out to people who may consider making a donation," Mallia said.

Their long hours paid off when the two presented the six scripts to Sistercare's executive director, Nancy Barton, who says she was "delighted in the professional quality of the scripts and the quantity."

Mallia knew Sistercare had no budget for talent to record the ads, so she recruited fellow faculty members Jay Bender, Ken Campbell and Harvie Nachlinger; journalism school Director Shirley Staples Carter; and J-School alumna Margaret Gregory, ’85, of the Columbia Ad Club. Mallia and some student volunteers voiced a few lines as well.

The volunteers were more than willing to lend their voices.

"I wanted to participate in a project that brings awareness to a serious problem that affects women of all ages, socio-economic status, cultures, and races. Sistercare provides a safety net, safe haven and, most important, a voice to the victims of domestic violence," Carter said.

J-School alumnus Ron Marsh, ’81, at Clear Channel Communications agreed to donate studio time and his audio production talent, and the team produced five of the six scripts.

The PSAs began airing in October to coincide with National Domestic Violence Awareness Month. They have aired on Clear Channel, Innercity Radio and Columbia Radio Group stations.

Barton said she's received lots of positive feedback since the spots began airing and that both journalists and public relations professionals have said how terrific they sounded.

She also expressed her appreciation for the time and effort Mallia’s team put into the project.

"We need the assistance of the community to successfully address the serious issue of violence against women," Barton said. "Professor Mallia, Kelly Mullinax and the other professionals are a part of the community, giving their talent and time to help battered women in need. We are grateful for the many gifts received from this strong radio campaign.”

For Mallia, the project was a way to give back to the community, as she has done for a while. Mallia served on the board of a New Jersey family service organization for seven years before moving to South Carolina 2 1/2 years ago.

She was moved to action, too, by the staggering statistics. South Carolina has the nation's highest murder rate of white women by intimate partners.

"It is shocking. You look left and you look right and know that someone is carrying this painful, dark secret that they pretend doesn't exist," Mallia said. "I was compelled to do something to help the women and children who live every day on the edge of violence."

Mallia wanted to empower her students to use their talents to help others and to understand the force of advocacy advertising.

"I've learned how powerful advertising can be, and that has motivated me to want to continue to do work for nonprofit organizations," said Mullinax, who expects to graduate in August.

	Anna Groos is a graduate student in the School of Journalism and Mass Communications working on her Masters of Mass Communications degree. A 2004 graduate of Wake Forest University, she worked for several years as an outreach counselor for Child Care Resources, Inc., a non-profit organization in Charlotte.