Role of the Print, Broadcast, and Social Media in a Implementing Health and Safety at the Workplace

The media plays an important role in highlighting the issues on daily basis. Similarly here in Health and Safety, social media, print media, followed by Broadcast media can play an effective and important role in implementing health and safety standards at workplace and influence changes in attitude towards health and safety. 

Types of Media

There are 3 types of media which include the following;

• Print Media e.g., Newspaper, Magazine, Leaflets, Books, Journals
• Broadcast Media e.g., Radio, Television
• Social Media e.g., Websites, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube

Effective implementation of Health and Safety standards either at national level or corporate level, can't be achieved without the use of Media. In terms of occupational health and safety, following points indicate how media can be used in implementing standards;

1. Ensuring Health and Safety guidelines are easily available with minimum cost. Agencies like OSHA (US), HSE (UK) provide guidance for all kind of activities being done by all kind of people, to comply with legal requirements. These guidelines are available in all kind of forms e.g., printed form and electronic form.
2. With the help of the social media, print media, and broadcast media, major accidents/ incidents can be published and awareness can be spread. Not only this, prosecution and inquires can be published as well. Major disasters can be discussed publicly not only in the country where it origin. Through this, public can get awareness and effective controls can be adopted. Those who have been sentenced by government for negligence, their cases can be shared with public so that no one else repeat. Further, government and NGOs can use these media mediums to spread awareness through campaigns, programs and tv shows. 
3. Publish professional journals with the help of educational institutes and spread awareness. 
4. Those who have internet connection, must be able to access huge amount of information about health and safety without any cost. 

The Media houses and platforms can change the attitude of public and employer by publishing;

1. Legal Requirements and consequences of non-compliance
2. Sharing duty holder's responsibilities imposed on him/her by government/ regulatory bodies
3. Publication of good health and safety performance so that other organizations adopt same standards and improve their service quality, performance, and reputation.