MADD MASSACHUSETTS VERSUS SENATOR BURKE - A MEDIA ADVOCACY CASE-STUDY

In 1991, the Massachusetts legislature considered a bill that would ha ve allowed a drunk driving defendant's refusal to take a breathalyzer test to be admitted as evidence in a criminal trial. After the measure passed in both houses, a stair senator used a parliamentary maneuver to prevent it from being prepared for the governor's signature. Mother s Against Drunk Driving (MADD) employed media advocacy techniques to a lert the public, but the senator was unyielding and the legislative ca lendar ran out with the bill unsigned. Because of MADD's efforts, howe ver, the senate president put the bill on a ''fast track'' the followi ng year. The news media's focused attention on MADD's protests exposed deep schisms among its volunteer leadership regarding the nature and purpose of the organization and the appropriateness of using confronta tional media strategies to advance its agenda. Paralyzed by the lack o f consensus, MADD Massachusetts was rendered a far less effective advo cate for policy change.