Media advocacy is the strategic use of media to gain community and decision-maker support for changing community norms and for potential solutions. Media advocacy is a critical element to implementing an environmental prevention project because it links all the other components of the environmental 
prevention implementation model into a cohesive whole.
The role of media advocacy may evolve and change during different phases of an environmental prevention project. In early phases of a project, media advocacy may be used to raise awareness of the problem on the public agenda and to highlight possible policy-focused solutions. Media advocacy provides a vehicle for high visibility community response and can be used to demonstrate community support for proposed environmental prevention solutions. Throughout the life of a project, media advocacy can be used effectively to highlight project successes.
Media advocacy is not creating media solely for exposure purposes; media advocacy is not attempting to get as many mentions in newspapers as possible; media advocacy is not posting flyers and information purely to be noticed. Media advocacy is purposeful and strategic. Media advocacy does not depend on establishing a relationship with the media outlet to gain exposure; it uses the true ‘newsworthiness’ of the issue to gain media exposure.