--- "McGowan, Daniel" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
> Subject: Important advice on using the media.
> Date: Sat, 10 Jul 2004 06:47:41 -0400
> From: "McGowan, Daniel" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
> To: "Green, Robert" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>,
> "Batiyov, Keren" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>,
> <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
>
>
>
> Enclosed is an article I hope you will
> circulate. The only
> way to change public opinion is through the
> mass media. Pete
>
>
> Activists & The Mass Media
>
> *Martin Luther King had a favorite saying,
> "One tiny little minute, just
> sixty seconds in it. I can't refuse. I dare
> not abuse it. It's up to me
> to use it." Today we call it the sound bite.
>
> King and Andrew Young, who was the resident
> Southern Christian Leadership
> Conference (SCLC) expert in dealing with the
> media understood the
> importance of the role of the media,
> particularly the new technology of
> television.
>
> In the planning session for Birmingham,
> Young emphasized the need for a
> new kind of daily message, one that was
> visual and which would dramatize
> the purpose of the campaign each day.
>
> King and Young knew that if they were to
> move the Kennedy administration
> into supporting a broad civil rights bill,
> they had to have public
> opinion on their side.
>
> *The Movement Today
>
> *The lessons of the civil rights movement
> under King and Young's
> leadership are extremely important for
> activists today. They are as valid
> today as when they were being employed in
> the in the civil rights
> campaign in Birmingham, Alabama in the early
> 60's.
>
> If we are to be successful in our campaigns
> we need to mobilize public
> opinion to support our efforts. It is highly
> unlikely that a handful of
> activists, no matter how dedicated or
> righteous will achieve their goals
> if the majority of the public does not
> support their efforts or
> sympathize with their goals.
>
> However, as the early civil rights activists
> demonstrated, a relatively
> small number of activists can achieve
> dramatic results when their message
> is amplified and dramatized through the mass
> media.
>
>
> *The Activist "Corporate Culture" Regarding
> the Media
>
> *In my role as a public relations consultant
> I am in contact with
> progressive organizations across the country
> involved with a variety of
> issues. On the press side, I work with
> local, national and international
> media..
>
> In my 30 plus years as an activist, there
> are two dominant messages that
> stand out regarding activists and lack of
> coverage generated by the mass
> media usually referred to as the corporate
> media. If there isn't coverage
> of an event the reason given is usually
> because of "corporate control of
> the media or the media doesn't care about
> our events."
>
> I have never heard an activist say we didn't
> get media coverage because
> our press work was poor or our media
> strategy was flawed. There seems to
> be an attitude that the media owes us
> coverage on our activities
> regardless of what we do.
>
> This produces an environment where low
> priority is placed on developing
> public relations skills, allocating
> resources for press work and making
> the integration of a media plan as part of
> the overall strategy a priority.
>
> In the community where I live I can only
> remember one media training
> workshop offered in 30 years by an activist
> organization. It was
> cancelled due to a lack of interest.
>
>
> *Why Activists Don't Embrace Press Work
>
> *Having worked both sides of the fence, as
> an activist for 30 years and a
> professional public relations consultant for
> 14 years, I have a number of
> observations.
>
> Press work by its nature is a solitary
> activity. It is you and the mediaa
> reporter, editor or producer. You draft a
> press release and make a
> "pitch" to an individual. It is essentially
> sales.
>
> You and many other individuals are competing
> for limited "news holes."
> You have some piece of news;newsan event, a
> speaker, an op-ed piece ....
> that you want to sell to someone from the
> media to cover or accept so you
> can get a message to the public.
>
> Press work is very different than most
> activities that activist
> participate in and has a different emotional
> feel to it.
>
> Having gone to numerous demonstration and
> vigils; traveled on delegations
> to Nicaragua; participated in civil
> disobedience; conducted voter
> registration drives in Mississippi;
> leafletted; organized speaking
> presentations and tours ----- I know these
> activities are empowering and
> positive experiences. I've made friends and
> have many fond memories of
> events over the years.
>
> Press work is not a community building
> experience and for most activists
> doesn't have that empowering feel to it that
> a demonstration or vigil does.
>
> It can also be extremely frustrating. You
> can do everything right and
> still get your story bumped by some breaking
> news event. The day before I
> had a client scheduled for the Diane Rheme
> Show 9/11 happened and my
> client was cancelled.
>
>
> *Press Work is Essential
>
> *There is no way to affect public opinion
> unless you use the mass media.
>
> Newsletters, speaking presentations, videos,
> web sites etc. are all
> appropriate means of communication. It is
> important for activists to
> communicate with each other.
>
>
> At some point however, we either reach out
> to the larger community or
> speak to ourselves. Newsletters, speaking
> presentations etc by their very
> nature reach self-selecting, generally small
> audiences.
>
> The reality is that ninety nine percent of
> the people in any community
> will not come to hear a speaker or come to a
> video showing. People get
> their news of the world through the media..
> Either we get our message
> into the mass media or we reach an extremely
> small audience.
>
> To affect public policy we need to have
> public opinion on our side.
>
> *Benefits of Press Work
>
> *Besides the obvious benefit of getting our
> message before a larger
> audience there is an extremely important
> additional benefit. Press work
> forces you to integrate yourself into the
> community.
>
> There is a tendency with any organization to
> be insular. Activist
> organizations are no different. I am always
> surprised at the amount of
> material I receive via e-mail that is
> essentially one progressive
> activist talking to another progressive
> activist.
>
> In the process of drafting a press release,
> making a pitch to a talk show
> producer or writing an op-ed piece, you
> reflect on what language you need
> to use to convince that person to accept
> what your selling to reach a
> particular audience.
>
> *Good News
>
> *Significant press coverage can be generated
> on a limited budget. I send
> press releases domestically and around the
> world to the Middle East and
> BBC in London by e-mail at no cost. I've
> been able to generate local,
> national and international coverage and in
> the process reach tens of
> millions of people.
>
> A few years ago, I did the press work for a
> ten city U.S. speaking tour
> sponsored by Partners for Peace for three
> women from the Middle
> East. Their message reached an estimated
> audience of over 200 million
> people between local, national and
> international coverage.
>
> Hank Strunk's trip from Syracuse to Cuba ten
> years ago with Pastors for
> Peace generated over 40 news interviews in a
> two month period. A
> volunteer committee generated the coverage
> at the cost of a few postage
> stamps.
>
> *The Future for Activists
>
> *The amount of news coverage an organization
> generates is largely a
> matter of how high a priority an
> organization places on getting their
> message before the public.
>
> Public relations is a skill. The more
> proficient activists become at
> writing press releases; understanding the
> importance of timing, news pegs
> and follow up; developing working relations
> with reporters and planning
> their activites with the media in mind . the
> more likely they will
> generate news coverage.
>
> The activist community is barely scratching
> the surface of what is
> possible in regard to getting their message
> before the public. Time will
> tell whether activists will rediscover the
> lessons of Martin Luther King
> and the Civil Rights Movement in their
> strategic use of the media. to
> achieve their goals.
>
> *Peter Wirth is CEO of GW Associates, a
> progressive public relations
> consulting firm.
> For additional info. on working with the
> media go to
> www.come.to/public.interest.media
> [EMAIL PROTECTED]
>
> *Sidebar
>
> Seven secrets to successful media work.
>
> * Purchase a media traing guide. "Making the
> News - A Guide for Activists and
> Nonprofits" is a good beginners guide.
> Westview Press, 800-386-5656
> * Accept that at times you will strikeout.
> It happens to everyone.
> * Think long term and never burn your
> bridges with editors and producers.
> You will have to go back to them.
> * Develop working relationships with
> reporters and become identified as
> sources for good stories.
> * Think about news from the perspective of
> people inside the newsroom.
> * Think visually and exploit "photo
> opportunities" to get your message
> across.
> * Finally, reporters are people. Thank them
> for considering your story
> even when they say no.
>
>
> --
> Rania I. Kiblawi
> Public Affairs Coordinator
> Center for Contemporary Arab Studies
> Georgetown University
> ICC 241, Box 571020
> 37th and O Sts, NW
> Washington, DC 20057-1020
> Phone: 202-687-6215
> Fax: 202-687-7001
> email: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
> web: www.ccasonline.org
>
> GW Associates
> 702 S. Beech
> Syracuse, NY 13210
> 315-476-3396
> [EMAIL PROTECTED]
> http://come.to/public.interest.media
>
>
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