Media Activism

Developing Relationships with Media* -

    Pitch stories: Try to have unique/local angles

    Develop a media database - Secretaries, Reporters or Editors.  

    Set up meetings to discuss issues

Try to get people or something that will entice the media. Send them a book or magazine subscription that will help them understand. If you call yourself an activist, you need to know how to talk to the media as well.

                Writing a Letter to the Editor

Bread and butter media activism

Very powerful tool - You can generate debate

Well-read section of the newspaper -

Quick and easy - Challenge the bias

                Why Write a Letter to the Editor?

React to negative news coverage

React to a negative editorial (written by the editorial staff) or op-ed commentary (written by a columnist or other contributor)

Provide a different angel

            Letters to the Editor: Guidelines

Address to the Letters Editor

Keep letter to 100-25--words, the fewwer the better - pick one point to challenge

React quickly

Be authoritative

Focus on one or two points only

                Letters to the Editor

Be passionate or even controversial

Avoid rhetoric or defamation

State purpose of letter in 25 words or less

Cite impartial or universally respected sources

Offer a solution/alternative

            Interviews-Quotes

Use talking points - develop and work them out ahead of time

Practice

You are in control of the interview

Use Deflection - If a media representative asks you a misleading or off topic question say:

There's an equally important issue . . .    

Let's now loose sight of the underlying issues  . . .

Let's not lose sight of the larger perspective . . .

Does this remind you of how politicians answer questions?

                News Conferences/Press Releases

Know when to stage them

Think visuals

Bring media to your door step

Use the formula (template)- Have to be matter of fact. Who, what ,when, where. Add the passion when the media gets there. If they cannot figure out in the first line what your event is about, it goes in the circular file

                      Some Media Tips

Be available 24/7

Spokespeople training

Failing to respond to media inquiries - - once you are unreliable, they will not call you back

Trying to "overtly" manipulate coverage

Providing inaccurate information - if you don't know say, "I'll get back to you." And then get back to them.

Failing to praise balanced coverage -

Media can be challenging and fun . . . Don't give up!

    Media attention has waned on Afghanistan issues.- The only message is that liberation is working and Afghanistan is working. The MSM and corporate media have become stenographers to power. They have not challenged the superficial stories about political power of women. As an activist working on issues of Afghanistan it has been demoralizing to see Afghanistan drop to the bottom of the media attention span.

    As media coverage drops, so do our contributions. I went to Afghanistan to see if media coverage had any effect on public reaction to our message.

    I went to Kabul, which is the focus of media and humanitarian aid.  Then I went to Herat, through Kandahar and back to Kabul.  It is not so good.

    I took photographs of bombed sites. Many civilian homes were destroyed by bombs. We also saw destruction over ten years old from the mujahadeen warriors who the U.S. trained. The U.S. completely ignored Afghanistan and turned their back and media coverage completely dropped off the chart.

There was a huge spike when the Soviets took over. Teh bulk of atrocities occurred when the U.S. backed mujahadeen took over.  XXX declared himself Prime Minister and killed upwards of 45,000 Arghans in Kabul alone. There was no media coverage. The U.S. backed Mujahadeen laid the groundwork for the Taliban.

    The warlords are back in power. They are now legitimized in government positions, appointed by Hamid Karzai.   There was a horrific massacre right after 9/11 that was committed by Taliban like men who are "friends" of Karzai.  Karzi.

    70% of Afghans described themselves as victims of warcrimes.  They want reparations and instead have to watch asthe perpetrators of war crimes assume power.

    There are 5,000 NATO peacekeeper troops.

The media cheered that over a million refugees were voting with their feet. What we were not told was that people are living in absolute squalor. No plumbing, access to water or electricity. Afghans are living in squatters camps. The media failed to follow up on what returning refugees came back to.

    The new Afghan media has to toe the line. Independent journalists who are reporting the truth have their lives threatened. One reporter has been given 11 warnings, including 2 from the government that he would be shot down if he continued.

    It is appalling how the media exploited and sensationalized Afghan women. The media used the image of women with burkas as a symbol of oppression. Some women choose to wear it, some feel safe wearing it, and some women hate it. The burka is not a symbol of repression. The myth the media perpetrates is that if women were not forced to wear the burka, women would be free. This is a very stereotypical and sensationalized image of Afghan women. Afghan women a mute victims who have no agency.

    Even by this simplistic and sensationalized standard, the media has failed to report that most women still wear the burka.

    Kabul only has 20% of population of Afghanisatn. In 80% of Afghanistan, most women wear the burka, because they choose to or to feel safe or because they do not have any other presentable clothes.

    Education is a huge problem. Bush said Afghan women can not go to school. In the provinces, it is not true. They go to school, but they do not have money for books. Afghans want to learn History, Science, Geography and Math.  The media fails to cover what is really happening.

    It is the same with health care. The same statistic is true. What is the liberation we were promised. How does it manifest itself? If you tell them there are a few women in government, they will reply that the majority of women are really suffering pretty much the same as they did under the Taliban.

    Mala Aijore -XXXX  She stood up and said thse are the men who are part of the circle of blood. The media pointed to her and said "Look what women can do." The media celebrated her freedom of speech, but the media did not follow up on what happened to her. They did not cover the price she paid for resisting fundamentalism, but also resisting imperialism and war. She has to wear a burka to conceal her identity and has six bodyguards.  

    We are trying to bring her to the United States. That is why we are selling the CD of her interview.

I'd like to ask you to express your solidarity with Mala Buy CD, write letters to editor. Laura Bush went to Afghanistan for five hours to express her solidarity with Afghan women. Have a fund raiser. Visit her website. (pending)

Thank-you.

There are other places you can hook up to the media.  

In the front lobby are copies of EXTRA update.

Every other month we have EXTRA. Both are bimonthly.

FAIR is being recognized more and more as one of the lasting media criticism organizations. For the first imte in my lifetime, there is a real sweep of people who want to change the Democratic party. I was doing a monthly meeting at the Midnight bookstore. I stopped.

    I feel I have the evergy and ambition to work with many of these groups.  Progressive Democrats, DFA, Robert Greenwald and staff. I think I can be more valuable by doing that and offering my time that way instead of a monthly meeting with speakers. It didn't really move the agenda.

    We need the Democratic party to become more viable.

TV stations used to editorialize - used to be that public could respond. Now all of a sudden it quit. All of the TV stations stopped editorializing and didn't offer public right to reply.

Fairness doctrine.  We need it back in our laws. It was killed by Reagan. We have to institute it again. With Congress the way it is, it's not something we want to put our energy into.

Howard Dean DFA is a vital movement for changing the Democratic party.

Bob Horsath started the Progressive Majority before the 2004 election. They were going to start building candidates from the ground up.

Picked four states Washington and Wisconsisn. Developing a national progressive grassroots struicture. They ahjjd 100 candidates. Onlly a handful that rna for anything as high as States.  They won over 40 of their races out of a hundred. Have added three or four more states.

Right after the election, the Porgressive Democrats started without a well known leaeer, Tim Carpenter. They are trying to do certain issues.

Move On  showing great strength. They should expand their leadership or board. They have been extremely effective

Robert Greenwald - Outfoxed - Set up a separate corporation to do nothing but operate in a similar manner to the Progressive Democrats, but do it with film and video.