Toolbox
Welcome to the Save Illinois MAP Grants Toolbox, a collection of resources to assist efforts associated with restoring funding to the Illinois Monetary Award Program. Check back often, as new resources are being added to the toolbox all the time.
Find Your Legislator or District Official
How to Hold a Media Event
Your communications plan could include holding a media event to draw attention to an issue or story. The most common type of media event is the news conference – but if you really want the media to take notice, you and your organization might want to host a more original media event.
Media events are usually held to announce an important event, activity or campaign. However, they can also be held in response to an event or news story. For example, groups sometimes stage demonstrations at the State Capitol to protest a new piece of legislation. Because media events should be special occasions, you don’t want to hold them too frequently.
A media event should be designed to highlight your cause, and should be timed so that the reporters attending can still make their deadlines.
• Remember that morning (between 9 and 11 a.m.) is the best time for reporters, as it gives them time to prepare their stories for that evening’s newscast or the next day’s paper.
• Choose a day as early in the week as possible, and avoid Fridays. If you plan to hold your event on a Monday, make sure your news release is out by the previous Friday.
• Give media people at least a day’s notice of the event. Send your news release to the media a few days before the event, and call reporters the day before to confirm. (This gives them enough time to book cameras and equipment, schedule photographers, etc.) But don’t tell reporters too far ahead of time – by the time your event rolls around, they may have forgotten about it!
• Have extra copies of your news release on hand. If you have the time and resources, you can even put together a press kit. This might include your news release, one or two pages of information about your organization, any articles written about you, and contact information such as business cards.
• If you’re inviting television media, try to have something visually appealing for the cameras: people demonstrating, putting on a play, or involved in some other activity. If you’re organizing a more traditional press conference, have any graphs, tables, charts and posters ready.
• If needed, check the availability and location of electrical outlets for microphones and lights.
• Provide enough chairs at the front for reporters, and enough room for their equipment (such as cameras and lights).
• Start your event on time – no later than five minutes late. Reporters have tight deadlines, and they may have other events to cover that day. If you keep them waiting, they may simply leave.
• Make sure your spokesperson is prepared to answer questions, both during and after the event.
• Always remember to follow up with reporters. Reporters may ask for information that you don’t have on hand, so be sure to send this material to them as soon as possible. They may also need photos or camera footage. Before they leave, double-check with them to make sure they have everything they need for their stories.
From Media Awareness Network
http://www.media-awareness.ca/english/
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Accessing Community Media
Daily newspapers and TV/radio news shows aren’t the only outlets in your area. You should also check for community media. Many neighborhoods produce their own weekly or bi-weekly newspapers, and schools and community groups may also put out a regular newsletter. There might be at least one community radio or television station (cable TV companies are often required to provide this service to the public). As with mainstream media, research them all and decide which ones to approach.
Small community media are generally more accessible than mainstream media, since most have a mandate to address issues of local concern. So your story ideas are more likely to be covered. And because most community newspapers have very small staffs, (there may be only one staff editor, and a number of freelance or volunteer reporters) you can often call up the newsroom and speak directly to the editor. If you’re a strong writer, you can even offer to write the article!
Getting Involved with Community Radio and TV Stations
Your city or town probably has a public-access TV channel, which exists to provide a place for community groups and citizens to make themselves heard.
Community TV is constantly on the lookout for stories that don’t get told on the mainstream TV stations, so getting their attention is generally easy. Just call your local community station, and introduce yourself and your organization to the programming director. He/she will probably give your information to a producer, who may decide to do a news story – based on the your information, and a couple of follow-up interviews. They might invite you into the studio for a more in-depth interview. Or if the producer thinks your story deserves more coverage, s/he may even decide to hold a “town hall” meeting – a studio discussion involving you and several other community members.
Radio stations in the community work much the same way. Universities and colleges often have radio stations, usually staffed by students, but the programming often reflects the interests of the community at large. They might be particularly interested in youth-related stories.
Use the resources on the right hand side of this page for tips on promoting a youth perspective in the media; creating a communications plan; getting news coverage of an event; and pitching and writing news stories and articles.
Source: Media Awareness Network
http://www.media-awareness.ca/english/
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Accessing Mainstream Media
The mainstream media consist of outlets that cover a larger territory than your own neighborhood. For instance, your city’s daily newspaper would be a mainstream media outlet. So would your local television and radio stations. Mainstream media outlets can also be national and even international.
Accessing mainstream media outlets is a process that takes plenty of persistence. The larger a media outlet is, the more difficult it is to get its attention. But with some planning and determination, you can get it to notice you.
1. Get to know your local media. Read your local newspapers and watch/listen to local news broadcasts. Get to know which stations and newspapers report on the issues you want to draw attention to – these outlets may be more willing to listen to you. Some media outlets even have young people on their editorial boards, or a youth advisory council to address coverage of youth-related issues.
2. Get to know the journalists who report on the issues you’re interested in. Most reporters are assigned to beats, so know which ones to contact for youth issues. Don’t be intimidated when calling reporters – remember, they’re always on the lookout for story ideas.
3. Identify yourself and your organization or school. When you call a reporter, give the information he/she needs to know about you as a source: your name, your organization, your school, your position on issues. Give some background on yourself and your group, as well as information about your current activities.
4. If you have a potential slant in mind, mention it. As a young person, you may be able to offer a youth perspective on a current news story. For example, if a reporter has covered a youth-related topic but has not actually interviewed any young people, you could provide the missing voice for that story.
5. Be patient. Building a media presence takes time. The initial contact, perhaps a 10-minute phone call – might not result in a story about your project the next day. But once reporters and editors know you and your organization, they’ll be more likely to approach you in the future.
Source: Media Awareness Network
http://www.media-awareness.ca/english/
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Being Interviewed
Your efforts have paid off and you’ve been approached by the media to do an interview. There may be several reasons why a reporter wants to talk to you:
• You’re the official spokesperson for an organization or event.
• The reporter has asked you to respond to a specific youth-related story because you’ve developed a good relationship with him/her.
• In response to a news story, the reporter wants a “reaction clip” (a five- to ten-second bite) that offers an emotional response.
• The reporter wants a fresh perspective and an honest point of view. (That’s attractive to reporters who are used to media-savvy spokespeople who always feed them the same lines.)
• The media want to appear young and hip. The mainstream media are predominantly staffed by middle-aged men, but their audiences cover a much broader demographic. By including interviews with young people in their stories, media types hope to attract a broader crowd – including young people.
The information in the following sections will help you learn how to get your message across effectively in an interview, and how to understand your rights when approached by a reporter. We also look at a fictional case study that shows how being prepared – or not being prepared – can make a difference to the outcome of the story.
Before the Interview
Some tips to help you prepare for an interview:
Understand why you are being interviewed
Find out exactly what the topic and angle of the interview will be. How will the interview be used – for a news story, a current affairs feature or an entertainment piece?
Don’t be afraid to do the interview
People often turn down the chance to be interviewed because they’re nervous, or afraid they’ll say the wrong thing. Instead, think of the interview as a golden opportunity for you to convey your message. If perceptions about you, your school, or youth in general have been wrong in the past, this is your chance to set the record straight.
Know your rights
Remember, you do have a choice about being interviewed. If you’re uncomfortable with the idea, you can say no. You can also discuss options with the reporter: you can ask that only your first name be used, you can ask for anonymity, or you can ask to be interviewed off-camera. If the reporter has called to interview you over the phone and you don’t feel prepared to talk right away, ask the reporter when you can call him/her back. But don’t back out just because you’re intimidated. The only way you’ll get to be media-savvy is to practice! (For more information, see the Your Rights as an Interviewee section.)
Think about what you want your main message to be
What is your reason for wanting to speak to the reporter? Think about the main message you want to convey, and how to weave it into every answer you give. That way, even if your answers are cut and spliced during the editing process, your message will still come through. (For more on this, see the Preparing Your Main Message section.)
Be prepared, but not over-rehearsed
If possible, get a list ahead of time of the questions you’ll be asked. This is common practice for television and radio interviews. It gives you the chance to think of what you want to say before you’re asked the questions on-air. Make sure you know your subject inside and out. Write down answers to any questions you think may be asked, but avoid memorizing statements. A successful interview should never appear rehearsed – and reporters dislike prepared statements, because they sound stiff and unnatural. Besides, if you depend on prepared statements you could be thrown off if the reporter asks you an unexpected question.
Preparing Your Main Message
Your main message is the most important information to communicate to your audience. It’s the whole reason you developed a communications plan, gave an interview, or wrote a news release in the first place. Here are some tips on how to make your main message effective:
Keep it clear
It’s vital that you’re clear on exactly what your message is, and why it’s urgent to get it across to the public. To identify your core argument, ask yourself: “What do I care most about?” Also ask: “Why should the audience care?”
Keep it simple
Your main message can have several points to it, though it’s best to have no more than three. The more points you try to cram in, the harder it will be for your audience to identify them, and the weaker their effect will be. You want each part of your message to be easily identifiable in your news releases, Web sites, etc.
Keep repeating it
Weaving your message into everything you do takes practice. In the world of public relations, this is known as spin. (Those who specialize in it are called “spin doctors.”) The key is consistency. Decide on two or three main points, and use them – either word-for-word or paraphrased – in all the answers you give, all the news releases you write, all the emails you send. If you can, use facts and figures: these are indisputable, and give credibility to your spin. (To show how sticking to your main message can make a difference in how a story is reported, see A Case Study.)
During the Interview
The following tips will help guide you through your interview:
Be positive
Try not to appear negative or confrontational. A hostile attitude will make it difficult for viewers to take your point seriously.
Stay calm
While emotional outbursts may make good TV, they will erode your credibility.
Treat the interviewer with respect
Remember that when you speak to a reporter, you’re potentially speaking to an audience of hundreds or thousands of people.
If you don’t know the answer to a question, be honest
Say that you don’t know, but you’ll try to get the information. Make sure you keep that promise, though – nothing sours a good relationship with a reporter faster than keeping him/her waiting for necessary information.
Speak clearly and firmly
Offer the reporter just the facts; don’t speculate or estimate, even if you’re asked to. Don’t feel you have to fill “dead air” – that’s the interviewer’s job. When you’ve answered a question, stop talking.
Be helpful
Suggest other sources the reporter could interview. Mention anything that you think might be helpful and offer approaches s/he may not have thought of.
Don’t worry about repeating your main message
Your goal is to make sure your message gets across. If that’s the only answer you offer the interviewer, then they will have no choice but to use it.
Don’t be afraid to assert yourself
If you’re uncomfortable answering a question, just say firmly that you don’t think you are the appropriate person to comment. Remember that no reporter has the right to bully you into answering a question if you don’t want to. (For more information on what reporters should and shouldn’t do, see Your Rights as an Interviewee)
TV Appearances
TV interviews are different from those done for print or radio. In TV interviews your appearance can be just as important as your words. Here are some general tips:
• Ask the reporter ahead of time what s/he plans to ask you. This will give you a chance to think of what you want to say before the cameras start rolling. The location of the interview could reflect on the story, so if you have a choice, suggest a location you’re comfortable with.
• Avoid wearing anything that could distract the audience from what you say, such as extremely bright clothing, busy patterns or large jewelery.
• Whether you like it or not, people will judge you on how you look, so try to look professional and tidy. Ask yourself which do you want to stand more: your appearance or your words?
• Always maintain eye contact with the person you’re speaking to. This could be one reporter, several reporters, or a studio audience. But avoid looking at the camera – just pretend it’s not there.
• Speak in short, concise sentences. If you answer reporters clearly, they’re less likely to edit your statements – and maybe cut out important points. Remember, the average interview clip in a news story is only 7-15 seconds!
• Sit still or stand still. Try not to fidget in front of the camera – small movements such as nail biting or foot tapping are magnified on screen. Sit with your hands folded in your lap and both feet planted on the ground. No swivel chairs or rocking chairs!
Source: Media Awareness Network
http://www.media-awareness.ca/english/special_initiatives/toolkit/being_interviewed/index.cfm
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Calling Your Legislator
Why It is Important to Call
• Calling your legislator is a fast and easy way to communicate your position on an issue. It is a good way to become comfortable expressing your views to your representatives.
• You may think that others will call so you don’t need to – but they may not! When in doubt, call and make your voice heard!
When to Call
• When the issue is urgent and moving quickly through the legislative entity, it may be too late to email or visit your legislator. Voice your opinion quickly by calling your legislator’s office directly.
• Watch for e-mail alerts from www.SaveIllinoisMAPgrants.org and/or other MAP grant advocacy organizations urging you to pick up the phone and voice your opinion on key issues by calling.
How to Find Contact Information
• SaveIllinoisMAPgrants.org has links on this site for you to use
What to Say
• When you call your legislator’s office, an aide will take your call.
• State that you are a constituent and ask for the staffer who works on the issue about which you are calling (most likely the education legislative assistant).
• You may end up speaking with the receptionist who will take your message and pass it on to the appropriate person — that is okay! They tally calls and legislators do see that information.
• Say what you are calling about – clearly state the issue
• State your position and reasoning. You may want to mention whether you personally will be affected by the loss of MAP grant funding or specify whether it will be your son, daughter, husband, wife, cousin, friend, etc.
• Tell the person what you would like your legislator to do.
• Leave your name, complete address, and telephone number.
• Thank the person with whom you are speaking.
Tips
• Prepare remarks beforehand.
• Keep the call short; be succinct.
• Be polite and respectful.
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How to Organize Effective Demonstrations
Imagine for a moment that you’re a legislator. Tomorrow your committee will vote on a bill that you believe most of your constituents support, but you have received very little mail on the subject. Thus, you conclude that while your constituents expect you to vote for the bill, it is not very important to them.
Then your Chief of Staff walks into your office and informs you that your district office has just called to report that “the phones are ringing off the hook against the bill.” As you are absorbing this information, the district office calls again to report they are being picketed by several dozen constituents demanding that you vote against the bill. As you are weighing the significance of the picket, your Chief of Staff interrupts you again. This time he reports that a reporter from the largest newspaper in your district is on the telephone wanting you to comment on the picket.
“That’s easy,” you tell the aide. “Tell him there’s no story. I’m not supporting the bill and the picketers are wasting their time.” Though no one will ever know it, your decision was influenced by the picket.
Why Hold a Demonstration?
There are five reasons why you may wish to consider sponsoring a demonstration:
1. A well-organized demonstration can attract media attention. This attention can educate the public about your point-of-view, indirectly pressures public officials and increases the name identification of your group. This, in turn, enhances your ability to acquire media attention in the future.
2. A demonstration shows the public that a substantial number of their fellow citizens care strongly about a particular issue. Americans love to be on the winning side, so you’ll sway many people to your view just by pointing out, or implicitly making it appear that your view is more popular.
3. Demonstrations are great recruitment tools. By organizing such an event, others will be alerted to your group’s existence and will seek you out to volunteer for your next project.
4. A demonstration increases the morale of your group. By working together on a successful event, you will improve the morale of your members and increase the likelihood that they will want to work together on future projects.
5. A demonstration will help you build your contact base.
Demonstration Timing
Timing is crucial to the success of your demonstrations.
• Except for special cases, it’s easier to get press attention on weekdays than weekends and morning and early afternoon rallies are better than evening or late night ones (because reporters have deadlines).
• It’s often a good idea to pick special holidays or anniversaries to enhance the significance of your demonstration. You’ll also want to make sure your demonstration is somehow tied to the current public debate.
Tips
1. Take Advantage of Pre-Demonstration Media Hype. The media will often run “pre-demonstration” stories the day prior to an exceptionally large demonstration. But reporters frequently have difficulty finding a newsworthy angle for these stories and must resort to conducting pre-demonstration interviews or doing stories on the traffic problems the demonstrations will likely cause. Provide a newsworthy angle. Some attention-grabbing public event, such as a legislative session, hearing, or press conference, might be the kind of event you’re looking for.
2. Say it With Pictures. As the old adage says, “A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words.” Make sure to provide ample photo opportunities at your demonstration for the media. Sometimes, newspapers won’t run an article on your event, but they will print a picture if there is something interesting to photograph. On other occasions, a newspaper will run an article and a picture, enhancing the article in the process. Still other times, the newspaper will be writing both about a demonstration you are holding and a simultaneous (or almost simultaneous) opposition demonstration. If you have better photo opportunities at your demonstration than your opposition has at theirs, you are likely to get better press coverage.
Photo opportunities also help you get better television coverage. Television is a visual medium and if you want coverage you must provide something visual — and a better visual than one offered by your opposition.
Some examples of photo opportunities you might want to incorporate into your demonstrations:
Posters and Signs.Every rally should have hand-held posters and signs. Make sure yours are large, with tall, easy-to-read-at-a-distance lettering. Use a dark color for lettering against a light background or light lettering against a dark background. Choose script that is easy to read — this is not the time for calligraphy. Short, to-the-point slogans are better than long statements. Slogans that rhyme, include a clever play on words, or those that would be suitable for chants make the best poster slogans. Art is good, but it should not be complex. A drawing of a pig, for example, can more easily communicate your opposition to wasteful government spending than a drawing of a specific pork-barrel project. Keep the following in mind: All signs must be readable at a distance, be understandable to an average person in a few seconds, and be just as clear on a black and white screen or photograph as it is in color.
Three-Dimensional Designs. Don’t limit your photo opportunities to posters. Three dimensional objects can offer great photographs. For example, House Republicans included a seven-foot tall replica of the Statue of Liberty bound in red cellophane tape to demonstrate the need for regulatory reform at a March 1995 press conference. The press conference was held to announce the approval of comprehensive regulatory reform legislation in the House of Representatives. At the conclusion of congressional leaders’ remarks, the red tape was symbolically cut with a pair of scissors.
Make-up and Costumes. Special costumes and make-up can be an effective means of communicating your message and acquiring press. For example, in 1993, activists from Putting People First used quite creative costumes at a demonstration outside the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals’ annual “Animal Ball” to protest PETA’ s extremist positions. Four activists from the group, one dressed as a carrot, one as a stalk of broccoli, one as a watermelon and one as a masked member of the “Artichoke Liberation Front” marched outside the Animal Ball chanting such slogans as “Stop the murder, stop the pain, stop the slaughter of innocent grain” and “Bananas belong in a bunch, not on a table at lunch.” The demonstration was covered in The New York Times, MTV, and The Washington Times, among others.
3. Say it With Sound. Be sure to have an adequate sound system for your demonstration. If the people who attend your demonstration can’t hear your speakers — neither will the media — and both will wander off. A good sound system will keep demonstrators interested, make your speakers seem more powerful and energetic and could attract passers-by to participate.
4. Obey the Law. Permits to demonstrate are required by city authorities in most U.S. cities. Applications for permits and information about procedures can normally be obtained by telephoning city hall. Applying for permits is a simple procedure. Although the questions asked vary from city to city, you will usually be asked questions such as where your rally will be held, how many individuals are expected to attend, and the phone number of the individual in charge. You may be asked to provide marshals for crowd control and to guarantee that your group will pick up any litter left after the event.
Depending on the city, you usually need to apply for a permit at least two full business days before your event. If you organize a demonstration at the last minute, expect less than 15 participants, or choose a location that will not disrupt the routine of others (such as a city park) it is possible to hold a rally without a permit. However, be aware that if you do not have a permit, the police department can force you to disperse at their discretion.
5. Control Your Crowd. Keep your demonstrators together by roping off an area near the podium or speaking platform to ensure that the press can get a good shot of a well-attended rally. Too often, rally organizers fail to take this important step and photographs of crowds look sparse as rally participants wander throughout the rally grounds, making a complete shot of the crowd difficult.
Be sure also to underestimate the crowd size you expect when responding to inquiries from the media. The purpose for this is not deception, but to protect yourself. People will tell you that they plan to attend your rally — even swear to it — and not show up. The last thing your event needs are press reports on the disappointing turn-out. As a rule of thumb, discount your turn-out by at least 30%.
You should also appoint marshals for crowd control. Marshals are the people who can quiet hecklers, keep the crowd cheering (by cheering in their midst), take care of troublemakers, and handle incidental duties, such as finding lost children. Marshals should wear some identifying object, such as a single-color arm band or a particular color baseball cap, so attendees can readily identify them. Marshals should be staff and volunteers who exhibit good judgement.
6. Other Tips. Long before your rally, recruit other organizations and prominent individuals to endorse it. Not only will this give your demonstration greater credibility among the media, but it could well aid in recruitment of both rally attendees and speakers, since you can recruit from members of endorsing organizations.
You’ll also want to delegate responsibility. Though the temptation may be great, you can’t do everything. You must have a cadre of staff members and volunteers you can depend on if your rally is to be successful. One might be assigned to taking responsibility for the physical arrangements of the demonstration, including arranging for the sound system, podium, permit, recruiting the rally marshals, etc. Another might be given responsibility for recruiting rally endorsers. Another might be put in charge of media relations, including the drafting of press releases, assembling press kits and handling press inquiries. Yet another might be put in charge of recruiting and coordinating volunteers and rally participants. The key to success of any rally is: DELEGATE.
Source: The National Center for Public Policy Research http://www.nationalcenter.org/man2.htm
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Writing a Letter to the Editor
Letters that are intended for publication should usually be drafted more carefully. Here are some tips to keep in mind:
• Make one point (or at most two) in your letter or fax. State the point clearly, ideally in the first sentence.
• Make your letter timely. If you are not addressing a specific article, editorial or letter that recently appeared in the paper you are writing to, then try to tie the issue you want to write about to a recent event.
• Familiarize yourself with the coverage and editorial position of the paper to which you are writing. Refute or support specific statements, address relevant facts that are ignored, but do avoid blanket attacks on the media in general or the newspaper in particular.
• Check the letter specifications of the newspaper to which you are writing. Length and format requirements vary from paper to paper. (Generally, roughly two short paragraphs are ideal.) You also must include your name, signature, address and phone number.
• Look at the letters that appear in your paper. Is a certain type of letter usually printed? Support your facts. If the topic you address is controversial, consider sending documentation along with your letter. But don’t overload the editors with too much info.
• Keep your letter brief. Type it whenever possible. Find others to write letters when possible. This will show that other individuals in the community are concerned about the issue. If your letter doesn’t get published, perhaps someone else’s on the same topic will.
• Monitor the paper for your letter. If your letter has not appeared within a week or two, follow up with a call to the editorial department of the newspaper.
• Write to different sections of the paper when appropriate. Sometimes the issue you want to address is relevant to the lifestyle, book review or other section of the paper. An increasing number of broadcast news programs (60 Minutes, All Things Considered, etc.) also solicit and broadcast “letters to the editor.” Don’t forget these outlets.
• Always sign your letters as an individual or representative of a community group.
Source: From FAIR’s Media Activism Kit. Originally posted on the FAIR web site. Republished with permission.
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How to Write to Your Legislator
• Remember to be respectful and very clear about what you want “Please do whatever it takes to fund the Illinois MAP program.”
• Email or write on personal or business stationery, the contents must be legible, particularly your name and address
• Address your letter/email as follows:
• The Honorable _________
• State the name of the legislation or issue you are writing about in the first sentence, specify the issue which has prompted you to write.
• Briefly explain and highlight your point for writing
• Use your own personal experience in making your argument – how the issue affects you, your family, your business, etc.
• Give your own views, not someone else’s.
• Be constructive
• If a problem exists, but you believe the current approach is wrong, tell your legislator what the right approach is. If you have expert knowledge share it.
• Avoid form letters and key phrases that indicate “coaching”
• A personal letter is much better than a form letter or signed petition.
• Get creative and send a video message; upload it to YouTube and email the link.
• Concentrate on your local legislators
• Never threaten or promise to defeat a legislator in the next election. Such assertions rarely intimidate a conscientious legislator and may generate an adverse reaction.
• A better approach, would be to explain why you feel so strongly about the issue for the reasons may change the legislator’s mind whereas a threat probably will not.
• Request a reply
• Ask for a response that indicates his/her position on the issue or legislation. As a constituent, it is your right to request such information
• Follow-up
• Thank you letters are remembered – since legislators get so few, yours will be remembered.
• If he/she votes contrary to your position, let him/her know – this will also be remembered.
Adapted from: http://www.wvshp.org/Legislators-HowToWrite.htm, and http://usgovinfo.about.com/od/uscongress/a/letterscongress.htm
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Recording power to the people
Download .pdf version
by * CMW Staff
Devices that let you record and communicate with the public can help a nonprofit chronicle events that matter, network with each other, and expand their brands.
by Elsa Wenzel
Originally published in the 2009 Getting on the Air, Online & into Print Media Guide
As tools to record the world’s sights and sounds drop in price,more people have the power in their pockets to show and tell intimate stories with a global audience.
Writer Howard Rheingold describes this as the “little brother” trend. In other words, unlike with fears of “Big Brother” surveilling and controlling the common folk from on high, people on the street can watch the watchers, and each other. The Smart Mobs blog is named after his book describing how digital tools are creating a social revolution.
http://www.smartmobs.com/
For better or worse, human rights abuses at Abu Ghraib in Iraq, for example, would never have become public without military members using their own, small cameras.
Nonprofits can use low-budget video for both heavy and light subjects. For instance, less than a minute of footage is enough to show the faucets dripping and ceilings flaking at an underfunded school. Why not do 20-second interviews with strangers on the street about a bill your group wants Congress to pass? A clip of puppies playing is a surefire ploy to get a few checks written for, or animals adopted at, the shelter where you work.
You don’t need a Hollywood-quality studio to make an impact. Sometimes a video snapshot is all you need to get a point across. Think of making snack-size chunks of video for the web to tell a compelling story. The Internet lends itself naturally to video more than text, which can be hard to read on a flickering screen.
Once you upload the video to YouTube, Vimeo, or another free video-sharing service, link right away to the new video from a new blog post, or from a message on a microblogging services such as Twitter or FriendFeed. You can experiment with Seesmic.com, billed as a “Twitter for video” service, where users share feeds of their videos with each other.
Sharing videos on will enable people to subscribe to your updates and view them on their PCs as well as on many mobiles phones and MP3 players including iPods.
A camcorder of $400 or more isn’t required. Even the technology-phobic can use popular mobile phones (sorry, not the iPhone) and digital cameras to shoot videos that five years ago would have cost countless hours and thousands of dollars in equipment and software to put on a website.
Popular digital cameras also shoot short videos that will be saved as edit-ready AVI files alongside your photos.
A terrific option for beginners are pocket-size video cameras from Flip, which can be found for less than $150. They’ll shoot up to an hour of footage in a bite-size format that’s ready for saving to the Web on a site like YouTube or to a blog. A minimal amount of buttons and lack of cords make this gadget probably the easiest video tool on the market. You can plug a Flip camera directly into the USB port on a Mac or PC to save video to a hard drive. The newer Flip Ultra is recharged only by plugging into a computer, while older models accept AA batteries.
http://www.theflip.com/products_flip_ultra.shtml
It’s not too hard to figure out the features of modest recording devices after playing with them for a few hours or days of dedicated effort, depending on your comfort level. If that’s daunting, just ask a fourth grader down the block to help you.
Follow some simple rules of thumb to create video. First of all, keep your clips short. Think like an MTV producer who sees 20 seconds as an eternity. The shorter you keep your videos, the less time you’ll spend uploading and editing, the more routine and fun the work will be, and the more your busy viewers will watch. Waiting more than 15 minutes recently to upload a two-minute video to YouTube motivated me to to slice and dice the content in half.
Shoot outdoors whenever possible. Add an external microphone if you can. Get as close to the subject as possible. Don’t move the camera around. You’re not trying to play Orson Welles. For low-quality video, fancy angles and zippy pans will usually make the viewer seasick.
You can still be creative with shoestring video. For example, if you want to shoot a scene of your block, hold the camera steady against the frame of an open car window as a friend drives you slowly down the street.
In a pinch, I balanced my new Flip on a cardboard box to shoot an interview with a California mayor, but the footage was wobbly. Definitely buy a mini tripod if you plan to record noteworthy people and events. Purchase of the $20 Gorillapod, which can bend Gumby-like even to wrap around a tree branch, returns some money back to nonprofits.
http://www.joby.com/products/gorillapod/
Check out these video-shooting tips from Youth Noise.
http://www.youthnoise.com/page.php?page_id=6074
If you’d rather sit still than shoot out in the field, webcams that come with most new laptops enable you to chat with other users of free instant-messaging services such as Yahoo Messenger or Windows Live Messenger. You can face a webcam and hit Record to save a rant, class lecture, instructional explanation, or even a staff holiday greeting that you can embed on a website or upload to YouTube.
For editing video, iMovie software comes on new Mac computers. MovieMaker comes on Windows PCs.
Source: Community Media Workshop (www.newstips.org)
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Writing an Op-Ed
Op-eds (opinion editorials) are longer than letters to the editor, and there is more competition for space. You may want to call the paper for length requirements (usually 600–800 words).
• Try to write on a controversial issue being covered at that time. If you can use a professional title that suggests authority, do so. If you work for an organization, get permission to sign the op-ed as a representative of that organization.
• Feel free to send it to papers far from where you live, but avoid sending it to two newspapers in the same “market.” National newspapers like the National Post and Globe and Mail generally do not accept op-eds that are also being offered to other papers. But you can easily submit the same piece to five or ten local dailies in different regions—greatly increasing your chances of being published.
• Assure the op-ed editor in your cover letter that the piece has not been submitted to any other paper in their market. If, on the other hand, you sent it to only one paper, let that paper know you are offering them an exclusive.
• In writing op-eds, avoid excessive rhetoric. State the subject under controversy clearly. You are trying to persuade a middle-of-the-road readership. If you rely on facts not commonly found in mainstream media, cite your sources.
• Try to think of a catchy title. If you don’t, the paper will be more likely to run its own—which may not emphasize your central message. (Even if you do write your own headline, don’t be surprised if it appears under a different one.)
Be prepared to shorten and re-submit your article as a letter to the editor in case it does not get accepted as an op-ed.
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Source: From FAIR’s Media Activism Kit. Republished with permission. Originally posted on the FAIR web site.
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