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Media

Media Guidelines

Posted on Tuesday November 17, 2009

When trying to affect policy, the influence of the media should not be overlooked. An effective advocate should use every available resource. Below are some guidelines on how to successfully leverage the media, and some tips for getting your message heard.

The AAI website has a wealth of resources regarding Civil Rights and Civil Liberties, Iraq, Lebanon and Palestine. We encourage you to refer to our Arab American Action Agenda 2009/10 for the most updated information on these issues.

Choosing a Publication
Social Media/Online Outlets
Personal Letters & Editorial Boards
Letters to the Editor

Choosing a Publication

Think of media outlets as stores, and your issue as a product. We all know that getting our product in Wal-Mart (i.e. The New York Times) will almost guarantee its success. The problem is that everyone wants to get into Wal-Mart. Getting it on the shelf of a small mom-and-pop store (i.e. blogs or your community paper) is more likely, and if enough of the product is sold in these small outlets, Wal-Mart might pick it up.

The same holds true for news outlets. If you pitch a story to the Times, the chances of being published are slim. But if you pitch it to your local community paper, your chances are much higher.

There is a practical advantage to being published in local outlets: you can then leverage those articles to pitch a larger story to a bigger ‘name’, forwarding the published article to reporters with a note that says, “As you might have read in the…”. Media generates media. Use it.

To contact newspapers in your area please go to : http://capwiz.com/arab/dbq/media/

Social media/Online outlets

More and more, taking the conversation on line is a powerful way to further the dialogue and reach a wide audience. You don’t have to be one of the “Twitterati” to use social media to your advantage. As you consider where best to pitch your story, think about the blogs you read regularly and do some research. You’ll be surprised to find who’s writing on line.

News outlets are constrained in real time due to the limitations of time and space. But their online outlets have infinite time and space, and you will often find that media outlets will give your issue a spot on line. The advantage to being published online? You will have a better chance of having a longer, more in-depth article accepted for publication, and the same holds true for video and still media. Even better, it offers an easy way to push your work farther by linking to it on your Facebook page, in e-mails to other reporters, in comments on blogs, etc.

If you maintain your own web presence, consider using the content you publish on your own site to push an issue into the spotlight. Link and comment on similar blogs, ask to be a guest writer on another website, and network.

Video is another powerful tool. Consider making a video to post on YouTube, Facebook, etc. to make a statement.

You can keep up to date with the Arab American Institute in a number of ways:


Facebook


Twitter


Flickr


Tip: Keep it simple. If you don’t need to Twitter, don’t. If you don’t need a Facebook page, don’t start one. Really consider what you hope to achieve and tailor your online messaging to that goal, or you’ll find yourself all over the Internet without a map.

Personal Letters and Editorial Boards

There are many opportunities for Arab Americans to engage the press. An editorial board or private letter to a reporter/editor pointing out a misconception, offering your opinion on an issue, or correcting a fact is the most time consuming, but in the long run it can be most effective. You have to be persistent, consistent, and accurate. You must convince the reporter of your point of view, or that your point is valid and therefore should be covered. Once you have built a relationship and trust with the reporter or editor, you will have a greater influence on the news coverage in that publication.

Tip: An effective technique to catch a reporter’s attention is to print out the article or data you wish to dispute and ‘edit’ it with your own notations, sources, and references. Use a post-it note to summarize your point of view and mail or hand deliver it to your reporter with a brief cover letter.

Personal Letter

When writing a personal letter to a reporter or editor there are three things to remember: First, be polite; second, spell it out and back it up; and, third, time is money. Write no more than three paragraphs and if you are an expert in the field, state that first. Use a respectful tone in your letter or e-mail, quote reliable and verifiable sources and you’re more likely to get a positive response.

Try sending an e-mail first. Wait at least 48 hours before sending a polite inquiry along the lines of:

FOLLOWING UP: Goldstone Report from an Arab American POV Wondering if you had a chance to read my e-mail of January 3 – I’ve copied it again below. Looking forward to hearing from you soon.

Include a standard signature line with your name, title and additional contact information.

Tip: Do your research. Know the reporter’s beat, and reference a recent article that reporter has written on the topic you wish to discuss.

Editorial Board Meeting

Editorial board meetings serve multiple purposes. First, it helps put a face to an issue, and like most people, editors will respond better to letters from people they have met than from strangers. There are three possible outcomes to your meeting:

• The papers will publish an editorial on your issue (either in support or in opposition to your position);
• They will not publish an editorial on your issue; or
• The paper will publish a news story based on your visit, or using the facts you have provided.

To set up an editorial board meeting (EBM), call the newspaper and ask for the individual in charge of scheduling these meetings. You will want to give them two to four weeks’ advance notice. At larger papers you will want to meet with the correspondent or reporter focused on the issue you want to discuss. For your local or community paper, the entire editorial board may attend the meeting.

Prior to the meeting:

• Decide on how many speakers will be attending, in what order they will speak and what topic they will cover. The nice mix of experts and laypersons could increase likelihood of getting your issue addressed.
• Find out how much time they have scheduled for the meeting, and if possible how many people will be attending.
• Gather all relevant information and supporting documents. You may want to assemble a folder for the presentation, or create a concise PowerPoint presentation. Remember to include contact information for the speakers.
• Allow enough time for questions.

After the Meeting:

• Thank the editors and reporters for their time.
• Send an e-mail a couple of days after the meeting thanking them again for their time.

Regardless of the outcome, it is important to build a relationship with your local editors and reporters.

Tip: Be mindful of the news cycle, and try to time your visits accordingly. During big events like elections, your requests might not be honored simply due to lack of time, space and relevance.

Letters to the Editor

The same rules for writing a personal letter to a reporter hold true for Letters to the Editor, with one crucial difference: your ultimate audience isn’t the reporter or editor, it’s the public. Do not assume that your audience is familiar with the issue or the article you are addressing.

A Letter to the Editor is usually in response to a recently published article. As a rule of thumb you have seven days to respond to an article. The faster you respond the greater the likelihood of the letter being published. The best letters are short and address a single point. If you have more than one concern with an article, try to focus on the most important one.

The first sentence of your letter should state the article to which you are responding, the date it ran, and quote the issue you are either agreeing with or disputing. Then state your opinion and facts and/or figures that might interest the reporter.

Finally close with your name, address, phone number, and e-mail. It is important that letters offer no analysis or conclusion.

Tip: A Letter to the Editor in papers with larger circulations should not exceed 150 words, and do not exceed 200 words for any publication. This doesn’t leave you much room to argue the greater issues. Think of your letter as either reinforcing a point you feel wasn’t given much attention, or correcting a fact. Larger issues should be addressed in an op-ed.