Editorial Note: The following
comments originated as private emails. Thus, as a matter of respecting
privacy, the names and identifying features of those they were written to
have been removed. Suffice it to say, however, that the people receiving
said missives are each shakers-and-movers in the realm of Arkansas
politics and if anyone reading these notes happens to agree with me, I
encourage you to turn your preferred candidates on to this page...
~Christine,
editor@gozarks.com
----- Original Message -----
From: GOZARKS
Subject: Follow-up on activist mobilization training
I trust you've received the current newsletter (cc below) from MoveOn,
but before we get to that and my use of it to illustrate a type of
'template' for news releases (as you requested), let me say thanks for
an excellent meeting. As I noted then, y'all give me hope for the
future.
I'll freely confess, however, that this has little to do with the
didactic recruitment training itself and everything to do with your
handling of the presentation of it and the quick-thinking innovation of
the group as y'all resolved those little bumps that came up in the road.
There was a definite air of "team strength" wafting throughout
the environment all evening, heightened most especially at those times
when the group 'achieved' a self-determined group goal, which is of
course experientially Illustrative of so many things about which we
chatted... which in turn brings me to sharing a few more comments on the
'news release' agenda:
First please allow me to suggest that in order for any organization to
maximize resource effectiveness, everything the organization publishes
(online, PDF, audio/video, hardcopy) whether brochures, flyers, white
papers, agendas, handouts, DVDs, etc., should be written to the 'clean
copy' news release standards we discussed because this is
the best way of assuring that your organization's words and intentions
are correctly quoted by media -- because the greatest
cause of media inaccuracy is that the facts of the matter have been, by
the organization, couched as promotional hype and thus the reporter must
'translate' what the organization said about itself into 'clean copy'
before it can go to print... And like the old 'telephone' game, this is
where miscommunication rules.
Also, by preparing all materials to this
'clean copy' standard you enable ANY and EVERY volunteer to become a
well-equipped 'media rep' of your (marketing) campaign, making it
possible for them to walk into the office of their hometown editor and
hand him or her something (a brochure, a flyer, whatever) that is of
'news release' quality -- effectively magnifying the potency of your
campaign's entire workforce.
Thus for all these reasons (and more I won't delve here) if you truly
want to get the maximum effectiveness out of the time, effort and energy
that everyone in a group *must* invest to make a project work, upholding
this 'clean copy' standard in all published materials is a critical
bottom line.
Applying this thinking to the following MoveOn newsletter, let me say
that (as a private citizen) I endorse the 'energy independence' concept
and think Obama is doing a great job. As to the media-effectiveness
strategy outlined above, the MoveOn newsletter does not
conform as it is written with a strongly self-promotional slant which
would never get published verbatim and in which a reporter or
editor would need to invest significant time, effort and energy (as I
have, below) to convert the furnished copy into any type of newsbrief or
even a calendar announcement. Thus the chances of any published
column-inches resulting from this particular MoveOn distribution are
exceedingly low. Essentially, this is the choir singing to the choir and
(with the exception perhaps of died-in-the-wool supporters who happen to
own a news publication) chances of it swaying anybody's mind or getting
published by 'mainstream' media are probably non-existent.
To ensure that your news releases pass this 'promotional/marketing'
test, make sure that all is done from one two-fold perspective, that
of giving ample/factual information to keep existing supporters abreast
of ongoing activities and/or new developments and at the same time
to enable non-supporters with factual information (NOT hype) that may
provoke them to re-think their position and choose to change their
minds.
Thus a great news release (and 'great' news releases are the ONLY ones
which should be distributed -- so the editors of publications actually
start to look forward to hearing from you!) must combine all the
emotional art of persuasive rhetoric with all the journalistic science
of clean copy -- communication standards for which are best expressed by
the old saw: First you tell 'em what you're gonna tell 'em
(the hook), then you tell 'em (the body), then
you tell 'em what you told 'em (summary statement).
In this context, the hook (lead/introductory) paragraph accomplishes two
things: #1 -- Grabs your readers (aka: the editor's) attention
by somehow provoking that "openly questioning state of mind" we were
talking about and, #2 --Summarizes the pertinent details which will be
elaborated upon in the body of the text.
The body of the text elaborates point by point on those elements
introduced in the hook and ONLY expresses opinions inside properly
attributed quotes.
The summary statement should -- ideally in one rich sentence containing
a profound quote -- pull all these various threads together as a clear
definition of whatever has been described in the body of the text.
Something the reader can 'latch onto' and then also enable
direct/immediate action with concise contact information which ALWAYS
includes a LOCAL person's name, a LOCAL phone number and a website URL
where more information on this subject may be found.
In light of all this I have taken the liberty to convert the following
MoveOn newsletter into a news release which communicates the same
information and makes the same points but does so in conformity to the
media management & marketing principles expressed above. Note that my
version *could* have gone out nearly verbatim as a 'newsletter' --- but
as previously stated, the original version would NOT double as a news
release... Thus do you see how effectiveness is amplified and work-load
is reduced by adhering to this methodology...??? Anyway...
You will find my revised news release immediately following the verbatim
MoveOn newsletter, below. Sincerely, I hope you find this information
useful. Again, many thanks for the quality program you put together. I
earnestly meant it when I said y'all give me hope. ~Christine
----- Original Message -----
Sent: Friday, September 22, 2006 9:50 AM
Subject: You've been challenged by Barack Obama
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Yesterday, Senator Barack Obama challenged progressives who are
serious about energy independence to stand up this November for a new
direction in government. You can watch his full address online, and
read the transcript
here.
So we're answering the call, by launching the Great Call for
Change Challenge next Saturday, September 30th. We're aiming to
call hundreds of thousands of voters—and raise money to reach move
voters.
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Dear MoveOn member,
Yesterday, Senator Obama delivered a speech in which he challenged
MoveOn members: You want clean energy? Then, "it's time to stand up for a
new vision of government this November."
MoveOn members stood up last weekend when we made over 150,000 calls
together. Will you join us for the next round Saturday, September 30th,
for the Great Call for Change Challenge?
We are aiming to break all our records for calls in a single day, but
we can't do this without you.
To make these calls, you can either host a house party or sign up to
call from home.
Hosting a party is easy, all you need is access to a printer and
someplace for folks to gather and make calls.
To host a party, click here:
http://pol.moveon.org/event/events/create.html?action_id=57&id=8847-1804446-ZqgeexD7A0byKpjTigfYQg&t=2
If you can't host, you can still join in! You can call from anywhere
you have a phone and an Internet connection.
To call from home, click here:
http://pol.moveon.org/phone/volunteer/challenge.html?id=8847-1804446-ZqgeexD7A0byKpjTigfYQg&t=3
Callers in the Challenge will set their own goals, and here's the
really cool part: we'll raise the money we need for our final Get Out the
Vote push by asking folks who can't call to pledge an amount for every
call you make, just like a "walk-a-thon." So your calling not only moves
voters, it raises money too.
Before we can ask for pledges, we need a sense of how many calls we can
make. So we need to know today—can you call voters on Saturday,
September 30th?
Senator Obama's speech on energy independence was part of our
Progressive Vision series, inviting national figures to address the issues
MoveOn members picked for our positive agenda. Here are some highlights
from Senator Obama's address:
George Bush...needs to defend his vision of government—and that's
a government that can't, won't, and shouldn't solve great national
challenges like our energy dependence.
You see, it's this timidity—this smallness—in our politics that's
holding us back right now. The idea that some problems are just too big
to handle, and if you just ignore them, sooner or later, they'll go
away.
In the middle of the Cold War, we built a national highway system
so we had a quick way to transport military equipment across the
country. When we wanted to beat the Russians into space, we poured
millions into a national education initiative that graduated thousands
of new scientists and engineers. If we hope to strengthen our security
and create hundreds of thousands of new jobs, we can offer no less of a
commitment to energy independence.
This is our chance to step up and serve. For decades, we have
heard President after President call for energy independence in this
country, but for decades, we have fallen short. Well it's time to call
on ourselves. We shouldn't wait for the next time gas hits $3 a
gallon—and we shouldn't accept any more headlines that talk about a
dying auto industry or a terrorist plot to use oil as a weapon against
America. We should act—and we should act now.
Together, we can accept this challenge to do what it takes for a clean
energy future. Right now, that means pulling out all the stops to win back
Congress. Call for Change is a tested and proven way that each of us can
help make that happen from our own living room.
This Great Call for Change Challenge is our biggest opportunity yet—but
we can't pull it off without you. Please join us from home or wherever you
can on Saturday, September 30th and make a few calls. You can sign up
right now at:
Host a Party:
http://pol.moveon.org/event/events/create.html?action_id=57&id=8847-1804446-ZqgeexD7A0byKpjTigfYQg&t=4
Call from Home:
http://pol.moveon.org/phone/volunteer/challenge.html?id=8847-1804446-ZqgeexD7A0byKpjTigfYQg&t=5
Yesterday, Senator Obama reminded us all of why MoveOn members are
working so hard, when too many others have given up. As he put it, we
"still believe in an America where anything's possible...we ...still dream
big dreams."
Thanks for giving us all a reason to believe.
–Ben, Marika, Tanya, Justin and the whole MoveOn.org Political Action
team
Friday, September 22, 2006
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MY EDIT ~~~
"Do you want energy independence?" That is the question being posed to
voters by phone-bank volunteers in "The Great Call for Change
Challenge" marathon slated for Saturday, September 30.
Hailing the voter mobilization project as "our country's biggest
opportunity yet," self-identified political Progressives such as [insert name
of locally endorsing/sponsoring group(s) here] and MoveOn.org, are
orchestrating the educational stump to garner national support for
Senator Barack Obama's call for voters "to stand up for a new vision
of government this November."
"In the middle of the Cold War," Obama said, "we built a national
highway system so we had a quick way to transport military equipment
across the country. When we wanted to beat the Russians into space,
we poured millions into a national education initiative that graduated
thousands of new scientists and engineers. If we hope to strengthen
our security and create hundreds of thousands of new jobs, we can
offer no less of a commitment to energy independence."
Senator Obama's remarks were delivered during one in an ongoing
series of Progressive Vision conferences which bring together national
figures to address current issues that have achieved priority
importance during MoveOn voter-surveys, the top three of which are
currently "Health care for all", "Energy independence: clean renewable
sources", and "Democracy restored."
"Together, we can accept this challenge to do what it takes for a
clean energy future," said Ben Bradzel of MoveOn. "Right now, that
means pulling out all the stops. The Great Call for Change marathon is
a tested and proven way that each of us can help make that happen from
our own living room." According to MoveOn, [X-number] of volunteers
have participated in previously coordinated national outreach
campaigns. Here in [insert name of local community, ie: Conway,
Arkansas], [X-number] of volunteers have signed up to make calls and
[X-number] of phone-banking house parties are scheduled to be held
this Saturday.
"Yesterday, Senator Obama reminded us all of why we are working so
hard. As he put it, we still believe in an America where anything's
possible. We still dream big dreams," summarized [insert name of local
contact person and affiliation title]. According to MoveOn, last
weekend volunteers made over 150,000 calls and the group
effort is aiming to break this record on September 30. For
local information about, to become a volunteer with and/or to host
a house party in support of The Great Call for Change Challenge,
contact [fill in LOCAL contact info, here including LOCAL website if
one exists] or visit the MoveOn.org website.
---30---
Anyway, just one more note from me.... As you may already know the
--30-- symbol at the end of a news release indicates to the
reporter/editor that information which appears below it is NOT for
publication, and somewhat in this vein I must say that if the foregoing
news release were distributed and then the phone-bank volunteers spent
all their chat-time "pitching a script for donations" rather
than delving the issue (which I sadly believe is what's actually going
to take place) the overall scenario of the news release NOT matching the
action would so gravely detract from the campaign's credibility as to do
it unfathomable harm. On the other hand, y'all could get real creative
with this 'house parties' idea... by doing them like 'pizza-parties' or
'bring-a-dish dessert buffets' for example... Remember... bottom line,
freedom in the pursuit of happiness is what
it's (supposed to be) all about. ~C
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