IN-DEPTH STRATEGIES FOR MEDIA DIALOGUE

For those looking for more detailed guidelines on how best to start approaching the media, the following steps try to spell out the essentials. 

The media is of increasing importance in the world we live in. Therefore, approaching people involved in creating our contemporary culture can be intimidating. It is important to remember that they are as likely to be sensitive to criticism as anyone else - so always try to begin and conclude criticism with comments about the good as well as the bad. 

These suggestions are by no means comprehensive. The most important thing is for concerned members of the public to abide by the over-all rule when talking to the media, of remaining professional, calm and sincere. 

Step 1: Become an Analyst. For every report you hear or read, ask: "Whose voices are included, whose are excluded? What would it take to make this report better?" 

Step 2: Praise what you can! Don’t make blanket statements that you can’t support. If your local paper has ten bad articles and one good one, don’t tell them that all their coverage is bad. Rather, be prepared to praise the good piece, contrast it to the bad ones, and use it as a way to illustrate why more good reporting is needed. 

Step 3: Choose your speciality. None of us can read or listen to everything, but you can pick one or two sources and try to monitor them consistently. That way, you can become familiar with reporting patterns the work of individual reporters over time, and have a much stronger case for your arguments. This knowledge will also provide you with a better basis to establish a dialogue with the people who you are trying to influence.

Step 4: Know your facts. Use wire services. These are "unedited" and contain a lot of information that doesn’t make it into the newspapers or news shows. Use the World Wide Web. The Internet offers ways of learning about and accessing alternative sources of information. Search engines such as www.Google.com offer the opportunity to find facts from a variety of sources efficiently. Read foreign media. Become familiar with them and use them to contrast with UK coverage. Do your research. Be accurate and precise. Don’t say something is a fact unless you are sure. If you are not sure about a claim that you have read or heard, check different types of sources. You are always much more effective if you can show you command the facts.

Step 5: Always be accurate. Quote people PRECISELY and ACCURATELY. Keep a pen and paper near the radio or television. Cite your sources and the date, time and individuals responsible for reports you hear if possible. Remember, your credibility is a valuable asset. 

Step 6: Communicate with your goal in mind. Before communicating with a journalist or media outlet, decide whether your purpose is to get a letter published or to educate the reporter or editor. If you represent a group, you can ask for a meeting with a newspaper’s editorial board. Before going to such a meeting, carefully research the newspaper’s editorial policy and reporting and be equipped to point to both positive and negative elements.

Step 7: Communicate with your audience in mind. When communicating with journalists or editors, remember that many reporters feel harried and under pressure. They hear from a lot of people, and will easily dismiss you as just another crank unless you communicate effectively and professionally.

Step 8: Different strategies for different people. Introduce key information pertinently. When writing a letter, do not assume that the reader is as familiar with the subject as you are. Always include relevant information (date, name of reporter, subject), and briefly restate the subject of the report on which you are commenting. 

Writing to Editors: If you are writing a letter to the editor for publication, different rules apply: you must be concise and to the point. Writing to Journalists. If the letter is supposed to educate a journalist, then you can afford to make it longer and include more information.

Step 9: Be clear and argue your case calmly. Never give in to frustration or annoyance, even when you see a very hurtful or inaccurate report. Always address people as if they were colleagues. Often they will respect you and answer you, even if they still disagree with you. This will help to establish a dialogue between you and the editor or reporter. Journalists are suspicious of "advocates." To avoid being dismissed as an advocate, you should be able to argue factually. You will not be taken seriously unless you can respond thoughtfully to other viewpoints. It is even better if you can anticipate and defuse opposing arguments.

Step 10: Become a source. The vast majority of journalists are decent people. They may not be experts on the issue you are interested in, and they rely on the information their sources give them, so it pays to become a source of timely and reliable information and analysis. Provide information in moderate doses. If you bombard the journalist with lengthy e-mails of articles you find fascinating, he or she is unlikely to read them. Always inform reporters of local events that could educate them. 

Once you establish a record and some credibility, journalists will begin to turn to you to discuss ideas, or even ask for quotes and interviews. Now, you have become a source. 

Step 11: Develop networks. Share your letters with interested friends and fellow activists. This will encourage others to follow your example, and will help others to become more critical and astute consumers of news. 

Step 12: Be persistent. Media advocacy can be frustrating and hard, but it works and it gets easier. The more expertise you develop and information you gather, the easier it is to respond and to help shape debate constructively.

Sources
Ali Abunimah, vice president of the Arab American Action Network
Rania Masri, coordinator of the Iraq Action Coalition

 

Copyright © MMV Citizen Arab LLC, All rights reserved.