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Advice for Working with the Media
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WWFOR Iraq Interest Network pagesee NEW SECTION below posted 8/3/02
If we replace Congress and the President with Editorial Page Editor and Publisher in the paragraph below, we will have sound wisdom for communicating with the media. These words of advice come the book "Being Peace" (p. 79) by the Buddhist Zen master Thich Nhat Hanh.
"In the peace movement there is a lot of anger, frustration, and misunderstanding. The peace movement can write very good protest letters, but they are not yet able to write a love letter. We need to learn to write a letter to the Congress or to the President of the United States that they will want to read, and not just throw away. The way you speak, the kind of understanding, the kind of language you use should not turn people off. The President is a person like any of us."
We sometimes feel that one person has full responsibility for some political situation or for some media's coverage of a particular issue. We may even cultivate anger at that person, blaming him or her for the whole situation. This will make successful communication almost impossible. Also, if we think of the media as a monolithic entity, we've forgotten that it's made up of many people who are persons like any of us. It is essential to remember that the journalists and editors we want to communicate with are individuals (often with limited responsibility for what we're concerned about). This will help us to establish a relationship.
The success with the Seattle media on the Iraq sanctions issue has not been without difficulties and frustrations. Nevertheless, here is some evidence of what is possible: the Hearst newspaper in town, the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, sent their foreign editor and staff photographer to Iraq with us in March of 1999. They did an excellent 8-page special report "Life and Death in Iraq" and have reprinted it several times; we distributed it to everyone in Congress. The largest paper in the state, the Seattle Times, has done six excellent editorials on sanctions and Iraq; these began with a remarkable one by the editorial page editor (2/00).
Are there other things that need to improved with our papers' coverage of Iraq? Very much so! But our success so far has been based on communicating with kindness and understanding, rather than with anger. Please look at our website,
http://www.endiraqsanctions.org, for links to these and other media successes.Bert Sacks is a Seattle activist who has done much to invigorate anti-sanctions work locally and nationally. Working with Citizens Concerned for the People of Iraq (closely tied to FOR) and with Interfaith Network of Concern (which also includes many FOR members), Bert has educated media workers, politicians, religious leaders, and members of the public about the effect of the economic sanctions. He has traveled to Iraq numerous times, often as a Voices in the Wilderness delegate. He can be reached at
bert@connectexpress.comA few more thoughts about working with the media, from Bert Sacks
Are there other things that need to improved with our papers' coverage of Iraq? Very much so! But our success so far has been based on communicating with kindness and understanding, rather than with anger. Please look at our website, http://www.endiraqsanctions.org, for links to these and other media successes.
The "Contact our local newspapers" link (at the bottom of the above home page) gives information about who to contact at the two main Seattle newspapers. Check other newspapers for similar contact info.
If you wish to comment about something in the op-ed section of the paper (i.e., the opinion-editorial section, where editorials, letters and syndicated columnists appear), then the editorial page editor might be most appropriate. Or you might want to submit a Letter to the Editor for publication. The papers will tell what information they require from you, and the suggested length, usually around 200-250 words.
It can also be a very useful and interesting project to make contact with someone at a paper. If you read a column or news story that catches your attention, papers very often provide an email and phone at the end for the staffer who did the story. This is a deliberate invitation to provide feedback. Remember the importance of polite, thoughtful and kind communication. Then pick up your phone or email.
The key thing to remember is that newspaper people are often busy, often rushed to meet some deadline, and it's also impossible for them to be in-depth knowledgeable about every issue they write about. If you do your "homework" first and have your facts and references straight -- then check that the person you're contacting has time to discuss the issue -- you can become a valuable and welcome resource to that person.
The same advice holds true, of course, for radio and TV. If you can not find an online website with contact information, a call to the main information number of the station ought to tell you how to reach someone. Reporters can be surprisingly accessible, if you show you have useful information to provide. More than this, work with the media can be some of the most important peace work (practicing peace) you can do!
Good luck. Good success!
web pages maintained by Jean Buskin,
bb369@scn.org updated August 3, 2003to
WWFOR Iraq Interest Network page