Advocate. Support. Endorse. Act.


—Media Policy and Reform
—Resources
—In the News

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HOW TO GET INVOLVED

• Raise Awareness-Develop your message-know your audience

• Select only your most persuasive arguments.
• Stay on message.
• Write down your main points and emphasize them.
• Tie every answer you give back to your messages.
• If you are talking to an elected official, talk about benefits to the community.

• Write letters to the editor

• State your reason for writing.
• When applicable, refer to any news item or letter that you are countering.
• Limit your message to one or two key points.
• Follow the word-count rules.
• Take a firm and clear stand on the issues, but be reasonable.

• Write an op-ed piece

• Talk with the editorial page editor to pitch your idea.
• Be concise: have something original to say, with one idea and cite examples.
• Follow the word-count rules set by the paper.
• Take a firm and clear stand on the issues, but be reasonable.
• Guide to placing op-eds and letters to the editor.
  

• Contact Legislators
  
• Learn How to Lobby - A successful lobby campaign incorporates multiple approaches to educating and communicating with your coalition and policymakers.
• Build your Coalition and have each member contact the legislators in their home district.
• Legislators pay attention to well presented positions by constituents.
• Do research and become knowledeable about legislation and your policymakers.
• Identify legislation clearly and include the bill number if you know it.
• Gain the attention of policymakers by contacting them through a personal visit, by letter or phone.
• Keep communication personal and send it on plain stationary.
• Don't be afraid to clip articles and attach them to the personal letters.
• Staff people's views are important and they may have great influence on the legislators for whom they work.
• Follow-up with e-advocacy efforts—email is a powerful tool to communicate with your coalition and legislators.
  
  
• Get Press support

• Call your local editorial page editor to set up an appointment.
• Prepare an information packet to pass out at the meeting.
• Bring a small group of your most influential coalition members.
• Pick your three most persuasive points and strongly advocate for them.
• Afterwards, follow up with a thank you note, and provide any follow-up material.

• Host an event

• Consider holding rallies, parades, candlelight vigils, or anything else that involves your coalition and draws media attention.
• Send out a press release to the media several days before the event, inviting them to attend and providing information about the event.
• Follow up with the media the day before the event and then again the day of the event.
• Provide information packets to the media at the event.
• Have visually exciting backgrounds, including coalition tee shirts, banners, posters, graphs, etc.

• Hold a news conference

• Schedule a news conference only when you have important information that should be released
  to the general public.
• Send out a press release to the media several days before the conference.
• Follow up with the media the day before the event and then again the day of the event.
• Provide information packets to the media at the conference.
• Have visually exciting backgrounds, including coalition tee shirts, banners, posters, graphs, etc.

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