What can the Green Party do to prepare for the 2016 election season? Along with Green activism, party building, fundraising, and other important work, MEDIA OUTREACH is essential. Were in the business of public persuasion and we need to reach as many people as possible with information about the Green Party, our candidates, and what we stand for. How well Greens do in an election year depends a lot on what we do the year before. Well do far better in 2016 by getting widespread attention for the Green Party and for 2016 Green candidates in 2015. We should aim to make our candidates names already familiar to the general public by the beginning of 2016. Here are some things we can do to build our media presence: (1) Every state and local Green Party and every Green candidate should have an active media operation: either a media director or a media committee. The Howie Hawkins campaign showed what can happen when you have an excellent media director (David Doonan). The partys national Media Committee can help you get started: contact us (gp.org/media-committee). Every state Green Party should have members on the Media Committee, too. (2) Regardless of the corporate medias bias against us, theyre looking for interesting news stories. When Greens make themselves newsworthy, they often get good news coverage. Simply running for office as a Green doesnt make anyone newsworthy. Do something that will get you into the news. (3) If the mainstream media ignore us, there are numerous alternative and niche media that are looking for news content. We can also use social media (Facebook, Twitter), video (get your candidate on YouTube), and online community bulletin boards. (4) Dont only target progressive media. Sometimes we get positive coverage from conservative publications or sites while the left media ignore us. The best coverage of our 2004 convention in Milwaukee was on Fox News. (5) Keep the focus on the Green Partys message and on Green candidates. Stay positive and make the campaign about the Green candidate, not the opposition. (Ive read press releases that mention an opponent more than the Green candidate, which is self-defeating.) Dont get sidetracked in endless arguments with trolls, Democratic Party apologists, impractical ideologues, and other timewasters. Heres a guide for Green candidates thats also useful for state and local Green Parties: gp.org/.../downloads/candidate-media-tips.pdf Some Greens have cited the alleged bias of the corporate media as an excuse not to bother with media work. Greens who give up on trying to get news coverage wont get into the news. The belief that the Green Party and Green candidates dont need news coverage is foolish. Were trying to build a party with mass membership, so we have to reach a mass audience.
Posted on: Fri, 19 Dec 2014 17:04:47 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015