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For the Media progress report for 2005, please download the PDF file which appears on the left
The Media Project is designed to give greater exposure to the pro-peace,
anti-occupation message of the Coalition and its member organizations.
A media professional trains activists as public speakers,
participants in radio/tv programs, and op-ed/letter writers. She
also maintains contact with journalists to cover peace actions, and
responds in the media as spokeswoman for our cause.
Background
The mainstream media in Israel give short shrift to progressive actions,
despite the large number of them and their creativity. We attribute
this primarily to the fact the Israeli media have rallied around the
patriotic utterances of the political leaders. Professor Mordechai
Kremnitzer, chair of Israel's Press Council, has noted that ".people are
being silenced. We are witness to an attempt to turn the public
broadcasting authority into a government authority, which will, in
effect, become a mouthpiece of the government."
After years of trying to address this problem by hiring a professional
media consultant on a per-event basis, we decided this year to hire a
Media Coordinator to work within the Coalition on an ongoing basis. She
began half-time work this July, and has already begun to break through
the wall of media inaccessibility.
Goals of the Project
- To increase media exposure (both print and electronic) of Coalition activities and views.
- To increase media exposure (both print and electronic) of the activities and views of Coalition member organizations.
Strategy pursued and rationale
To accomplish these goals, the Media Project pursues 5 related strategies:
- Media training: Through day-long seminars, women from each member organization will be trained in media skills - how to write press releases, speak in front of a camera, serve as a spokeswoman, organize a press conference, etc.
- Steering Committees: Media Committees are being formed in the Coalition and its member organizations. These include women with some media savvy and experience who will be trained to serve as spokeswomen, participate in call-in and talk shows, write op-eds and letters to the editor, and otherwise draw media attention to our views.
- Ensuring that events are media worthy: The Coordinator advises about the media-worthiness of events we plan, brings relevant journalists to these events, and works to place stories about these events, or other stories that promote our point of view.
- Public awareness campaigns: For urgent matters, and if budget allows (and unpaid means are unavailable), we will write and place ads in the media, on posters, and banners that reflect our point of view.
- Responding to events as they unfold: The Media Coordinator to pertinent events, or ensures that others provide these reactions. In recent days, criticism by the Coalition of the arrest of an Israeli woman for allegedly "consorting with the enemy" managed to penetrate the media.
For more details please contact our spokeswoman Adi Dagan
For the progress report for 2005 please download the PDF file which appears on the left
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