Amnesty International USA

Resolved: Therefore be it resolved that it is the sense of this AGM that the role of media work is primarily to be a means to a human rights end and secondarily to build a bigger organization; that the Communications Unit should submit a strategy to the Board and the volunteer networks detailing a training timetable and a strategy to ensure that volunteer leaders have the opportunity to have their media work supported.

First, targeted media trainings for volunteer leaders and activists, part of AIUSA’s already-established media training program, will identify and prepare community media liaisons within local and student groups. Media trainings will be provided at Volunteer Leadership Meetings, Field Organizers’ Meetings, Regional Conferences, the AGM, at meetings of Country Specialists and Legislative Coordinators, and at other venues as resources permit. Participants will be asked to serve as community media liaisons – acting as local spokespeople, submitting media materials provided in template-form from the national Media Relations office, and promoting their groups’ activities.

Second, we will increase information flow, including press releases and other materials, from the national office to the regional offices, then to local activists

Third, the FY 03 workplan includes a one-year pilot project of a part-time Regional Media Coordinator, based in a regional office, who will support information-sharing and activist outreach and also promote regional initiatives. The Regional Media Director will continue to work with Regional Directors to identify and cultivate local activists for regional media requests that come to the National office.

Fourth, the Media Handbook for Activists will be revised and reprinted for activists.

The detailed Volunteer Media Strategy will be submitted to the Board on or before its January 2003 meeting.

Update: The Media Relations Unit has implemented our plan to support the Media Training Resolution. Budget adjustments have/will impact the four-pronged approach. Staff will strategize on how to minimize the impact of the cuts.

A core element to supporting activist media work is providing Media Trainings to activists. We have continued our program to train volunteer leaders and activists. Since last April, trainers have convened 12 trainings. Most were led by Media Relations staff; two were led by Media Training firms with an emphasis on on-camera interview techniques. Venues were: AGM ( Seattle ), two volunteer leader meetings, IOTPA Working Group, four regional conferences, Legislative Institute, and the National Death Penalty Institute. In total, approximately 170 AIUSA activists were trained. Staff trainers offer ongoing support to activists who've attended the media trainings, as well. Several media-trained activists have become active with their local media and sent newsclipping to trainers.

Media Relations staff also provide template materials for activists to use in raising human rights concerns and visibility in their community. Materials are provided approximately monthly. Template letters to the editor on the following topics were provided: 100th person freed from death row, IPA, CEDAW, juvenile "sniper" suspect ( & talking points ), Illinois commutations ( & talking points ), follow-up to State of the Union, HIV/AIDS ( & talking points ), Jiang Zemin visit and Iraq. Activists also received a sample media advisory with instructions from the Regional Media Director and a local AIUSA activist from York, PA, Kathleen Lucas, accompanying the Holiday Card Action.

Staff have updated media sections of activist handbooks for various programs including the National Field Program's Activist Toolkit, the Program to Abolish the Death Penalty's SDPAC Toolkit, and OUTFront's new toolkit for activists.

Staff believes the Activist Media Handbook would be a valuable tool for community human rights activists. It was approved for the 03 budget, then frozen, then cut. Staff will explore no-cost options to provide some tools: for instance, updating the existing booklet and posting to the web, rather than distributing a printed hard copy.

The Regional Media Coordinator position, which was to have been charged, in part, with recruiting and supporting directly activists, was cut from the FY 03 budget.