Smart and Green tips for a grassroots campaign
Yesterday Eloise Dortch told us about the Smart and Green campaign she started with Jasmine Horobin to try to prevent the price rise for renewable electricity from major WA supplier, Synergy. Today she’s sharing her tips on how to create a grassroots campaign, and how to deal with the media. Thanks to Eloise and Jasmine, you can get started campaigning on an environmental issue you care about.
Jasmine and Eloise’s tips for a grassroots campaign
- Work with a partner – someone to bounce ideas off and share some of the work, frustrations and triumphs! Find someone you ‘gel’ with.
- Keep an eye out for personal development opportunities while you’re doing it. The contacts you make now could be future employers and colleagues. The campaign could be something you add to your resume.
- Pace yourself – beware of burnout. A campaign will swallow lots of time, but if you are enjoying the process, this will not be a bad thing.
- Welcome and seek input – but also feel comfortable about rejecting unhelpful advice and unsuitable suggestions.
- Spend time to think about the focus of your campaign during the initial research period. Time spent on this will help you navigate uncertainty later.
- Be adaptive. As issues progress, think about different ways to achieve the same goal.
- Remember Perth is a small place. Be respectful to all the people you deal with. Ensure your credibility – be transparent, reference your data, identify yourselves and your sources (provided they have agreed to it!).
- Provide feasible solutions to the people whose behaviour you are trying to change.
- Be bold, aim high – ask to see the Minister/Premier/managing director. These people have the most influence and decision-making power. Don’t under-estimate the value of your ideas and opinions.
- Be opportunistic. If you know someone in high places, or get a chance to buttonhole someone important, take it. Keep an eye out for news stories that may be relevant to your campaign and see if the journalist is interested in talking to you.
- Don’t be afraid to ask stupid questions. Just go and ask the person who will be sure to know the answer and keep asking until you are sure you understand the issues.
- If a student, look for opportunities to combine a campaign with your coursework; assignment requirements are sometimes flexible.
- Enjoy the process – you will gain an amazing amount of contacts, knowledge and confidence in a short space of time. Plus you might just save the world!
Media tips
Eloise was a reporter for The West Australian for six years in addition for working for several community and special interest publications. Here are her thoughts if you decide to use media to highlight your campaign.
- News media move fast, very fast. If you are suggesting a story, try to strike while the issue is hot or otherwise have a new angle to offer them. It helps if you read/watch/listen to news yourself.
- Think about which news outlet your story is likely to suit. Is this a local story or one of State or national importance? Competition for column space or on-air time is extreme. While you might think the degradation of a wetland in your neighbourhood is of State or national importance, it is unlikely to interest The Australian (unless there happens to be a major report out that day, which says something mind-blowing about urban wetlands)! On the other hand, your local rag might put the same story on the front page.
- Journalists are continually bombarded with information and often work under high pressure. There are number of things you can do to try to ensure they pay attention to your story idea:
- Approach them on the day after deadline day (for a weekly publication) or in the morning (for a daily publication or evening news bulletin) – that way they’ll have more time and their heads will be clear.
- Think carefully about potential story angles and also story weaknesses. You probably need to do more research about the issue if there is a gaping hole in your argument or even you cannot identify what is of wide public interest.
- Phone first. Ask to speak to the chief of staff or news editor about a possible story idea (although you may be put through to a reporter if they are busy). Be polite, not pushy. Nothing gets a journalist’s back up as much as someone telling them what is a story – they see that as their job! Once you have got them interested, offer to send them an email with all relevant contact details (include mobile, work and home phone numbers of interviewees – reporters prefer to phone than rely on email) and a short summary of the issue. Keep it concise and do it as soon as possible after your chat.
- If you haven’t heard anything after a few days, make a polite phone inquiry to see if they are still interested. It may be that they are willing to do the story, but got sidetracked and need prompting. If they are simply not interested, rethink your choice of news outlet or the story.
- Consider offering your first choice news outlet the story exclusively. When some organizations make an announcement (called a press release) they send it to all media outlets simultaneously. This approach is fine if it is a major story. However, if the story’s news-worthiness is debatable, you may be better off offering it to one news outlet first. This is because most media won’t run a minor story unless they have it exclusively.
- Think laterally. Is your story better suited to radio or a special interest publication? Could you take some steps to develop it so it becomes more interesting? I don’t mean make something up, but think about an angle that would get them interested. Is there anyway you can ‘get up’ that angle?
- Be opportunistic. If the topic on talkback radio relates to your campaign, call in. Or why not send a SHORT, well-written letter to the editor of your State or community newspaper. Include your name, suburb and contact details so they can check you are a real person.
- Be contactable and available. Although local community newspapers generally have one journalist or at least, one photographer, working on weekends, they are stretched for time then. Better to make yourself and other interview subjects available during the week. On the other hand, if you are dealing with statewide or national media, they might be grateful for a story that can be got up on a Saturday or Sunday, since these are often slow news days (they also have a more weekend staff).
- For a local newspaper/radio story, provide local ‘talent’. Talent means interesting people/ experts/ concerned residents etcetera to be interviewed. Check to ensure your proposed talent is willing to be named, quoted and in a picture and are available, ideally in working hours. Gently question them to ensure they understand the issue (without putting them on the spot) and guide them away from making statements that could confuse the journalist or reader. Simple emotive statements about how they feel are best. Give the journalist full contact details for the talent.
- What is a news story? Conflict in many forms is the basis of most news stories – be it conflict on political policy, on environmental damage, cultural belief, between famous people or between political parties or local councillors, etcetera. Other potential bases for a news story are: human interest (something that tugs the heart); quirky (something bizarre or amusing); high-profile people; or something that affects local people’s own lives/health/pockets.
- Got a news story but can’t work out the angle? Imagine you have just bumped into a friend who has nothing to do with your campaign. What is the first thing you tell them about the issue you are campaigning on? Chances are that you naturally will tell them the most interesting aspect in language they understand. That’s your story and the way you should tell it. If you’re still struggling after this exercise, then you might need to do more research.
- Talking on and off the record. Few journalists will break the rules by quoting someone who has just asked to speak off the record. If you choose to talk off the record, say you are doing so. This can be useful if you want to background them on an issue or provide lines of inquiry. However, do not over-use this. People who are full of opinions but never willing to put their name to it may be treated with suspicion.
- The whim of the editor – or a busy news week. Did all of the above and still no joy? Media outlets are their own bosses. Don’t take it personally and bide your time for the next opportunity.
Eloise and Jasmine have written up a report of their campaign, which would be very useful for anyone who wants to start their own campaign on an environmental issue. You can contact them at smartandgreen@gmail.com for more information or a copy of the report.