Strategically Communicating

In chapter 21, McChesney (2008) makes a robust argument that our country needs a stronger nonprofit and noncommercial public media sector. After several weeks of what seems like living in the mind of McChesney, I could not help myself from wanting to move from talking about it to doing something about it. So, I went to the Internet and discovered various online advocacy efforts. In the past, I would not have normally gotten involved in these types of efforts. Nonetheless, after reading McChesney, I am compelled to take action. I chose to get involved by starting with two current efforts described below. Engagement, after all, is at the core of democracy and media reform in our county.

 Free Press “Save the Internet” Campaign

This campaign focuses on protecting Internet freedom and Net Neutrality from the big phone and cable companies who want to be Internet gatekeepers. The campaign encourages people to sign the SavetheInternet.com petition and tell Congress to pass Net Neutrality legislation. I was compelled to sign the petition and join their Facebook following to stay informed. For more information, visit http://www.savetheinternet.com/.

 170 Million Americans for Public Broadcasting Campaign

This project represents a collaboration of public radio and television stations, national organizations, producers, viewers and listeners throughout the country in favor of a strong public media in the United States. Campaign efforts encourage people to sign up to receive action alerts from the campaign in order to stay informed about local developments on federal and state funding for public broadcasting. Subscribers are asked to contact their elected representatives and encourage them to support funding for public broadcasting. For more information, visit http://170millionamericans.org/take-action.

 Class discussion questions:

• How do individuals discern which campaigns to get involved with?
• How do advocacy groups effectively engage with their audience, especially with those who would not normally consider getting involved?
• How do campaigns seek collaborative approaches in order to cut down on competing efforts?