ADVOCATES FOR YOUTH

Rights. Respect. Responsibility.®—The Keep it REAL Campaign Toolkit [PDF]

Working with the Media

• Letters to the Editor
• Informing an Editorial Board
• Writing an Op-Ed
• Writing the Press Release
• Holding the Press Event
• Giving Interviews
• Sample Letter to the Editor
• Sample Op-Ed
• Sample Media Advisory
• Sample Press Release

Working with the media can include many actions. This chapter addresses a few crucial ways to work with the media, including writing letters to the editor, op-eds, and press releases; holding press events; and giving interviews.

Letters to the Editor

The Letters to the Editor section is the most widely read section after the front page. Papers publish letters to the editor at the discretion of the paper’s editors. Published letters to the editor are almost always a response to a published article, opinion piece, or current news. Thus, letters do the editor must be timely. Be sure to remember the five C’s when composing a letter to the editor. Be:

• Current – Do not wait more than one day after the publication of the article to write a letter to the editor. For best results, e-mail or fax your letter the same day the article appeared. (Call to find out whether the newspaper prefers e-mail or fax.)
• Concise – Make sure to keep the letter short (under 250 words) and to the point.
• Controversial – Question another’s position but avoid personal attacks.
• Contagious – Send your letter to several newspapers, but be sure first to check their policies on multiple submissions. For example, if The New York Times agrees to publish your letter, make sure you haven’t sent it to any other newspaper. In addition, encourage others to write letters to the editor.
• Finally, Include Contact Information. The newspaper may need verification or more information before it will publish your letter.

Send Advocates for Youth copies of your letter and any resulting news attention.

Please go here to see a sample Letter to the Editor.

Informing an Editorial Board

An editorial is a powerful piece of journalism because it represents an endorsement of a position by the newspaper itself. Generating an editorial requires convincing the newspaper’s editors of both: 1) the importance of the issue and 2) the validity of your position.

• Learn the Names of the editors and writers for your (or related) issues.
• Plan What You Will Say, and practice saying it. Keep it brief (one to two minutes).
• Schedule an Editorial Meeting or a time to discuss the issue over the phone. Be polite; introduce yourself and your organizational affiliation.
• Explain Your Issue succinctly, why it is newsworthy, and why it is important that it be covered NOW.
• Ask if You Can Send Background Information and set a time for follow-up.
• Send the Promised Materials and follow up as planned. Offer assistance.
• Keep Your Issue Hot. Often, newspapers have a lot of news to cover, so find new angles and bring attention to newsworthy events and people. Because you are a youth activist working in your community, your local paper may be especially interested in what you are doing.

Send Advocates for Youth copies of your presentation to the editorial board and editorials or other media coverage that may have resulted.

Writing the Op-Ed

"Op-ed” means “opposite the editorial page.” An op-ed is an opinion piece, submitted by someone not on the newspaper’s staff, that cogently makes the case for an issue. Newspapers publish op-eds solely at the discretion of the newspaper’s editors. It is important, therefore, to make your op-ed stand out. Here is a guide to writing an effective op-ed.

How to Write an Op-Ed

Strategy

• Set the Goal of the op-ed. What are you trying to achieve? For example, you might want to raise public awareness about the importance of comprehensive sex education.
• Define the Audience. Are you trying to reach your neighbors, local policy makers, national opinion leaders, all of these, or someone else?
• Identify the Appropriate Newspaper. Which local or national paper is most likely to reach your desired audience?
• Determine the Best Time for Placement. Ask which hearing, school board meeting, or legislative vote will highlight your issue? Is a report being released to which you want to draw attention? Is an international situation occurring that will limit attention to your issue? For example, immediately after September 11th, newspapers were unlikely to publish an op-ed focusing on adolescent sexual health.
• Identify an Original Angle. How can you draw attention to the issue or bring a new perspective? Your thinking needs to be original, creative, fresh and groundbreaking. For example, a strong angle could be a very personal story by a young person in the community on how he/she has been affected by local sex education policies.

Content

• The Op-Ed Must Be No Longer than 700 to 750 Words, typewritten and double-spaced. Remember, shorter is better!
• Sentences Should Be Short and Punchy (10 or 11 words maximum). Address only one main point in the op-ed.
• Avoid Jargon or Technical Phrases.
• Spell All Names Correctly and Be Sure All Quotations Are Accurate.
• Include an Effective Structure:

1. The attention grabber – An op-ed should always start with an effective attention getter.
   • Use humor. Use an anecdote, joke, or funny euphemism and relate it directly back to the issue you are discussing.
   • Talk about people. Talking about yourself and other specific people helps the reader identify with the author or subject.
   • Keep it current. An op-ed must be about a current issue. Talk about something specific that happened recently concerning the issue you are discussing.
2. The body of the op-ed, a.k.a. “the chain of evidence” – After the opener, move immediately to clearly state the issue and where you stand. This basically means writing a few paragraphs that offer arguments in support of the main point. The “body of evidence” may include:
   • Statistics – Easy to explain with clear, numerical analyses—but not too many numbers!
   • Quotes – From authorities, especially those who aren’t your allies
   • Agency positions – The position on the issue of a known governing or respected and impartial agency
   • Analogies – To connect ideas for readers who may not be familiar with the issue
   • Case studies – Make the issue concrete for people.
3. The conclusion – Briefly sum up what your point is in order to make sure that it hasn’t been lost or forgotten after the body of the op-ed. Echo and strongly reinforce the point you made in the beginning.
4. The goodbye zinger! – This is a counterpart to the attention grabber and uses the same approach to hammer home the message.

Submitting an Op-Ed

• Submit Your Op-Ed via e-mail to Larger Newspapers or via fax to Smaller Papers. Call first to ascertain which the editors prefer.
• Follow up with a phone call to ensure the paper received the op-ed and to provide additional information, if needed by the editor or the newspaper.
• Include Your School or Other Affiliation, day and evening phone numbers, and your e-mail address.

Send Advocates for Youth copies of your op-ed and its publication (if and when).

Please go here to see a sample Op-Ed.

Writing the Press Release

A press or news release gives your version of a story that you want the press to report. Releases can announce an activity, clarify a point, or rebut or respond to an issue of concern. Make sure the release has an attention-grabbing headline and powerful lead paragraph; often it is all the reporter or editor has time to read. The lead should contain the five W’s: who, what, when, where, and why.

Guidelines for Writing a Press Release

• Find out Who Is the Local Education Reporter.
• Type the Release on Official Organizational Letterhead.
• Include the Name and Number of at Least One Contact Person in the top right hand corner.
• Write the Release as you want the story to appear in the next day’s paper.
• Include Attention-Grabbing Quotes from key people in your organization.
• Indicate the Date the Information Can Be Released in the top left-hand corner.
• Keep Your Release to One Page. If necessary, write “more” at the bottom of the first page.
• Use a Powerful Headline that summarizes the story in few words.
• Include All the Essential Information in the First Paragraph.
• Keep Your Sentences and Paragraphs Short—less than 12 words to a sentence and less than six sentences to a paragraph.
• Describe Your Organization in one or two sentences in the last paragraph.
• Keep It Objective. If you include value statements, use direct quotes.
• Use Full Names and Titles the first time they are mentioned, thereafter use last names only.
• End the Release with: -30- or ### (press etiquette, signifying the end of the release).

Follow-up

• Make Follow up Calls to reporters after sending the release. Ask if the reporters are on deadline? If so, ask for a good time to call them back. Then, do so.
• Have a Brief “Pitch,” as to why they should cover your story. Have ready all the information a reporter would need.

Send Advocates for Youth copies of your press release and any resulting news articles.

Please go here to see a sample Press Release.

Holding the Press Event

The Press Briefing—A press briefing should provide more information to reporters who are already interested in an issue. The briefing offers you an opportunity to update the reporters on recent developments, with in-depth discussion and a wealth of documentation. The press briefing usually offers a panel of speakers and a period for reporters to question the experts. A press briefing can be a solo event or precede another event, such as a conference, demonstration, or speech.

The Press Conference—A press conference is usually less specific than a press briefing and introduces a new issue or a new twist on an issue. For a press conference, request the presence of general assignment reporters and create a press packet and press release prior to the event. A press conference also offers a panel of speakers and a question and answer session. The press conference is fast moving and the most important presenter speaks first (while reporters are still available). The press contact should arrange one-on-one press interviews with the speakers after the press conference.

Considerations for a Press Event

• Have a Goal. The goal is never to heighten visibility for your issue. Rather, the press event provides an opportunity to get a concise message to a targeted audience. Be strategic! For example, your goal might be to bring wider attention to an important, but little known, new study or to a groundbreaking, grassroots campaign and what it is achieving.
• Have a Message. Without a clear, concise message, a story seldom makes the news. Make sure your message comes across clearly and memorably. You might use a quick, easy-to-remember slogan or a catchy visual. For example, “New study shows that condom availability doesn’t promote sex, does protect students!”
• Describe the Problem. The goal of a press event is not to complain about a situation but to present the problem and to identify a possible solution. Describe the problem; identify the obstacles; and provide a solution or a call to action. For example, the problem is an epidemic of STIs among local high school age youth; an obstacle is the school board’s disapproval of condom availability; the solution is a new official position on school condom availability.
• Plan. Invite the press. Send out a press release. Identify and call specific reporters that you think may be interested. Make it easy for them to attend—hold the event at a time when reporters are available (usually in the morning) and ready to write a story! Reserve a room in advance and make sure you have microphones, water, notepads, and pens on hand.
• Choose Speakers. Have a limited number of speakers (two or three). Too many speakers can make reporters feel impatient. Get speakers who represent different facets of the issue and who also support your position and proposed solution. For example, speakers might include a policy maker, a researcher, and a young person who can speak to direct experience.
• Design a Press Packet that includes:
  • Outline of the campaign, effort, or issue
  • Press release
  • Fact sheet and one or two news clippings about the issues
  • Proposed solution
  • Copies of the charts and other visuals presented at the event
  • Media contact’s telephone number.
• Follow up. Send letters of thanks to reporters who used information from the press event in stories they wrote. To help you gauge the effectiveness of the event and of your work with various media outlets, clip and retain the articles that resulted from press events.

Send Advocates for Youth copies of your assessment of the event and any resulting news articles.

Giving Interviews

Key points to giving media interviews include the following:

• Have Talking Points. Always go into an event or interview with three key messages or talking points that you want to make. Then make them, no matter what questions are asked.
• Bridge to your key messages or talking points. If a question seems off topic, bring it back around to what you want to say. For example, you might bridge by saying, “That’s an interesting question. However, I think the real issue is …”
• Be Concise. Give answers that are 10 to 15 seconds in length, and always speak in complete sentences. Speaking in complete, short sentences means reporters will not have to edit your statement, and what you say is less likely to be incorrectly quoted or taken out of context.
• Do Not Lie. If you do not know an answer to a question, don’t make something up. It is okay to say, “I don’t know” or “I’m not sure.” Always offer to find the answer. Then be sure to get back to the reporter before his/her deadline.
• Ask the Deadline. Be sure that any follow-up information, quotes, etc., get to the reporter prior to the deadline.
• Be Ready for tough questions. Prepare your answers in advance and practice making your point.
• Listen to the Question Carefully. If you did not understand the question, ask the reporter to clarify. Even when bridging, do not evade tough questions.

Send Advocates for Youth copies of news articles resulting from your interview.

Sample Letter to the Editor

To the Editor,

Friday’s article, “Sex Encouraged with Comprehensive Education,” questioned the effect of comprehensive sex education on sexual activity. Many people worry that giving youth accurate information about sexual health will encourage them to have sex, but this isn’t so.

Studies have proven that those of us who receive comprehensive sex education are more likely to delay sexual activity and to use contraceptives when we do become sexually active. Even the Surgeon General has declared that it is “imperative and clear that [youth need] accurate information about contraceptives.” Yet, the current administration chooses ideology over science and spends millions of dollars on ineffective and inaccurate abstinence-only programs.

The Responsible Education about Life (REAL) Act would provide states with funding to implement school-based sex education that includes information about both abstinence and also contraception. It is imperative that we urge Congress to support the REAL Act.

Sincerely,
(Your Name)
(Your Contact Information)

Sample Op-ED

Information is Power
Last week, Ludlowe High School commemorated World AIDS Day. While most of our attention on AIDS these days is focused on what is happening in Africa, it’s important to realize that AIDS is still a threat right here in the United States, even in places like Fairfield, CT.

I became an HIV/AIDS and sexual health peer educator when I was 14 because I wanted to make sure my friends and peers would know how to protect themselves from STIs, including HIV (the virus that causes AIDS). Of course, abstinence is the safest way to protect yourself. But let’s face the facts. A lot of teenagers do have sex while still in high school or when they start college or get their first job after high school. In fact nationally, 70% of young people have had sex by the time they are 18! Still, after all the years we’ve known about HIV and AIDS—every hour of every day in this country, two young people are infected with HIV.

I think we have pretty good sex education here at Ludlowe High. But a couple of classes during one marking period a year doesn’t cut it to make sure that teenagers have all the facts they need about how to keep themselves safe from unwanted pregnancy and STIs, including HIV. And we’re lucky! In some places in the United States, teenagers don’t even get a few classes a year.

More and more high schools across the country are teaching “abstinence-only-until-marriage” sex education. What exactly does that mean? In Fairfield, we have comprehensive sex education and are taught that abstinence is the best method but are also given the full facts about how to protect ourselves if we do choose to have sex. But “abstinence-only” education only discusses abstinence and denies young people honest and accurate information about contraceptive options. Abstinence-only programs often give false information, like exaggerating condom failure rates, saying that you can get AIDS from sweat and tears, and teaching stereotyped gender roles and intolerance for gay or lesbian youth.

In this age of HIV and AIDS, it is irresponsible to censor vital information about how to safeguard sexual and reproductive health. We all have a responsibility to make sure that young people get all the facts. We are fortunate that Fairfield’s Board of Education supports honest and accurate, comprehensive sex education. Fairfield provides young people with the tools they need to protect themselves.

Now, it’s time for the rest of the country to step up to the plate. That’s why Representative Shays and Senators Dodd and Lieberman should co-sponsor a bill in Congress called the Responsible Education about Life (REAL) Act. The REAL Act would fund states’ efforts to teach comprehensive sex education.

Information is power, and education makes for better decisions. Censorship promotes ignorance, and ignorance promotes disease. It’s time that all young people get real sex education. Representative Shays, Senator Dodd, and Senator Lieberman, please co-sponsor the REAL Act and give young people a fighting chance to protect themselves.

Tara Dhingra is a 17 year old senior at Ludlowe High School in Fairfield CT.

Sample Media Advisory

** Media advisories should never be longer than one page. The best way to send the advisory is by fax. You must follow up with the reporter, closer to the event, to confirm attendance or to make a last-minute pitch.

Your logo goes here. Or put the advisory on organization letterhead.

Sample Press Release

'REAL' Education for America's Youth
Statement from James Wagoner, President, Advocates for Youth

Today, Congress has the opportunity to champion legislation that ensures America's young people receive responsible, medically accurate sex education in their schools. The Responsible Education about Life (REAL) Act would create a grant program to finally allow states to teach what they know works: comprehensive sex education.

With the REAL Act, schools would be funded to teach programs proven effective by over two decades of research and classroom use. School districts across the country would have support for a realistic, comprehensive approach to sex education—one that includes information about abstinence and condoms as well as life skills.

Responsible, comprehensive sex education also builds young people's capacity for making decisions, resisting peer pressure, setting goals, managing stress, being responsible, understanding and accepting diversity, and building healthy relationships.

Responsibility is a two-way street. Young people need to safeguard their own sexual health and the health of others. But society owes young people the tools of responsibility—accurate information, confidential health services, and a secure stake in the future. With the Responsible Education about Life Act, we have that opportunity.

I would like to thank Representative Barbara Lee and Senator Frank Lautenberg for their leadership in supporting science-based information for young people.

I urge Congress to pass this bill quickly. Protecting the reproductive health or our young people—preventing unwanted pregnancies and the spread of STIs—is an issue that goes beyond partisan politics. The health and well-being of our nation's youth benefits everyone.

###

Advocates for Youth is a national, nonprofit organization that creates programs and supports
policies that help young people make safe, responsible decisions about their sexual and reproductive health.

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