1. Harnessing the Power of the Media to End Poverty

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What is RESULTS?
RESULTS is a movement of passionate, committed everyday people. Together we use our voices to influence political decisions that will bring an end to poverty.

3. Empowering People
As volunteers, we receive training, support, and inspiration to become skilled advocates.
650 active volunteers in about 110 communities around the country
Everyday people who want to make a difference
In 2016, our activists had…
171 face-to-face meetings with U.S. House members and 78 face-to-face meetings with U.S. Senators
Over 550 strategic media placements, including editorials, Op- eds, and letters to the editor
Nearly 200 outreach and community events around the country

4. RESULTS Advocacy Training
Introductions Your Name? Where are you from? What kind of media work have you done?
RESULTS Advocacy Training

5. Why Work with the Media? Powerful tool in education and advocacy
Editorial page most read section in the paper
Strong media work can move decision-makers to alter their behavior, positions, and perceptions on an issue
2011 Erdos & Morgan study: Policymakers and their staff said that newspapers and newspaper websites are still the two most preferred methods of obtaining news with 36% and 31.1% respectively
Gives you the chance to educate the public about your issue
Key component of building political will
Reaches a much wider audience than any other medium

6. How Do I Best Engage the Media?
Understand your audience
Your first audience is the editors and reporters at the paper
Reference recent pieces in the paper
Newspaper folks are overworked and understaffed – make it easy for them
Do your homework
Research and know your issue as best you can
Have data and stories that make a strong case for your issue or program
If a national issue, make it local first
Newspapers want to see how an issue affects people in their community. For example, if you want to protect the EITC, talk about the success of your local VITA program and how it helps people in your community claim the EITC

7. How Do I Best Engage the Media?
Write well
Communicate your point briefly and effectively
Don’t use 50 words when you can say the same thing in 10
Pick your strongest point and build around it
If you are a good writer, they will publish you again and again
Good writing is a skill anyone can learn – RESULTS’ EPIC Laser Talk is a great format for LTEs and Op-eds
Engage the reader
Identify the Problem
Inform about the solution
Make a strong Call to Action
(Read more at:

8. How Do I Best Engage the Media?
Be Patient and persistent
Keep at it! not every piece gets
But don’t let that discourage you –
keep sending in pieces about
the things you care about
If your local paper won’t publish your
piece, send it to another paper in your state or your state press association
If your letter does not get published, call the editor in charge of letters or op-eds and ask what they’re looking for
Work at building relationships with editorial staff and reporters
Send all you published media to your legislators

9. Letters to the Editor (LTEs)
LTEs are the easiest way to get published and papers like to publish them
Short, focused letter stating your position (use the EPIC Laser Talk)
Gives the paper a sense of what’s important to readers
Keys to getting a LTE published
Brevity: words are what most papers allow – the shorter the better
Mention a recent story or issue covered in the paper
Make a local connection: how does it affect the community
Keep it simple: Stick to one issue
If you want legislative action, mention lawmakers by name

10. The Des Moines Register, October 9, 2012

11. Opinion-editorials (Op-eds)
Guest columns, usually words
Introduction: Lead (one paragraph) ending with your main point
Three supporting paragraphs backed up with evidence; use personal stories if you can
Conclusion = Call to action
What do you want the reader/MoC to do? Be specific and name names
Drafting a powerful lead
Refer to something that recently happened in the news or tie your lead to an event in the news (new research, event, pop culture, personal experiences)
If you can start with a personal story, do it
Be provocative but not insulting

12. Example of a Great Lead
“As an infant born in Waterville, Maine, to a single, teenage mother, I relied on food stamps for the first four months of my life. My family's economic status later required me to participate in other federal assistance programs like Head Start and the National School Lunch Program, so that I would have access to adequate nutrition and greater opportunities. Today I am a successful young woman with an undergraduate degree from Wellesley College, a master's degree from Stanford University, and a bright future.”
– RESULTS Baltimore volunteer Jami-Lin Williams in an August 23, 2013 op-ed in the Baltimore Sun

13. Opinion-editorials (Op-eds)
Getting it published
Send a pitch memo or note with your piece
Short paragraph explaining the subject matter, why it is timely and worthy of publication
Once submitted, follow-up within hours to see if they received it
Call again 2 or 3 days later to see if they are interested
In major papers, if they are not interested within 2 days, not likely to print
If not interested, withdraw it and move on to next choice
Exclusivity: papers want pieces to be exclusive to them and they need to be
If paper won’t publish as an Op-ed, ask if you can edit it down to an LTE

14. Editorials Cream of the crop in media advocacy
Unlike LTEs and Op-eds, which are the writer’s opinion, the editorial is the organizational position of the paper
Once a paper takes a position, they usually stick to it unless there is a significant change in circumstances; also, they generally write about it more than once
Not written by you but by the editorial writer
If paper is large enough, may have several writers who focus on certain areas
Many papers are owned by same company and may reprint editorials from their “sister” papers

16. Getting an Editorial Published
Do your homework and have it ready before you call
Send an ahead of time to the writer with some information about your issue and that you’ll be calling him/her
Call up the writer (same day) that covers your issue, tell him/her that you sent the , and ask if they have a few minutes to talk about an editorial idea
Make your “pitch” — explain the issue, explain why the paper should take your position, and be prepared to respond to counterarguments
Use a “hook” to increases your chances. For example, if there is a local event coming up that relates to your issue, include that as a reason why the paper should write about it

17. Getting an Editorial Published
Provide background info on your issue and research supporting your position (remember, make it easy for them)
Follow up in a few days to see if any questions, check status
Can also request a meeting with the editorial board
Be strategic in who attends (include community leaders who carry weight, if possible; clergy, business leaders, etc)
If you can, build a relationship with the writer
If they write a piece you like, send an telling them so (don’t just contact them when you want something)
Writers will remember you later when you want to pitch an editorial idea
If the paper is not willing to do the editorial, ask if you can submit an op-ed

18. Harnessing the Media
Questions?

19. RESULTS Advocacy Training
You can be EPIC!
Use the EPIC Laser Talk to help you create a powerful message (great for letters to the editor)
ENGAGE the listener into the conversation
Identify the PROBLEM you want them to address
INFORM (or ILLUSTRATE) about the solution to the problem
State a clear and specific CALL TO ACTION
RESULTS Advocacy Training

20. RESULTS Advocacy Training
Storytelling Matters
We are narrative creatures
Stories engage us, we want to know what happens next
We are also very visual – stories allow us to “see” the issue, rather than just hear it
Stories can be up to 22 times
more memorable than facts
and statistics alone
Stories help people empathize
with your cause
Including stories in your Laser
Talk can be very powerful
RESULTS Advocacy Training

21. RESULTS Advocacy Training21
E = Engage
Engage: Engage the listener into your conversation with a shocking statistic or by thanking them for something specific. (1-2 sentences)
Nearly 1 in 5 children in the U.S. live in households that are struggling against hunger.
RESULTS Advocacy Training

22. RESULTS Advocacy Training22
P = Problem
Problem: Specifically identify the problem they can address. (1-2 sentences)
Yet leaders in the new Congress want to drastically change food assistance in the U.S. which could lead to more people in poverty.
RESULTS Advocacy Training

23. I = Inform or Illustrate23
I = Inform or Illustrate
Inform/Illustrate: Inform the listener about the solution to the problem and/or share a story that shows what the problem or success can look like. Good place for a story.
SNAP (formerly Food Stamps) is the first line of defense against hunger in America. The U.S. Census reports that SNAP lifted 3.6 million people out of poverty in But Congress and the President want to undo SNAP’s success by slashing it’s funding and changing it to a lump sum “block grant” to states, which will undermine its effectiveness and force people deeper into poverty.
RESULTS Advocacy Training

24. RESULTS Advocacy Training24
C = Call to Action
Call to Action: Make a specific, targeted request in the form of a YES or NO question.
Will you urge congressional leaders to protect SNAP from cuts or “block grants” that will weaken the program and increase hunger in America? 
RESULTS Advocacy Training

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SNAP EPIC Laser Talk
Engage: Senator Johnson, nearly 1 in 5 children in the U.S. live in households that are struggling against hunger.
Problem: Yet leaders in the new Congress want to drastically change food assistance in the U.S. which could lead to more people in poverty.
Inform: SNAP (formerly Food Stamps) is the first line of defense against hunger in America. The U.S. Census reports that SNAP lifted 4.6 million people out of poverty in But Congress and the President want to undo SNAP’s success by slashing it’s funding and changing it to a lump sum “block grant” to states, which will undermine its effectiveness and force people deeper into poverty.
Call to Action: Senator Johnson, will you urge congressional leaders to protect SNAP from cuts or “block grants” that will weaken the program and increase hunger in America? 

26. RESULTS Advocacy Resources26
RESULTS Advocacy Resources
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